The opening of Jeremy Clarkson's The Farmer's Dog pub has lead to long queues as people lined up around the building and beyond to get inside ahead of its official opening to the public.
The Cotswolds pub, off of the A40 in Asthall outside of the town of Burford, had its grand opening today (23 August) at midday, welcoming the general public inside for the first time under Clarkson's ownership.
Among those queuing to get inside were punters who had been lined up since 8am, showing just how far the Clarkson's Farm hype has got for some who have tuned in to watch the Amazon Prime Video documentary series.
The pub itself - which is a 20 minute drive from Clarkson's Diddly Squat Farm - is expected to feature heavily in season four of the hit show, which has become one of Amazon's most successful original shows to date alongside the likes of The Boys.
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Former Top Gear presenter Jezza revealed earlier this year that he paid just short of £1 million for the pub, then known as The Windmill.
At the front of the queue were Lauren Hanly and Blake Jones, who had travelled from Gloucester, and had arrived shortly before 8am.
Lauren said they wanted to sample the food having previously visited Clarkson’s other businesses, the Diddly Squat farm shop and Hawkstone Brewery.
She said: "We got here just before 8am. We were surprised to be at the front. "We thought it would be busier earlier but then the gates weren’t opening until 7.30am.
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“We have looked at the menu, but we are not sure what we will go for yet. I think it depends on how many pints I have.
“Having Jeremy Clarkson’s name on it, it is always going to do well. It is a destination site and people will come from all over, as well as the local community. We went to the Diddly Squat farm shop and the Hawkstone brewery and Jeremy Clarkson was there filming.”
Blake said: “We did think about queuing overnight. We left about 7.30am and there were no queues or traffic and we went straight in.”
Clarkson arrived in his car at around 10.40am and drove into the rear car park before re-appearing to carry a box into the pub.
A marquee has been erected within the grounds of the five-acre site ahead of the opening, previously used to film The Grand Tour with the car show's logo seen on its roof.
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Residents have been left concerned about potential traffic problems because the pub is located next to the busy A40 road.
“I’m delighted he’s breathing some new life into that pub,” one resident posted on Facebook. “I do worry about traffic though. I popped by the farm shop at the weekend. It was utter chaos.
“The massive new car park was rammed as well as a new overflow one they have made in a field across the road. We didn’t stop as the marshals in hi-vis told us the queue was over two hours. I’ve been before on a busy day, but this was insane.”
While another wrote: “Might need three lanes on the A40 for the queuing cars and parked cars.”
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County and district councillor Liam Walker said that Clarkson had his full support for the new venture as it would be a boost to the local economy and tourism in West Oxfordshire.
He wrote: “There is no ‘parking row’ here. I am merely doing what local residents would expect and working on getting mitigations in place to reduce traffic and parking issues ensuring lessons have been learnt from the farm shop. Jeremy has my full support with his next venture, and I want the pub to be a success.”
Mr Walker has previously met with the local highway team to discuss the opening of the new pub. Oxfordshire County Council said it has worked 'closely and pro-actively' with Clarkson’s team ahead of the opening.
“Several measures have been taken to reduce the likelihood of traffic and parking-related problems, and to support the safe and successful opening of the site,” a council spokesman continued to say.
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“Footway improvements have been made to better link the existing adjacent bus stops on the B4047 with the site of the pub to provide a safe and more sustainable option for those visitors that are able to take advantage of the hourly bus service, but whom might otherwise have travelled by car.
“While double yellow lines are not currently being considered at this time, measures have been taken to highlight the inappropriateness of parking on highway verges in the area, and to deter the same.”
The council also said motorists were being asked to only use designated off-highway car parks and not park on the roads or verges nearby.
Clarkson has previously found himself embroiled in a row over his plans to allow greater visitor access to his farm and its attached shop.
Topics: Jeremy Clarkson, Clarkson's Farm, Documentaries, Amazon Prime, TV, Entertainment, Celebrity, Business, Food And Drink, Pubs
Tom Earnshaw