‘I live near Jeremy Clarkson’s pub – here’s major issue you don’t see on the show’
Clarkson’s Farm has returned to screens with its highly anticipated fifth series, as Jeremy Clarkson and his beloved farmhands continue to work on the Diddly Squat farm. In addition to supporting the farming community through governmental changes, this instalment also sees the presenter open up about the harsh realities of being a pub owner. In addition to managing his 1,000-acre farmland, the 66-year-old also founded the Farmer’s Dog pub in 2024, which he says has been a target for theft.
As a result of the popularity of Clarkson’s Farm, the Farmer’s Dog has become a major attraction within Oxfordshire. So much so that it recently had to turn a nearby field into a 360-space car park to cope with demand. This is also where Jeremy sells his Hawkstone beer brand, with reported sales of £21.3 million in the year to March 2025 and has a stated goal of putting Peroni “out of business”. Yet, the true realities of living near Jeremy’s empire are not shown on screens, as the Cotswold market town of Chipping Norton has transformed into a crowded tourist attraction.
According to a local: “There was a clear shift in the local areas when the farm opened and then again with the pub, it’s got busier but local businesses are benefitting.
“It’s always busier around here when the new series starts, but throughout the year, we see people flying in from America and Australia to visit. It’s so hard to book at the pub, though, and the tables are released a month in advance. They’re taking a risk on getting a table.”
“The car parks are always busy, every single day. They’re closed Mondays, but any other day it’s heaving,” they added to The Daily Express.
Despite this, they praised Jeremy’s integrity: “One thing I love that he has stood by is that it’s all local produce. He doesn’t have tonic, salt or pepper. He didn’t have ketchup until a few months ago, when he was able to source it locally. He said he wanted to use local products, and he’s stuck with that.
“Most locals don’t really have much interest in the pub; it’s more for visitors. It is nice, but you won’t find a lot of locals there; there’s plenty of nice pubs in the area that aren’t as busy. The tent is great, even if you can’t get a table inside the pub, it’s still worth the trip to go for a drink there,” they added.
During the opening of his pub, Jeremy told reporters: “We wanted to have that restaurant on the farm last year, and we couldn’t, and pubs, they are all for sale. So, we thought instead of building a restaurant, we would buy a pub.”
According to the BBC, the presenter said he was pleased with the location, adding: “We looked at 40 pubs. We needed some very special things like a big car park, a big car park and lots of parking, and no little roads to get to it.
“There’s no-one to annoy. It’s a good spot.”
