Fans and residents comment on The Farmer’s Dog

There are plenty of historic pubs in the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside where you can enjoy a quiet pint, but only one of them was packed with hundreds of people from across the country on Friday.

Jeremy Clarkson’s latest project already seems to be a huge success – so how is The Farmer’s Dog doing and why are so many people excited?

The Cotswolds have long been a tourist destination in their own right, but visitors traveled from far and wide to experience Jeremy Clarkson’s latest venture.

Hundreds of cars lined up bumper to bumper in an Oxfordshire field filled with tourists from Newcastle, Essex, the Channel Islands and beyond.

Many of them were lured to Oxfordshire after watching the reality show Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video and were excited to see what the former Top Gear presenter had in store for them in Asthall.

The bright sunshine certainly contributed to the fact that many people came to the stage on the opening day. As soon as we left the A40, the roof and the stone walls were visible between the trees.

It was only when we got to the door that the scale of the action became clear. The queue outside the bar snaked around the pub, giving those waiting plenty of time to enjoy the rolling hills of Oxfordshire and the Windrush Valley.

There was a long line of people eager to see all things Clarkson. This was the second attraction of the day for holidaymakers Kirsty and Steve from Brighton, who had already visited the Diddly Squat Farm Shop, about 10 miles away.

They traveled to the area because they are “obsessed” with the series: “We watched all three seasons in a few weeks and decided we wanted to go there.”

Further back in the queue were Hannah and her partner. For them, the visit was a reason to celebrate, as Hannah had just completed a week of radiotherapy at the Churchill Hospital in nearby Oxford.

She said: “We thought we’d just drop by, treat ourselves and see Jeremy and the gang.”

Toby was on his way home from the Forest of Dean to Essex with his family and they wanted to stop by along the way.

He said he was “curious” and believed the whole thing had “become some kind of social phenomenon.”

One of the main reasons he likes Clarkson’s Farm’s program is because he believes it “teaches people how farming actually works.”

Fans of the first Jeremy Clarkson show on Prime – “The Grand Tour” – will be able to enjoy a familiar sight with the show tent now in a marquee in the garden.

Right next door, metal sculptor Christopher Townsend watched from his workshop as hundreds of cars streamed into the crowded parking lot.

“It’s usually pretty quiet here,” he said, “just me, my two neighbors and the occasional farmer who comes by for a cup of tea. So everything is a bit different.”

He is positive about the change and said he welcomed Jeremy Clarkson and his television production team into his workshop over the summer when the pub was being refurbished.

Christopher has even been inspired creatively by his celebrity neighbors, who have forged a metal sculpture called “The Farmer’s Tree” for them, with the names of the show’s stars – including animals – engraved on the leaves. He plans to give it to them soon.

He hopes the crowds flocking to the pub will benefit his own business, but in the longer term he is concerned about parking, which has already been a problem at the Diddly Squat Farm Shop.

“It seems like they did their homework thanks to Diddly Squat, but who knows.”

In the nearby village of Minster Lovell, it was difficult to find people who were not excited about the pub’s opening.

“Everyone seems to like the idea,” said musician Des. “It’s just good to have another venue open because there are so many pubs that are closed.”

“Good luck to the guy,” said villager Adrian, who felt the pub would be a positive addition to the area and could mean “a bit of business for the local farmers.”

Some residents have expressed concerns online about potential traffic problems in the area, as the pub is located on the busy A40.

One Facebook user said: “The traffic is worrying me though. I stopped by the farm shop at the weekend and it was total chaos.”

Another wrote: “On the A40, three lanes might be needed for the traffic jams and parked cars.”

On the pub’s opening day, however, patrons had little to criticise. Many praised the organisation, which involved staff directing cars into a large overflow car park.

Ahead of the opening, Mr Clarkson posted on X (formerly Twitter) thanking Oxfordshire County Council for their help with traffic and parking, which enabled him to open the pub so soon after purchasing it.

Since he stopped entertaining car enthusiasts and started bringing the problems facing British farmers to the attention of the world, millions of people have seen a different side of Clarkson, who has long been known for his outspoken nature and controversial nature, such as Comments on Meghan Markle or deleted from Top Gear.

At Clarkson’s farm, he showed interest in doing everything in his power to make his operation environmentally sound and was visibly dismayed when piglets were accidentally killed by their mothers.

But despite the success of the show, running the farm was anything but an easy undertaking.

There have been well-documented disputes with West Oxfordshire District Council over the development of a farm shop, a short-lived restaurant on the premises And the parking saga.

Two people who are against some of the developments even received death threats.

Of course, there were also the more usual problems in farming, such as razor-thin profit margins, the impact of bad weather on crops and difficulties in managing livestock.

Despite all its problems, Clarkson’s Farm has been praised for showing the public the reality of British farming.

“The show has made people more aware of what the farmers go through,” Andy Barr, a pig farmerpreviously told the BBC.

“I think a lot of it is true. It shows a lot of the stress.”

Mr Clarkson is even credited with being responsible for the huge increase in membership of the Norfolk Federation of Young Farmers, such is the appeal of the programme.

While the beginning of The Farmer’s Dog is a fascinating chapter on Clarkson’s Farm on Prime Video, as many publicans across the UK can attest, the pub trade has become notoriously difficult in recent years.

Jeremy Clarkson himself already sees the challenges ahead as a given, not least because he only wants to serve food and drinks from Great Britain in his pub in the future.

He admitted he had “not drawn up a business plan” and claimed that it was more expensive to sell pork from his own pigs in the pub than to buy it abroad.

However, a video posted by Mr Clarkson to his 8 million Instagram followers showed a busy bar with many people queuing for drinks, with prices for pints starting at £5.50.

Throughout the day, a steady stream of visitors lined the paths to the Farmer’s Dog.

When they returned to their cars, many had their arms full of Clarkson products.