Jeremy Clarkson has encountered an unexpected issue after purchasing a Cotswolds pub for £1 million.
The Grand Tour star, whose show Clarkson’s Farm is one of Prime Video’s most popular series, bought the pub following the success of his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat farm and shop, managed by his wife, Lisa Hogan.
Clarkson initially bought the farm in 2008 and took over its operation in 2019 when the previous manager retired. In July, it was announced that the 64-year-old would expand his ventures by acquiring The Windmill, a rural country pub in Asthall, located on five acres of countryside near Burford.
However, Clarkson has openly admitted that the area around the Oxfordshire pub is known for attracting people who engage in sexual activities in semi-secluded public spots.
Taking to Instagram, the Prime Video star could be seen, outside the pub, holding up a pair of black and pink knickers hanging off the end of a stick.
He wrote: “Tell me you bought a pub on a dogging site without telling me you bought a pub on a dogging site.”
Clarkson previously expressed his surprise that the West Oxfordshire district council approved his plans to turn the site which is "full of dead rats," into a "fun" village pub.
The TV star anticipates that the pub won't open until winter, as it will host a young couple's wedding reception this summer and requires extensive repairs. Renovations are to begin soon and the former Top Gear host expects to be up and running by Christmas.
Clarkson is also producing a TV series documenting his journey to becoming a pub landlord, similar to how Clarkson’s Farm chronicles his experiences running the Diddly Squat farm.
The business venture follows failed attempts to open a restaurant as part of his 1,000 acre farm, called Diddly Squat, and made famous thanks to his wildly popular Amazon Prime series Clarkson’s Farm.
Clarkson revealed plans to run a “village boozer” inspired by 1970s Yorkshire in his Sunday Times column, and highlighted the importance of the pub trade in Britain.
He wrote that the trade is dying and that pubs are closing at the rate of around a thousand a year. After a lengthy search, he found one he deemed suitable.
“I’ve bought a pub. The first pub I looked at had a great deal of appeal. It was a 400-year-old coaching inn that in recent years had been an Indian restaurant and then a county lines meth lab. But it needed too much work. There was even a slug in the Britvic fizzy drinks dispenser. So I went on the hunt for an alternative.”
Clarkson paid almost £1 million for the property, provisionally named the Clarkson’s Arms.
