Jeremy Clarkson has officially opened his new pub to punters - but it hasn't been without some difficulty for the presenter.
The former Top Gear star took over a boozer in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire, renaming it The Farmer's Dog. Hundreds of fans queued for hours on Friday to get inside the new venture, of which the telly star admitted he was winging.
As people filed into the former Windmill pub, Clarkson said selling British-only produce was expensive and "doubted" it would turn a profit. "I'm not very good at business plans and I haven't done one," he told reporters.
"I do know this. If I take one of our pigs and we slaughter it and butcher it and we turn it into sausages and we sell it here, it costs us 74p. If I buy imported pig meat, it is 18p. So, something is wrong with the food system in this country."
Here, the Mirror takes a look at some of the obstacles Clarkson has had to overcome ahead of the highly-anticipated opening...
'Dogging site' discovery
The presenter said he paid "less than £1 million" for The Windmill, which is nestled in five acres of countryside. The pub has an interesting history with the 64-year-old revealing that it is indeed built on a former hotspot for dogging.
The star posted a short clip on his Instagram last month sharing his shock revelation with his 8.3million followers. In the video, he said: "Tell me you bought a pub on a dogging site without telling me you bought a pub on a dogging site."
In the clip, Jeremy can be seen holding up a pair of women's underwear with a twig, with a disgusted expression on his face. In just over three hours, the video amassed more than 110,000 likes and over 1,000 comments.
His fans saw the funny side, with one commenting: "Rename the pub The Dog Inn", another wrote: "Bet that was left there as a cruel joke by James May", while a third said: "This is terrible! Please tell me the exact location, time and dates, so I know to avoid missing it."
Former owner Jackie Walker, 79, who is said to have opened the pub with her late husband Alan Walker in 1983, reportedly hadn't put it on the market and was surprised to be told of Jeremy's interest which "accelerated into a finalised deal within minutes of their meeting". She told the outlet that a film crew came into the pub and the "next thing" she knew, someone with Jeremy knocked on the door and asked if she was interested in selling it.
Jackie said that she stepped away from pulling pints in 2013 when her husband Alan died, aged 73. She then allowed leaseholders to continue its operation. Jeremy reportedly bought out the remaining five years on that lease from husband and wife leaseholders Barry and Vanessa Eason when he signed the dotted line.
Traffic concerns
Clarkson has faced pushback over the years from locals in the West Oxfordshire area when he has tried to expand his Diddly Squat farm project, which features in his hit Amazon series Clarkson's Farm. Taking to social media one resident wrote: "I'm delighted he's breathing some new life into that pub, 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 viz told us the queue was over two hours. I've been before on a busy day, but this was insane." Another wrote: "Might need three lanes on the A40 for the queuing cars and parked cars."
Just before the fanfare pub opening came, Clarkson had a bit of a spat with Oxfordshire County Council, who predicted traffic issues from the busy adjacent A40. Liam Walker, county councillor for the Hanborough and Minster Lovell Division on Oxfordshire County Council, let his concerns be known prior to the grand opening.
In an online statement, Mr Walker said: "Earlier today I had a meeting with our highways team to discuss the opening of Jeremy Clarkson's new pub in a few weeks time. Many will know I've been hugely supportive of Jeremy's work not just for the farming community but for his boost to the local economy in West Oxfordshire.
"This latest venture will no doubt be a huge success however I feel the county council needs to ensure lessons have been learnt from the farm shop particularly around the problematic verge parking. The pub location is not the same as the farm shop due to its location right next to a very busy and fast A40.
"The speed limit around the roundabout is going to be dropped from 60mph to 40mph and work is currently ongoing to improve bus connections by installing new bus stops and paths." Mr Walker, also a district councillor for the Hailey, Minster Lovell and Leafield ward on West Oxfordshire District Council, also expressed concerns about the parking.
He added: "I have asked our team to investigate getting double yellows in place for the immediate area around the pub along with exploring the closure of the lay-by over the road... There seems to be a reluctance to do both these things and I know the Clarkson team are exploring the option to have a nearby field as another car park but this has yet to be confirmed."
But in a follow-up statement published on Thursday, Mr Walker said Clarkson had his full support for the new venture as it would be a boost to the local economy. 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 Mr 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 said.
They added: "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.
"Whilst 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 said motorists were being asked to only use designated off-highway car parks and not park on the roads or verges nearby. "Parking will be monitored, and if necessary, controls may be imposed in the future," the spokesman said.
They continued: "The layby located on the A40 opposite the pub will be temporarily closed as a precautionary safety measure to prevent its use by those visiting the pub who would then need to have crossed the busy A40 on foot. Consideration is being given to a reduction in the speed limit from the existing 60mph, to 40mph to improve safety on each of the approaches to the A40 roundabout, including that of the B4047."
Clarkson even thanked the council for "all their help" ahead of the opening on Friday. In a post on X on Thursday evening, he wrote: "Credit where credit is due. Our new pub opens tomorrow and this might sound odd but I'd like to thank Oxfordshire County Council for all their help. We couldn't have done it so fast without you."
Opening up about the location of his new pub at the opening, Clarkson said: "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 villagers to p*ss off here. There's no-one to annoy. It's a good spot." Addressing the concerns, he added: "The main thing everyone has been saying is that we will cause traffic chaos.
"We've worked so hard to make sure we can park as many cars as we need to. The traffic is flowing brilliantly. The council have learned their lessons and they have been really helpful."
Mixed reviews
Overall, the months of planning and preparation from Jeremy and the team massively paid off, with the large majority of visitors leaving glowing reviews rating it five stars. On Google a total of 84 reviews have been left at the time of publication, ranging from five stars to one star.
One punter wrote: "The greatest pub in the world," while another wrote: "Beautiful building, tasteful decor. Stunning views. Lovely people. Marvellous food." A third wrote: "Great location, great selection of British produce and beer. Would highly recommend."
However, some visitors were less than impressed with Jeremy's new pub with most one star reviews mentioning the high prices and parking issues. One review read: "Car park was a churned up muddy mess on day 2. I think the whole place is work in progress and should be better when it's finished. The Sausage and Mash portion is tiny and overpriced. Production line food which it has to be to cope with the sheer number of customers. Not for me but each to his own."
Another review read: "Great idea and love the plan behind it. Disappointing to go and not find a single vegan option though. All for backing British farmers, but let's go forwards rather than backwards. We grow some of the finest produce which can create incredible vegan dishes." A third wrote: "The prices are extremely high. 14-15 pound for a small burger on a takeaway plate with no sides is quite pricey."
