What Is Jeremy Clarkson Pub? (Quick Answer)
Jeremy Clarkson pub is The Farmer's Dog, a traditional British inn in Asthall, near Burford in West Oxfordshire. Clarkson bought the building, formerly a run-down venue called The Windmill, for under £1 million in 2024. It reopened that August with one strict rule: every single item on the menu must be grown, reared, or produced in Britain.
Jeremy Clarkson pub has become one of the most talked-about openings in British hospitality. What started as a side plot on Clarkson’s Farm is now a genuine Cotswolds tourist destination in its own right.
Fans travel from across the UK to eat, drink, and maybe spot Clarkson himself behind the bar. Below, we cover everything about the pub: its location, its menu, its finances, and the story behind its unusual name.
Where Is The Farmer’s Dog? Location and How to Visit
The Farmer’s Dog sits right on the A40 road, at the Asthall Barrow roundabout near Burford in West Oxfordshire (postcode OX18 4HJ). It’s roughly a 20-minute drive from Clarkson’s original Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chadlington.
Here’s how to plan a visit:
- Check ahead for restaurant bookings. The formal dining room requires advance reservations, and it books up quickly.
- Head to the outdoor area if you’re walking in. The Farmer’s Puppy marquee and bar don’t require a booking.
- Budget for parking. The pub charges for parking due to the volume of visitors.
- Bring cash for the farm shop and butcher. Hops & Chops and the on-site Diddly Squat outpost sell takeaway meat and merchandise.
- Go early or late to beat the crowds. Weekends and school holidays draw the biggest queues.
Because of the pub’s popularity, parking and traffic have become a genuine operational challenge. Clarkson has previously said he deliberately chose this site, rather than a spot closer to the farm, to avoid overwhelming a small village with visitor traffic.
The History of the Building: From 15th-Century Barn to The Windmill
The building itself is far older than Clarkson’s ownership. It started life as a 15th-century barn attached to a large local farm.
During the Second World War, the barn was used as a soup kitchen by the Mitford sisters. In 1983, owners Alan and Jackie Walker converted it into a pub and restaurant, naming it The Windmill.
The Windmill later became a popular wedding and banqueting venue, holding a four-star TripAdvisor rating at one point. However, after Alan Walker died in 2013, the business was leased to tenants and eventually abandoned.
By the time Clarkson found it, the site had sat empty for years. He purchased it in 2024 and began an extensive renovation, which was documented in season four of Clarkson’s Farm.
Why Is It Called The Farmer Dog? The Name’s Surprising Origin
The name has a cheekier backstory than most visitors expect. While reviewing legal paperwork for the purchase, Clarkson discovered that the pub’s grounds were officially designated by the local council as a “picnic site” — but had a long-standing local reputation as a “dogging” spot, a British term for outdoor sexual activity in public places.
Clarkson found the discovery both baffling and funny, and later shared an Instagram video showing evidence of the site’s unofficial reputation. The pub’s name is widely understood as a wry nod to that history, playing on the word “dogging” itself.
The joke didn’t stop there. Fellow Grand Tour presenter James May, who owns his own pub called The Royal Oak, later added a dog-friendly menu to his venue as a light-hearted response to Clarkson’s wordplay — continuing the pair’s long-running on-screen rivalry.
What’s on the Menu at Jeremy Clarkson Pub?
The single defining rule at The Farmer Dog is that every ingredient must be British. That means no black pepper, no avocado, no Coca-Cola, and no branded ketchup, since none of these are commercially produced in the UK.
Popular menu items include:
- Steak pie with Hawkstone gravy
- Sausage and mash
- Lancashire hotpot
- Gammon with local eggs
- A Sunday carvery
- British-grown vegetarian dishes using seasonal produce
Even the cooking oils and dairy are sourced from British farms. The pub’s own Hawkstone Lager, Cider, and IPA — brewed using barley grown at Diddly Squat and neighbouring farms — are on tap and technically compliant with the British-only rule, since Clarkson owns the brewery himself.
Here’s how Farmer’s Dog pricing compares with other pubs in the area, based on Clarkson’s own benchmarking exercise against local competitors:
| Item | The Farmer’s Dog | Local Average | The Bull, Charlbury (Top 50 Gastropub) |
| Chicken liver parfait starter | £9.50 | £12.50 | ~£15 |
| Main course (pie, roast, etc.) | £15–£24 | Varies | Higher-end |
| Pint of beer | From £5.50–£5.75 | Varies | Varies |
Note: Prices are as reported by Clarkson and hospitality trade press and may have changed since publication.
Despite its premium ingredients-only approach, Clarkson has publicly argued that The Farmer’s Dog is actually one of the cheaper options in its part of the Cotswolds.
Beyond the Bar: The Farmer’s Puppy, Hops & Chops and the Farm Shop
The Farmer’s Dog isn’t just a single building. Clarkson has expanded the site into what’s often described as a “whole day out.”
- The Farmer’s Puppy — an outdoor bar and kitchen housed in the black-and-white marquee originally used for filming The Grand Tour. It offers a more casual, festival-style atmosphere and doesn’t require a booking.
- Hops & Chops — an on-site butcher shop selling British-reared meat, plus bottles of Hawkstone to take home.
- A satellite Diddly Squat Farm Shop — a smaller outpost of Clarkson’s original farm shop in Chadlington, selling merchandise and produce.
A £20,000 chrome tractor, a gift from fellow presenter Richard Hammond, hangs from the ceiling inside the main pub building. During summer months, the outdoor seating offers panoramic views across the Windrush Valley, adding to the pub’s appeal as a Cotswolds day-trip destination.
Is Jeremy Clarkson Pub Actually Making Money?
Despite constant queues and a fully booked dining room, The Farmer’s Dog has struggled financially. Clarkson revealed that the pub posted a pre-tax loss of £8,486 in its first four months of trading.
According to his accountant, Charlie Ireland, the pub is essentially a victim of its own popularity. Running costs have been steep:
- £47,000 a month on parking attendants alone
- Roughly £100 a day on a generator, used as a stopgap while a permanent electricity grid upgrade (estimated at £200,000) is arranged
- Ongoing theft, including cooking oil, lightbulbs, pint glasses, and even urinal traps that had to be screwed into place
In 2025, Clarkson also said the business had been “swindled” out of £27,000 following a hacking incident, though he didn’t share full details of how it happened. He’s since said that selling his own Hawkstone lager and cider is the main thing keeping the pub out of the red.
More recently, in June 2026, Clarkson linked rising pint prices to a broader decline in pub culture, arguing that cheaper illegal drugs were pulling young people away from pubs. The comments came as part of wider industry concern: British Beer and Pub Association data from early 2025 found that around six pubs closed every week across the UK in 2024, costing roughly 4,500 jobs.
Banned From The Farmer’s Dog: Clarkson’s Pub Rules
Clarkson has developed a reputation for publicly banning people from his pub, usually via social media. Notable additions to the pub’s unofficial “banned list” include:
- Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Prime Minister
- James May, Clarkson’s former Top Gear and Grand Tour co-star
- A local resident who criticised the pub’s drinks selection
- A social media user who complained that a £24 pie and veg dish was overpriced
Most of these bans have been issued as jokes rather than serious policy, and they’ve become a recurring source of tabloid coverage since the pub opened.
Operationally, the pub has also faced real-world challenges beyond the jokes. In June 2026, Clarkson announced that the butcher’s counter at Hops & Chops would close for part of a week due to extreme heatwave temperatures. In July 2026, the pub closed briefly so Clarkson could host a staff party for the wider team, including parking attendants, bar staff, kitchen workers, and colleagues from Hawkstone Brewery.
How The Farmer’s Dog Compares to Other Celebrity Pubs
The Farmer’s Dog isn’t the only celebrity-owned pub in the Cotswolds area. Here’s a quick comparison with James May’s venue, its closest rival in terms of media attention.
| Feature | The Farmer’s Dog (Jeremy Clarkson) | The Royal Oak (James May) |
| Location | Asthall, near Burford, Oxfordshire | Wiltshire |
| Key USP | 100% British ingredients | Dog-friendly menu |
| Opened | August 2024 | Pre-existing, relaunched under May |
| Signature drink | Hawkstone Lager & Cider | N/A |
| TV tie-in | Clarkson’s Farm | N/A |
Both pubs benefit from their owners’ fame and their connection to The Grand Tour, but they’ve taken noticeably different approaches to standing out in a crowded market.
FAQs About Jeremy Clarkson Pub
Where is Jeremy Clarkson pub located?
The Farmer’s Dog is in Asthall, near Burford, West Oxfordshire, right on the A40 at the Asthall Barrow roundabout.
When did Jeremy Clarkson pub open?
It officially reopened as The Farmer’s Dog on 23 August 2024, after Clarkson bought the former Windmill pub earlier that year.
Why is it called The Farmer’s Dog?
The name references the council’s discovery that the pub’s grounds had a local reputation as a “dogging” site before Clarkson bought it.
Do you need a reservation for Jeremy Clarkson pub?
You need a booking for the main restaurant, but the outdoor Farmer’s Puppy bar and kitchen are walk-in only.
Is Jeremy Clarkson pub profitable?
As of its first trading period, the pub reported a pre-tax loss of over £8,000, despite being fully booked most days.
What can’t you order at The Farmer’s Dog?
Anything not grown or produced in Britain, including Coca-Cola, avocado, black pepper, and branded ketchup.
Conclusion
Jeremy Clarkson pub, The Farmer’s Dog, has grown from a chaotic Clarkson’s Farm subplot into one of the most recognisable pubs in Britain. Between its British-only menu, its unusual name, and its very public financial ups and downs, it’s easy to see why it keeps making headlines.
If you’re planning a Cotswolds trip, book ahead for the restaurant or just walk into The Farmer’s Puppy for a pint of Hawkstone. Visit Jeremy Clarkson pub, The Farmer’s Dog, in Asthall to see what all the fuss is about for yourself.
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