Jeremy Clarkson has been left red-faced after discovering his new Cotswolds pub in a quiet village is on a dogging hotspot.
The Clarkson’s Farm star, 64, paid ‘less than £1 million’ for The Windmill, an elegant and highly rated establishment near Burford, where he hopes to set up a new venture with all-British ingredients and bar games.
He had claimed the site was previously ‘a famous dogging site’ and it now appears the former Top Gear host has some proof people may still be using it for some pastime pleasure.
In a clip posted to his 8.4million Instagram followers last night, Clarkson stands in the calm Oxfordshire surroundings and briefly looks up before staring down the lens and saying: ‘Tell me you’ve bought a pub on a dogging site without telling me you’ve bought a pub on a dogging site.’
He then slowly moves his hand into view and raises his eyebrows as he shows him dangling a pair of black lacy knickers on a stick.
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One person told him to rename the pub The Dog Inn while another joked if his friend and Grand Tour co-host Richard Hammond had left it behind.
A third recounted her own story about an unsuspected discovery in the attic of some cottages she had bought.
‘We bought some cottages and found a bunch of sex toys in the attic,’ she wrote.
‘Since then many people have stopped by to tell us they lived there. You don’t know how difficult it is to not ask them if the sex toys belonged to them. Hilarious good luck with the pub! Hope you film it as I’m sure it will be hilarious.’
The dilapidated wedding venue is set to be totally transformed by the Grand Tour host.
The disruption caused by Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chadlington has attracted some criticism from neighbours, but the inhabitants of nearby Asthall have so far given Clarkson’s big plans the benefit of the doubt.
Although, it is not the locals he will need to win over, as the former Top Gear host will need to avoid causing any further upsets with West Oxfordshire District Council, who the star has had a painstaking relationship with for the last few years.
Clarkson first clashed with the local council soon after he opened his farm shop which later caused congestion on the roads due to its popularity, while most recently he was forced to close his own restaurant for breaching planning rules.
Tom Walker, 51, who farms livestock and arable, was confident Clarkson’s arrival would buoy the local farming community.
‘He’s already spoken to some of the farmers and talked about using their produce,’ Tom said, adding: ‘I think he does a lot of good for farming.’
Tom, who runs the farm with his cousin John, had reservations about the influx of people.
He said: ‘I am worried about the traffic – they will hopefully come off the main road.
‘I think it will do more good than harm.’
Neighbour Derek Netherton, 79, who rents out an Airbnb in the village, was also optimistic about The Windmill’s new owner.
He said: ‘We are excited for the extra custom, but we’re apprehensive about the noise.
‘With a bit of luck the traffic will stay on the A40, as the roads are very narrow.’
Derek said he had watched Clarkson’s Farm, which he praised for being very good for farmers.
In the Sunday Times, Clarkson spoke of The Windmill’s grounds as previously being ‘a famous dogging site’.
Derek added his understanding that the area had been used for underground bare knuckle boxing fights.
