Jeremy Clarkson’s pub opening sees jump in nearby property searches

A spike in searches for homes near Jeremy Clarkson’s new pub has been recorded by property website Rightmove.

The pub in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire, reopened to the public on August 23 after being renamed The Farmer’s Dog.

Hundreds of people queued to wait for the doors to open on the first day of trading.

Rightmove said that August 24, the day after the pub’s opening, saw the highest number of searches for homes for sale in Burford in more than a year.

Across the pub’s first bank holiday weekend, the number of searches for homes for sale in Burford was 63% higher than the same period a year ago, the website said.

Pubgoers hoping to live close to Clarkson’s new business venture will typically need to have around half a million pounds available to them because the average asking price in the Burford postcode area is £537,827.

Clarkson recently described the impact of his new pub on British farming as a “tiny pinprick”, but added: “If everyone does it, if all the farmers get together and buy a pub – as you can get a pub for chicken feed these days – it might work.

“If this works – it is a co-operative of farmers we have formed – it might work, it might not, I’m the trailblazer.”

It is not the first time that Clarkson’s ventures appear to have inspired property searches.

The launch of series one and series two of Clarkson’s Farm led to a spike in searches for Chadlington, in the area where the programme is set, Rightmove said.

Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister said: “The Cotswolds will always inspire people to search and explore what living in one of its many areas of beauties could be like, and Jeremy Clarkson’s ventures have added further intrigue.”

Reflecting on the final episode of the Grand Tour last week, Clarkson said: “I think it was emotional, but the weird thing is… who am I saying goodbye to because we use exactly the same crews and producers on the farm show as we do on the cars show?

“So I basically said, ‘well, that’s it everyone, see you Monday on the farm’.”

Asked if he will miss May and Hammond, he said: “I can see them whenever I want.”

Considering whether they might make a trip to his pub, he said: “James probably won’t, but Richard will.

“I talked to Richard only yesterday. We’re mates and we’ll still see them.

“We couldn’t possibly have imagined we’d be together 22 years when we started out.

“And so it’s a wrench, thinking, ‘God, we’re never going to do that again’.

“But by the same token, I don’t have to go through Terminal 5 (of Heathrow airport) quite so often.”