{"id":201807,"date":"2025-06-21T06:04:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-21T06:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/201807\/"},"modified":"2025-06-21T06:04:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-21T06:04:16","slug":"i-visited-jeremy-clarksons-farm-shop-an-hour-from-birmingham-i-took-one-look-and-made-instant-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/201807\/","title":{"rendered":"I visited Jeremy Clarkson’s farm shop an hour from Birmingham \u2014 I took one look and made instant decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop has become a major tourist attraction just an hour south of Birmingham, attracting thousands of fans every day<\/p>\n

Steffan Rhys<\/strong> Deputy Content Hub Director<\/p>\n

06:41, 21 Jun 2025<\/p>\n

\"Steffan<\/p>\n

Steffan is Reach PLC’s Deputy Content Hub Director. He is also Reach’s Head of Spare Time. He writes, edits and oversees content across Reach’s large portfolio of websites, including some of the UK’s largest national news websites like the Mirror and Express to its biggest regional websites like WalesOnline, the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo. <\/p>\n

He covers everything from food, cooking and recipes to gardening, cleaning and DIY hacks to travel and places to go both inside the UK and abroad. He is particularly interested in healthy eating and ultra-processed food, as well as amazing places to go within the UK (he knows a lot about Wales). He also loves discovering and writing about pubs, restaurants, beaches and historic places to visit. <\/p>\n

He has won several awards, including Story of the Year at the Wales Media Awards for his work on a 50th anniversary tribute to the Aberfan disaster, as well as Website of the Year and Digital Initiative of the Year at the Regional Press Awards and News Website of the Year several times at the Wales Media Awards. He has been shortlisted for several more awards, including Online Editor of the Year at the Online Media Awards. He has also spoken at events, including most recently at the Welsh Crucible where he advised researchers on engaging with the media.<\/p>\n

If you think you have a story, get in touch by emailing steffan.rhys@reachplc.com<\/p>\n

He is a Welsh speaker who grew up in Carmarthenshire, joined Reach in 2006 and has worked in our Pontypridd, Bridgend, Carmarthen, London and Cardiff offices. He grew up supporting the Scarlets in rugby and Liverpool in football, and now cycles and runs to keep fit. <\/p>\n

\"SteffanI visited Jeremy Clarkson’s farm shop an hour from Birmingham \u2014 I took one look and made instant decision(Image: Steffan Rhys)<\/p>\n

Clarkson’s Farm shatters Amazon Prime Video’s ratings records with each new release. The current series, the fourth one, has been its most viewed so far, boasting an average of 4.4 million viewers per episode.<\/p>\n

This makes it Amazon Prime Video’s top show, with viewer numbers on the rise again since the third series. A fifth series is already in the pipeline, set to premiere in 2026. In terms of ratings, the show is essentially competing with itself \u2014 no other Amazon Prime Video programme has come close in the past two or three years, reports Wales Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reasons for its popularity are clear. It’s a mix of humour, emotion, charm and, naturally, it’s led by the man who made Top Gear and The Grand Tour such massive hits for decades.<\/p>\n

But beyond knowing how to create a successful TV show (which is presumably even simpler when backed by one of the world’s largest and wealthiest companies), it’s Jeremy Clarkson’s warmth, enthusiasm, and readiness to learn and acknowledge errors that truly sets it apart (alongside all the ribbing he receives from his sidekick and rising star Kaleb Cooper).<\/p>\n

He’s certainly boosted the profile of British farming and highlighted the constant hurdles they face \u2014 from unpredictable weather to the eye-watering cost of tractors, not to mention how fertiliser prices can skyrocket by thousands in a blink of an eye. It appears that farmers are thankful for the spotlight too, with one reportedly stating that Clarkson has “done more for farmers in one series of Clarkson’s Farm than Countryfile achieved in 30 years”.<\/p>\n

I came late to the Clarkson’s Farm craze but am now devouring all four series at a pace of about one per day. I’m absolutely hooked; it’s become the best part of my day.<\/p>\n

My visit to Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog<\/a>, was nothing short of splendid<\/a>, from strolling through the bustling beer garden with its stunning views of the Oxfordshire countryside to savouring a scrumptious Sunday roast and experiencing impeccable service.<\/p>\n

I was eager to check out the Diddly Squat farm shop, a pivotal part of the Clarkson’s Farm series with Clarkson’s run-ins with West Oxfordshire District Council, his attempts at flogging \u00a310 cartons of almost-spoiled nettle soup, or Lisa Hogan selling Chinese-made garments despite the rule that all items on sale must be from within 16 miles ofd the shop. In one of the show’s funniest scenes, land agent Charlie Ireland is taken aback by marmalade on the shelf and fumbles: “But we don’t grow oranges!”<\/p>\n

\"AKeep off the grass \u2014 and make sure you watch series four of Clarkson’s Farm!(Image: Steffan Rhys)<\/p>\n

The farm shop is situated about 12 miles northeast of The Farmer’s Dog, just below Chipping Norton. Early episodes of Clarkson’s Farm indicate local council bods and neighbours were narked by the hordes descending on the shop, leading to jam-packed roads and vehicles parked willy-nilly on grassy verges. I braced myself for chaos \u2014 and it was indeed heaving.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival by car (though you could also hop off at the specially designated Diddly Squat bus stop), we were marshalled by stewards clad in high-visibility jackets to a sizeable field parking area where, despite a sea of cars, securing a spot was surprisingly smooth sailing (even the traffic on approach proved no more than a brief wait).<\/p>\n

\"TheThe large and busy car park across the road from Diddly Squat Farm Shop\"TheThe purpose-built pavement helping people cross from the car park to the farm shop<\/p>\n

Once parked, it was a brief stroll across the road to the farm shop, undoubtedly the most frequented farm shop in the country. It appeared that new, purpose-built pavements had been installed on both sides of the road, a sensible move considering this once-deserted country lane now sees thousands of visitors daily.<\/p>\n

\"DiddlyDiddly Squat Farm Shop has its own dedicated bus stop<\/p>\n

Already, hundreds of people were bustling about, eagerly waiting to snap a selfie near the shop sign, queueing for a Hawkstone beer or grub from the resident food van, or relaxing on one of the many wooden picnic benches. However, upon seeing the queue for the quaintly small farm shop (much smaller than I anticipated), I instantly decided not to join it.<\/p>\n

\"TheI took one look at the queue for the farm shop itself and decided I wasn’t going to join it\"PeopleThe farm shop itself is tiny and somehow far smaller than I was expecting<\/p>\n

The queue was enormous and I believe I overheard someone mention they’d already been waiting an hour. I would have relished the chance to see all the products on offer in person \u2014 luckily, you can purchase loads of them at the large shop adjacent to The Farmer’s Dog<\/a> with barely any queue at all and I left there with some Bee Juice honey (\u00a312) and a crate of Hawkstone lager (\u00a328 for 12 bottles).<\/p>\n

\"QUeuesNobody seemed to mind the long wait to get into the farm shop \u2014 everyone just seemed thrilled to be there\"PeopleIf you don’t fancy the queue for the farm shop you can grab a bite to eat from a food van outside and sit at one of the many outdoor tables\"PeopleYou can also grab a pint from Clarkson’s Hawkstone range<\/p>\n

Much like the pub, it seemed everyone was delighted to be there and I left with fond thoughts of the phenomenon Jeremy Clarkson and his team have created in this tranquil corner of the country. While I may not have stepped foot in the shop itself, I’m still very pleased I dropped by.<\/p>\n

\"SteffanI visited Jeremy Clarkson\u2019s farm shop \u2014 I took one look and made an instant decisionWhat’s on offer at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop?<\/p>\n

As well as its fresh produce, the food from the on-site food van and Hawkstone beers, here’s a selection of goods you can buy at the farm shop.<\/p>\n