Jeremy Clarkson reopens his Diddly Squat Farm shop after council warning about ‘dangerous’ parking amid fears of influx of fans of Amazon show

• Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop reopened today for the first time this year
• The number of visitors appeared to be fewer than usual and prices had risen 

Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘Diddly Squat Farm Shop’ reopened today with higher prices – but appeared quieter than in recent times.

Clarkson, 62, closed the store after he caused outrage over his comments over Meghan Markle – but opened its doors again to mark the launch of the second series of his Amazon show.

Visitor numbers were visibly down but figures show the store has raised its prices over the last two years – and is hundreds of per cent higher than high street supermarkets like Aldi.

Today a small queue of 14 visitors mostly from London and the South East braved the cold temperatures as the shop was opened.

It is a far car from the massive crowds and tails of cars which flooded the farm last year and regularly annoyed locals.

Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop reopened today with higher prices – but appeared quieter

Council officials have also warned Jeremy Clarkson fans not to cause any traffic chaos by parking near the TV star’s Diddly Squat Farm

Prices at the farm are also up, with the price of a large loaf of sourdough bread now standing at just under £6.

A box of eggs costs £3.20, while milk from Clarkson’s ‘cow juice’ milk dispenser now costs £1.20 – all up on 2021 prices.

The first customers to pay at the counter this morning spend £134 on just a handful of items.

Visitors, warmed by £2.50 small filter coffees, remarked that they were ‘surprised’ at how few people arrived – though by 10:30am the car park had become fuller.

Clarkson, 62, closed the store after he caused outrage over his comments – but opened its doors again to mark the launch of the second series of his Amazon show.

The farm shop has been a huge draw for Clarkson and had seen thousands of fans visit area

How Diddly Squat prices compare to last year 

Diddly Squat Farm Shop costs (Feb 2023)

Honey £15

Coffee £6.95

Eggs £3.20

Milk (Cow Juice) £1.20

Pesto £7.99

Sausages £4.50

Bread £5.95

Pork pie £3.50

Bacon £4.30

Diddly Squat Farm Shop costs (Oct 2021)

Honey £15

Coffee 200g: £6.96

‘Diddly eggs’: £2.90

‘Cow juice’: £1

Rocket pesto: £4.50

Unlike other launch days no queues had formed outside – which have previously been known to completely obstruct traffic into the village of Chadlington.

Ravi Aggarwal, 36, and his partner from London were one of the first people through the doors at the shop when it opened at 9:30am.

He said: ‘I’m a huge fan of the show, we’re just staying at a friends place just down the road so we thought while we were here we’d come and see the shop since it’s their first day back.

‘We thought there would be a lot more people actually, we got here really early thinking it’d be really busy – but maybe that will come later.

‘We just got some jams and some honey – along with a tea-towel for some memories.’

Another couple, posing for photographs in front of the ‘Diddly Squat Farmshop’ sign, said that they had nearly missed their chance to visit after booking a trip to The Cotswolds months ago.

Billy White, 32, and his wife Laura, 36, from Essex, said: ‘We had booked months ago to come and visit some friends just around the corner.

‘We had assumed that the shop would be open, but were quite disappointed when after we booked it we realized that the shop was closed.

‘When we heard that it was re-opening today, we just had to drop in on our way home.

‘We have come up here before and stopped in, but it was shut then too – so we were pleased to finally get to go inside.

‘I hadn’t realised that it had shut because of the Meghan Markle article – he does like getting himself into trouble doesn’t he.’

Julie Miller, from Southampton, dropped in this morning as an early 65th birthday treat with her husband.

The pair said that they had no issue with Clarkson’s comments and the closure, saying that the star ‘knew what he was saying’.

She said: ‘We’re dropping in to see our son this weekend, so we dropped in as a birthday treat for my birthday next Friday.

‘I’d be happier if Clarkson was here, but it’s still been nice to visit. We’ve got some mementos; some beer, a t-shirt, and a potato too.

‘You have to get a potato before you get a bag, so it was a good investment.

‘I have no issue with anything Clarkson wrote, he knows what he is saying and you cant stop him writing that – I certainly can’t.

‘He just says what he thinks most of the time and he often says what is in my head anyway, so I’m not bothered that he wrote it – especially as he’s apologized.’

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