Jeremy Clarkson has revealed how he beat the hosepipe ban at his Oxfordshire pub, The Farmer's Dog, by drilling a private borehole. The TV presenter, whose pub is near Burford, said the method is completely legal because the water does not come from the public treated mains network.
Aerial pictures showed the grass outside the pub looking suspiciously green compared to surrounding fields. The UK has faced a punishing summer with five heatwaves and months without rainfall, plunging around 70% of the nation into drought conditions.
How the borehole works
A borehole is drilled deep into the ground to access natural groundwater. Once drilled, cased and fitted with an electric pump, people can connect a garden hose to the system without breaking drought conditions. Clarkson suggested that singer Sir Rod Stewart might have used the same tactic at his Essex mansion.
Writing in his newspaper column, Clarkson said: "An aerial photograph of the lush green lawns outside Sir Rod Stewart's sprawling mansion in Essex prompted the nation's bitter people to ask: 'How did you manage that, mate, when there's a hosepipe ban in force?' Well, let's think. Could it be, perhaps, that Rod, here with wife Penny, probably has a borehole. It's not a difficult concept to get your head round. That's what we did at my pub, which is why the lawns are also weirdly verdant."
Hosepipe bans across England and Wales
A staggering 10 companies have initiated hosepipe bans in England and Wales this summer, including Wessex Water for the first time in 50 years. Thames Water covers the area where Clarkson's pub is situated. A borehole is one of many ways individuals and business owners can try to circumnavigate a hosepipe ban, but it is not cheap, costing tens of thousands of pounds to install.
Clarkson bought The Farmer's Dog, formerly called The Windmill, in 2024. It is situated next to the Asthall barrow roundabout on the A40. After extensive refurbishments, it reopened to huge queues in August of that year with hundreds of people lining up. Clarkson bought the pub, which features extensively on Clarkson's Farm, for less than £1million.
Pub remains popular
The pub is still proving popular, enjoying a Tripadvisor rating of 4.3 out of five from almost 1,500 reviews. It relies solely on British produce and is open from Tuesdays through to Saturdays every week.
