The expected arrival of Donald Trump’s unpopular deputy has caused a stir in Charlbury – with rumours rife among residents speculating on his choice of accommodation
Amused locals in a Cotswolds town where unpopular US Vice President JD Vance is planning a family holiday have warned he’ll have ‘nowhere to park’ – and believe he’ll stay in one of several stunning mansions.
The expected arrival of Donald Trump’s deputy has caused a stir in Charlbury – with rumours rife among residents speculating on his choice of accommodation. Some believe he might stay in Lee Place, a Grade II* estate in the area built in 1640 with old links to Blenheim Palace, or in a mansion owned by the billionaire Bamford family.
Others predict the VP will need the security and space offered by the nearby Cornbury Park, which will host Wilderness Festival this weekend. But all warned Vance his biggest problem will be navigating the narrow streets and finding suitable parking in and around the town during his expected stay in August.
Neighbouring Clarkson’s Farm, Charlbury is the ‘checkpoint Charlie’ of the sprawling Cotswolds, the town’s vicar said. The community often sees high-profile visitors – including Kamala Harris, who visited the local Bull pub last week during Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve’s wedding.
But news that Trump’s VP is expected to stay for a summer holiday in town has caused a stir among locals. Fergus Butler-Gallie, the town’s vicar who has lived in the area for 19 months, said: “I’m just hoping they bring us Al Gore and Dick Cheney next, we’ve almost completed the set.
“We get all sorts of people here – we’ve got Mr Clarkson up the road. It’s noticeably got busier in the time I’ve been here.” It’s nice to be visited, and it’s good the town can maintain two pubs and several shops. There are a lot of places like ours which wouldn’t be able to keep that up.
“We can, and of course that’s because of tourism. We do get a lot of tourists who have no idea where they are, really – they’ll come in and ask how to get to somewhere two counties across, because they seem to think the Cotswolds is some sort of theme park rather than a large region.
“But I suspect Mr Vance’s people will be pretty thoroughly briefed.” The 33-year-old clergyman heads the town’s community centre programme, where locals donate excess food and outgrown school uniforms for members of the community in need.
Mark Jones, a 67-year-old retired programme volunteer, said: “It’s a strong community in an interesting town. You get mostly locals during the week and lots of tourists coming from everywhere at the weekends. And there are lots of festivals every summer.
“There’s so much going on in the community. I hope his visit goes well. I haven’t heard anything about protests – and I wouldn’t join them, either. When Kamala Harris visited last week, it seemed to go very quietly. Hopefully the same will happen again.
The vice-president’s wife Usha found the country cottage they’re expected to settle in after visiting London in mid-August, the Telegraph reports. A local business owner said: “It’s the talk of the town. They’ve locked our local website forum so people can’t say any more about it.
“If they come into my shop, I won’t bat an eyelid. I serve my customers. I’m just worried about the parking, all those secret service cars! Good luck to him – getting round these roads is no joke. They’ll have some fun with these lanes, getting around in a big car.”
Currently cars are parked on both sides of the narrow streets, with residents saying Charlbury gets very easily congested – particularly during the summer season, when tourists come through the town to and from festivals and countryside retreats. A one-way system implemented for the last decade has been the only way of moving around the town centre, the locals added.
Elizabeth Sparks, a local secondary school cover teacher who has lived in the area for 16 years, said: “I’m not worried about people like that. I don’t really think about it. The only thing I’m worried about are the cars. The other day, the bus driver came into the pub and said, ‘who drives the car with this particular number plate? You need to move it.’ He couldn’t drive past.
“The bus gets stuck, it gets very hard to park. The residential parking makes that even harder – good luck to him.” Zena McGreavey, a 57-year-old exhibition officer at a museum in Oxford, has lived in the area for 18 months.
She said: “There does seem to be a lot happening around here nowadays. It’s surprising they find us – Charlbury is such a hidden gem. People are talking about it in The Bull pub, it’s caused a stir – but I don’t think people mind him coming. There was a bit of confusion about where he’s going to be staying, people want to know.”