Cotswolds locals have warned JD Vance he will have ‘nowhere to park’ as the US Vice President prepares for a family get away in their market town.
In recent weeks, Charlbury has seen many high profile guests, including Kamala Harris who visited during Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve’s wedding.
But despite being accustomed to star-studded visitors, the arrival of Donald Trump‘s right-hand man has caused a stir among locals.
Many have even placed guesses on where he will stay, with guesses including Grade II listed estate Lee Place, built in 1640 with links to the historic Blenheim Palace.
Other believe he will holiday in a mansion owned by the billionaire Bamford family, while some predict he will need the security offered by the nearby Cornbury Park.
But choice of accommodation isn’t the main worry Vance should have on his visit to the Costwolds town, locals say.
Many say his biggest problem will be navigating the narrow streets and finding suitable parking for his large motorcade and security team.
Neighbouring Clarkson’s Farm, Charlbury is the ‘checkpoint Charlie’ of the sprawling Cotswolds, the town’s vicar said.
Fergus Butler-Gallie, 33, 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.
JD Vance, his wife Usha Vance, daughter Mirabel and sons Ewan (L) and Vivek pose during their tour at the Taj Mahal earlier this year
Cotswolds locals have warned JD Vance he will have ‘nowhere to park’ as the US Vice President prepares for a family getaway in their market town
A local business owner in Charlbury said the high profile American family’s visit was the ‘talk of the town’
‘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.’
He says tourists often arrive having now idea where they are, assuming ‘ 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,’ he added.
Currently cars are parked on both sides of the narrow streets, with residents saying the market town becomes very easily congested.
And the parking chaos becomes worse during the summer season, when tourists come through the town to and from festivals and countryside retreats.
To add to traffic woes, the only way of moving around the town centre for the last decade has been one-way system, according to locals.
In recent weeks, Charlbury has seen many high profile guests, including Kamala Harris who visited during Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve’s wedding
The town’s vicar, Fergus Butler-Gallie (pictured left) described the town as the ‘checkpoint Charlie’ of the sprawling Cotswolds (Pictured right: Local resident Zena McGreavy)
The Vice-President’s wife Usha discovered the country cottage they’re expected to settle in after visiting London in mid-August, the Telegraph reported
‘I hope his visit goes well,’ Mark Jones (pictured) said of JD Vance’s visit. ‘I haven’t heard anything about protests – and I wouldn’t join them, either.
A local business owner said the high profile American family’s visit was the ‘talk of the town’.
‘They’ve locked our local website forum so people can’t say any more about it,’ they said. ‘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.’
Elizabeth Sparks, a local secondary school cover teacher who has lived in the area for 16 years, said she too was mainly worried about the cars that came with the VP.
‘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.’
The Vice-President’s wife Usha discovered the country cottage they’re expected to settle in after visiting London in mid-August, the Telegraph reported.
An aerial view of the star-studded Cotswolds town of Chalbury
Charlbury is home to The Bull Inn, recently named Britain’s best pub – and the venue of an A-list party ahead of the wedding of Apple heiress Eve Jobs to Olympian Harry Charles
Many have even placed guesses on where he will stay, with guesses including Grade II listed estate Lee Place, built in 1640 with links to the historic Blenheim Palace
The Cotswolds town is one of the most popular destinations in the increasingly A-List area (pictured: Cornbury Park, a 5000-acre estate bordering on the town)
Mr Vance has endured a turbulent first 200 days as Vice-President of the United States
Mark Jones, a 67-year-old retired programme volunteer, said the town has a ‘strong community’ interest.
‘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.
‘I hope his visit goes well,’ he said. ‘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.’
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.’
