Square & Compass, Worth Matravers

Back to the Isle of Purbeck, where I was on my way to the venerable Square & Compass, one of the famous five pubs to have appeared in every edition of the Good Beer Guide since 1974.

The Purbeck Breezer bus deposited me at a rural stop on the B3069 from where you can pick up footpaths through the fields or walk the mile down the lane to Worth Matravers.
The blue sky and sunshine had abandoned me and I picked up the pace in case it started to rain and to ensure I beat a couple of other walkers who I was sure were headed to the same place.

Square & Compass (Worth Matravers, BH19 3LF - web)
This has been a pub since 1776 when it was converted from two cottages on a high bank at the top of the village.  Originally called the Sloop, it was given its existing name when a local stonemason took over several years later.
No propping up the bar here, as there isn't one - just a hatch at the end of stone paved corridor.
Here's your no-nonsense menu...

 

I ordered myself a Frome Brewery 'Plum Porter', poured directly from the barrel.
The larger of the pub rooms - I know this because it's called 'the Big Room' - is to the right of the serving hatch and was full of customers when I poked my head in.
The tap room in the other direction was completely empty.  It's a great room with flagstone floors, grand fireplace, three big chunky wooden tables and bench seating without a scatter cushion in sight.

Having thoroughly enjoyed my plum porter, I figured I should sample the locally produced Charlie's Homepressed dry cider, taking this outside where there were a fair few folk undeterred by the threatening clouds.
I sat contentedly on the bench seating, sipping my cider and photographing the rare birds which visited my table...

I joke when I say 'rare birds', but actually,
when was the last time I saw a sparrow in Oxford?

The pub also hosts a small fossil museum in an extension to the original building, reminding you that you're at the eastern edge of the Jurassic Coast.
All in all, what an incredible and brilliant pub!

Leaving the Square & Compass, my walk took me past the local Minions work crew...

And across the fields for just over a mile until I reached Langton Matravers.
The blue sky briefly returned to brighten up St Georges where it looks like they decided bell towers were overrated...

Just across the road from the church was the village pub...

King's Arms (27 High Street, Langton Matravers, BH19 3HA)
It may be overshadowed somewhat by the Heritage pub down the road, yet I'd had a couple of people telling me not to miss the King's Arms.
It's an older establishment than the Square & Compass, dating back to 1743, with an ancient flagstoned corridor leading from the front door to the bar.
Not sure why I haven't ended up with more photo's of this pub - probably because the tables by the bar were occupied by locals and I sat quietly in the section to the side, watching the fish tank.

The day started and ended in the coastal town of Swanage.
My lunchtime point of call had been the Red Lion...

Red Lion (63 High Street, Swanage, BH19 2LY - web)
Which served up a beer choice of Doom Bar or Landlord on my visit and appears to have lost its place in the 2023 Beer Guide.
I thought the 'Landlord' was on pretty good form, but was grumpy when I realised I'd missed the cider board which contained some rather lethal looking local choices.

Beers came straight from the barrel on a stillage along a corridor behind the bar.  Beer dispensing expertly caught on camera, if I say so myself... 

Looks like my pint of Landlord is a two man job.

And my afternoon ended a little further up the road in the Black Swan...

That'll be three white Purbeck stone pubs in a row, all photographed from exactly the same angle.

Black Swan Inn (159 High Street, Swanage, BH19 2NE - web)
I'm sure the Black Swan is a lovely place, and a great spot to eat judging by the table reservations and the staff turning people away when they call in to try to make a reservation for later.

The bar offered a choice of three real ales, with the local Dorset Knob being my pick: a decent amber bitter on good form.
With salt and pepper, a candle, and a reserved at 6:30 sign on the table, it was a quiet and uneventful visit to a pub that seemed to be passing time until the punters arrived for their evening meals.

Before those diners arrived I was weaving through the dark lanes of the Isle of Purbeck on the bus back to Poole, happy that I'd finally made it to Worth Matravers and ticked the Square & Compass off the 'must visit' list.