(T.I. featuring Christina Aguilera)
The Scott Inn – Kingston, Dorset
We came to The Scott Arms after a series of happy accidents. A business meeting in Bournemouth finished early, and my guvnor asked me if I was interested in beer!
Having explained that I’m actually a member of the Guild of British Beer Writers we drove out of Bournemouth, across the Bramble Bush Bay ‘chain ferry’ from Sandbanks to Swanage, then across to Worth Matravers to visit the ‘Square and Compass’. My guvnor has friends who live in the area, and he has spent a lot of time around there.
We arrived at the ‘Square and Compass’ just before five, only to learn that they don’t open until 6pm in the winter. It was a bright, sunny, spring day, so we whizzed up to the Scott Arms to kill a quiet hour.
The Scott Arms in the ‘village’ of Kingston, on a hill overlooking Corfe Castle, the view is so spectacular that there’s a mounted telescope in the pub garden.
Corfe Castle
Well, while it wasn’t warm enough to sit outside, it was well worth a look.
The Scott Arms comprises several – well more than several – public rooms, all sympathetically modernised.
Neat and modern, but not overly so, well maybe a little. But there are plenty of rooms to choose from, so disgruntled locals can avoid the tourists that I can imagine swamping the place in summer months.
There are Bed & Breakfast rooms upstairs, but our work next morning was to be in Bournemouth.
Similarly, we didn’t eat, but the menu looked interesting, if a little trendy, while outside there’s a ‘Jerk Shack’ selling spicy Caribbean barbecue stuff in the summer months. I love a rib shack, so I would hope that I could convince Val to explore the delights of Dorset. We’ve been to Thailand half a dozen times, but this was my first time back since a couple of family holidays in the (late) sixties.
Oh, and while neither of us could get a mobile ‘phone signal, there is WiFi, with the password displayed on the mirror behind the bar.
So, a pleasant enough country pub, with a few, well-kept local brews and an interesting menu.
But it’s the view you’ll come for, the view you’ll spend hours drinking in, and the view you’ll remember long after you return home.
That you can enjoy the view while enjoying a beer is a very welcome bonus.
Rating: 
