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Real
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Nearest
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| The Bankes Arms Manor Road Studland Dorset BH19 3AU (01929) 450225. |
Situated across the mouth of Poole Harbour and
across the bay from Bournemouth, this part of the Dorset coast is dunes and sand leading
out to the 'Old Harry Rocks' - which happen to be very close to this pub and the
car park doubles up for both attractions. To get to this pub you have to either drive round the
harbour through Poole (a good 45 minutes drive), or you can take the ferry across the
harbour mouth (5 minutes). You can also get there from Bournemouth these days
across the water at a cost of
£2.60 or so. That's the directions, what's the pub like? Well, it sits in an unrivalled position
with good views of the bay and out to sea - its beer garden is on the cliff top
set back from Old Harry. On a good day and with binoculars you might
just see the Isle of Wight. A stone building it has a single large bar facing out to sea.
The inside is all dark wood that befits a pub with smuggling history and one as
old as this. On the walls you will find old pictures and panels. The floor is
flagged and has a number of square tables in the bar area - these get nabbed
quickly in the day, so get there early. There is a lso a leaning post where the
free newspapers are kept. At this end (right as you look at the bar) there are
steps up to another room that looks like a 'barn' extension, where more tables
can be found. You can enter the pub by a number of entrances but all in al we
would
not recommend it for the disabled as it gets very busy and is difficult to
negotiate. The pub serves up to eight real ales, on at this time were four beers
from the Isle of Purbeck Brewery plus other more esoteric guests. There is a
real fire for the winter and for the summer there is a beer garden across the
small road and also some picnic benches outside the pub on the stone/concrete. Food can be had
in the bar and in the hotel next door, which is no smoking in the food area. The
food has plenty of choices including vegetarians. However, at £5.45 for a
baguette we felt it a little steep and ate elsewhere. Accommodation here is of a high
standard. There are also many B&B's to choose from in the local area. Ask at the pub for details of those close
by.
| Additional Notes: | This pub does do accommodation, and excellent it is too. When I was last there they has 8 real ales on tap (last Friday 30 Nov). The one I tried (A Jennings strong one) was spot on. Food is great as well. Dogs are most welcome - a big plus point for me. I didn't try the other 7 ales as was driving + it was lunch time too! My favourite pub in the land. |
| We spent two nights at this Hotel in July 2004 and were very disappointed in the accommodation, which we thought was grossly overpriced for the standard. The window frames were grubby, there was mould coming through the bathroom walls and ceiling and the edges of the bathroom tiles were black with mould. We also found the service somewhat surly. 2 weeks later we spent a night in a pub on the edge of the South Downs for less than half the price which was far more pleasurable. (19/7/04) |
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