Dorset’s Isle of Purbeck isn’t an island it’s a peninsula. It was probably more isolated and difficult to reach in previous centuries. So maybe it felt like an island to people back when the English Channel was the primary “road” to the outside world. Even now it’s a time-consuming overland drive so I can appreciate the logic.
I did a pretty good job of exploring Purbeck’s Jurassic Coast but a lot still remained, and this seemed like a good opportunity. We could stay closer to home after our long day trip Bristol the previous day. That meant we could recharge a bit and spend less time driving.
Corfe Castle
We drove past Corfe Castle nearly every day. And how could we not? It sat directly on the path between Swanage and anywhere else in the outside world (map). Well, there was also an obscure ferry over the mouth of Poole harbor, but as a practical matter it was A351 across Purbeck. The castle sat high atop a bluff, visible in every direction, enticing us whenever we passed. Now we had the time and inclination to actually stop there for once.
Sometimes I wonder if castles were actually useful defenses. Most of them sat around looking pretty without a shot ever being fired in their direction. However, that wasn’t the case with Corfe Castle. It dated all the way to the 11th Century when William the Conqueror built it, and for a long time everything was fine. But then came the 17th Century and the English Civil War. Corfe Castle was one of the last royalist holdouts and Parliamentarian forces attacked it twice. They sacked it on the second try in 1645 and pretty much destroyed it. Thus the ruins existed because of actual warfare rather than the ravages of time. Now it’s just a pleasant scenic attraction.
The Square and Compass
I’d heard about the Square and Compass in nearby Worth Matravers (map) for awhile, even before my arrival. The case was clear, whether consulting CAMRA‘s suggestions or examining reviews on Tripadvisor or consulting well-known printed guidebooks, they all agreed unanimously. This was a beloved, treasured outpost barely touched by time. One of the elderly regulars at a pub in Swanage even told me, practically ordered me, to put it on my itinerary. Naturally I responded in the logical manner. It would be silly to do otherwise.
We arrived exactly at high noon, right when it opened because it does offer a limited food menu including pasties and I was starving. I’ve had plenty of pasties in Michigan, and now I had an opportunity to sample something just a stone’s throw from the pasty’s ancestral homeland in Cornwall. I’m happy to report that I liked them on both sides of the Atlantic. Even so, the well-curated selection Real Ales is the actual draw here. That and the setting itself. The pub dates back to the 18th Century and perches on a scenic hillside with sweeping views all the way out to the English Channel.
… and Museum?
The Square and Compass comes with a bonus attraction. Over several decades the proprietors collected an eclectic range of fossils and a few more recent oddities. The Isle of Purbeck provides ideal conditions for fossil hunting, and in fact is quite well know for that. Add to that any number of objects that have washed up from the sea, or died in the fields, or were left behind by residents over a couple millennia, and it makes for quite a compilation. Nobody would confuse it with the Natural History Museum in London, but it had better beer so score one for the Square and Compass.
Grab a pint and wander over to the little side room. Notice the low ceiling: were people particularly short in previous centuries or did it save on heating? Yet another one of life’s mysteries. Either way, the collection is a great conversation starter.
Woodhenge
The owners of the Square and Compass also built an homage to Stonehenge next to the village car park (map). Behold Woodhenge. For certain, evidence of various prehistoric henge-like structures made of wood actually existed. Most of what we see today are stone henges because wood decays, but if someone had an immediate need they would probably use wood.
The one in Worth Matravers is completely modern and built for decorative purposes in 2015. The Purbeck council subsequently ordered its destruction and then granted it a two year reprieve. However, something must have happened because it was still standing in 2024. I can confirm.
The Blue Pool
Nearby, the Blue Pool provided a quiet, and more importantly, a shaded oasis in the forest (map). Few forests exists in Purbeck because people have settled here intensively for hundreds of years. So it was nice to get out of the unusually bright sunlight to walk amongst the trees ringing a placid pond.
The pool rested within a hand-dug clay quarry abandoned in the early 19th Century. Clay was a useful commodity for bricks or ceramics and this was an easy spot to dig. Afterwards they simply left a big hole behind and it eventually filled with water. Similarly, nature reclaimed the larger tract, filling it with a variety of plants and animals. We even spotted a wild deer roaming the grounds.
The Sights that Got Away
Well, we didn’t see as much on Day 5 as other days. Part of it was intentional as we recovered from the long day in Bristol and part of it was the heat. Notice the cloudless sky in all of the photos. As I mentioned, Purbeck is mostly open fields. There’s little shade. So the family didn’t want to hike a mile to the Winspit Quarry near the Square and Compass. Neither did they want to drive out to Durdle Door or Lulworth Cove (which appeared in What the Cove) even though they are both iconic Dorset destinations. I did convince them to drive to the abandoned village at Tynehame but we turned around at the closed gate blocking the road. It sits on land that’s part of a military firing range and, well, I guess the military was firing that day.
We finished our activities by early afternoon and returned to Swanage. Then we found a nice waterfront café and enjoyed a leisurely couple hours on a shaded patio with some refreshing beverages. That was perfectly fine too. Downtime is good.
Articles in the England Series
- Do Over
- Jurassic Coast
- Dorchester
- Bristol
- Isle of Purbeck
- Bournemouth
- Tankfest
- Onward to London
- Atypical London
- More Typical London
See Also: The Complete Photo Album on Flickr
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