The New Inn in West Dorset

Well, we didn’t expect this! Just such a generous welcome from Andrea and attractively furnished rooms were just what we needed for a night’s rest on our epic Coastal Path walk. Thoughtful touches such as cool soft drinks in the room and a box of delicious biscuits, and quality shampoo and shower gels. Great choice of delicious food in the pub restaurant and much needed lager. The vegan chick pea and vegetable curry had the wow factor and was a well thought out excellently balanced meal. Breakfast too was excellent. Don’t know how you get the energy to work so hard Andrea, but you do it wonderfully and are the best host ever.

The pub advertised 'Ham, Egg and Maris Piper Chips' on its FB page. I mean, Maris Piper chips! Too good to miss so we booked in. Well, not only Maris Piper chips but double egg and what seemed to be half a ham! Glorious. Served within 20 minutes of arrival. Great pub food and this was followed by our desserts: one Sticky Toffee Pudding (excellent she said) and one Apple Crumble (also excellent). Well worth calling in on this place

Sorry to say I saw a shocking thing outside this pub. Older lady, white hair, had stopped by the pub in a motorhome, she seemed to be helping a disabled person. The pub landlord, I think he's called MORLEY, came up behind in his car and verbally attacked her. I heard her asking him to be polite, she looked frightened. But the landlord carried on, he ran back to his car and yelled F*CKING F*CK OFF to her. (Sorry for the language, it isn't mine). Then he started taking photos of her vehicle. She was only there a couple of minutes. She quickly left. Anyone could access the pub, it was a very quiet time. If you want someone to move you definitely don't do it like that. We don't want things like this in the community. Our pubs are struggling but that's no excuse for foul language and thuggish behaviour. Landlord was fully at fault. Sorry to need to report this but I think it's important.

We decided to walk to this pub from our campsite (Grafton Farm) as a stroll with the dogs and were glad we did. Jodie and Elliot had recently taken over and gave us a very warm welcome. The pub was saved by the Village and this couple will take it from strength to strength. It's nestled in the Dorset hills, does good, sensibly priced pub grub and they had just gained 5 stars from Cask Marque. Lovely garden outside, plenty of parking and a great stop-off point if driving through or out cycling on Route 2 on the NCN. So much so, we made the short diversion off this to stop for lunch the following day.

My wife and I went for Sunday lunch with a friend after the local Remembrance Sunday Service in the local church. I had the roast beef, my wife had another roast and our companion had the chicken. All of it was efficiently served in a nice homely atmosphere. Our lunch was excelelnt in every respect and we had a nice bottle of red with it. Puddings were very good indeed.

We came here to see what all the fuss was about, we was told by locals in the village we are staying to go give this place a try, so we did made the booking through Facebook,and we went. Was greeted by such a warm atmosphere,our server who showed us to our table was very pleasant,we ordered some drinks and food,nothing to much trouble.the cottage pie is really nice just whats needed in the crazy weather we had proper British comfort food, would defiently go again Thanks guys for nice pub grub and warm welcome.

Great place to walk too, we were more than fashionably late for lunch and half expected to be turned away, nothing too much trouble, very very good !

been going to this little pub for a fair few months with my partner and his family its very welcoming with a warm and friendly atmosphere and the locals make you feel at home with plenty of banter, the food is also amazing and delicious a big well done to marilyn and her team

Gary (the Landlord in 2011) was the perfect gent andthe friendliest, most accommodating Landlord to Wife, daughter and I. My Wife, Daughter, Son and I returned to the (completely empty) bar today where we were immediately told off for bringing our daughter near the bar by a very miserable and soulless Landlady.We very quickly made our excuses and went elsewhere. Feel genuinely upset for Shipton Gorge.

Shipton Gorge is a very pleasant little Dorset village nestling in folds in the hills just off the A35 west of Dorchester. It's a place that traffic hurries past, largely oblivious to its existence and charms, which is probably just how the locals like it. To sustain a pub these days, however, it seems locals alone are not enough, even though no village could have done much more to save its pub than Shipton, as the background story on its website testifies. Having successfully done so, however, the village really needs to get behind the pub and make a point of using it, or risk losing it finally and forever. Like many pubs that have succumbed to changing usage habits and patterns, if The New Inn closes again there is little doubt that its owners will seek a change of use to sell it off as a house and that will be that - another pub joining the 50+ that cease to trade permanently every week.in the UK. We were visiting a relative in Shipton who had booked a Saturday evening meal at The New Inn. We had been there before, but not since a change of landlord and the new one (landlady, more accurately) had made quite a few changes, not least to decor and furnishings. Out with the swirly carpets and in with bare wooden floors - much more attractive - and wood burning stove, which was alight, giving the bar a cosy feel. Other changes included giving the darts team the heave-ho and scrapping quiz nights (the latter since reinstated), presumably with the intention of dragging the place more upmarket. That's fine with a commercially-viable destination gastropub, but a big gamble with a little local inn struggling to shake off a chequered past, and one that doesn't seem to be paying off, because when we arrived there were only two other people there and they were only drinking at the bar. 'It's going to be a long evening', said the landlady feelingly and quite audibly to one of the drinkers, after we had ordered drinks and food, feeling somewhat exposed and lonely in our corner of the bar. As the drinkers departed, leaving the whole place to us, we couldn't help agreeing with her, but for different reasons. The menu is pub grub staples, but very short. Again, nothing wrong with that in principle if the chef (the landlady prefers the term cook) is mega-talented and you are being treated to some daily specials that showcase his/her talent) but a bit more choice would make the place feel a bit less like one of those village shops where there's too much space between the goods on the shelves, giving the distinct impression that the owner can't really afford to stock the place properly and interestingly. The food when it came was competently prepared if unremarkable (except for the fact that it was prepared at all, since apparently the cook was suffering from gout and had dragged himself in for a limited service, for which our thanks). No-one in our party said they didn't enjoy what they had to eat and we had a very nice bottle of Rioja to go with it, so went home feeling sated but slightly uneasy - you really want The New Inn to succeed, but both the landlady and the villagers are going to have to try a bit harder for that to happen. I wish them luck.