The Square & Compass in Purbeck

After a lovely sunny walk we ended up at the Square & Compass. We had an ale and mulled cider with a steak pasty and a chicken leek and bacon pie. Service was quick and the staff were polite and friendly. We sat in one of the snugs. The whole place is a living museum and you step back in time once you cross the threshold. Service is through a hatch in line with the entrance, it became very congested very quickly with only a few people being present. Not so easy to navigate once you add a tray with drinks and food on it.

Lovely traditional cafe. Atmosphere old world charme

Amazing pasty lunch , excellent beer. Fed the birds with pasty crusts :).

Truly an amazing pub, much loved!

Keep it simple, a selection of pasties, a sausage roll, and a steak pie, plus some good cider/beer. Served from a hatch which does admittedly cause a bit of a queue, but eaten on tables outside in the sun was worth the wait. Don't miss sticking your head inside to the museum room on the far left and the atmospheric lounge on the right.

Classic British pub that hasn't changed in generations. Keep it that way. Great beer, cider and pub grub. Frequent live music too.

Such a special place. Can't beat it. Frequented the place when we lived in Dorset & come back on every visit. Visited today after a lovely walk from Worth on the Priest's Way, down to Dancing Ledge for a swim & back along the coast to Windspit before heading to The Square & Compass for a Pint & a Pasty. Nowt fancy, just good honest food at a good price. Couldn't ask for better.

The finest pub in Drorset, and probably beyond.

Always a beautiful place to stop for a beer and a pasty! Good vegetarian versions available!

Unique. Pie and a pint. A part of Dorset history that, luckily, is a family business and free from the makeover boys.

Lovely fireplace. Pub ready for Halloween

Is nice pub to be there after a bit hiking around Dancing ledge, a lot britains goes there to have a glass of beer 🍺, nice talking, good view. Also they have a small museum about fósils found around. They hay a good variety local beers 🍻 simple but nice taste traditional food.

a real gem of a place - river the glass collector brilliant x

Lovely place with live music and a cool Fossil Museum

Absolutely lovely place. It has such a warm and inviting atmosphere, it's a fantastic place to head to for the evening. Food options can never be faulted, always difficult to choose between their amazing treats. We will be back often!

One of the best original pubs I have been to.

A cosy quirky pub on the way to Chapman’s Pool. Many other coastal walks are available nearby. A large car park a short walk away, takes donations, there is no phone signal! Order drinks from the kiosk inside & I recommend a pasty of your choice to accompany it. We chose to sit outside at one of the stone tables & watched a folk singer entertain. There are cosy tables inside, just right to warm up on those cold winter days next to the fire. Also there is a small museum inside. Thoroughly recommend the magical atmosphere & view.

An absolute must, if you're ANYWHERE near! Beautiful place, setting, and food.

Friendly staff and lovely view :)

Very friendly customer services

A local in Wool suggested we come here as they only sell local beers/ciders, and serve only pasties. The view from their garden out towards the sea is just fantastic. The cheese pasty I had (I'm vegetation) was really tasty but could've done with a tad more seasoning, and the pasty the boyf had (steak) was apparently very tasty. If you want a small local pub with plenty of heart and good views then come here. Also some great local walks starting from the pub so you can start/end your walk with sustenance.

A shining example of a pub. Great seating lovely views. Great beer, great snacks and pasties, or even a brownie. Has a good selection of crisps and sides. It even has its own museum which is interesting and worth a visit anyway.

Honestly one of the best pubs in the uk, a truely unique experience. The pub does home brewed ales and ciders aswell as truely excellent pasties and pies.

Very old pub in Worth Matravers. Great beers & cider and mostly Gravity poured. They have a small fossil museum in the pub and we're preparing the pub for Halloween.

Beer straight out of the barrel, love it. Great view from the garden. Definitely worth a vist.

Absolutely gorgeous pub and little museum, serves the best pint and a pasty I've ever had.

Overrated... reasonable panoramic views but abysmal service

Perhaps the best pub I’ve ever been to. Perfect location, rustic and charming atmosphere, spacious outdoor seating, good beer. You can’t ask for more!

Excellent and very popular pub in a very pretty little village. Has excellent views from the front seating area to the sea. There are quite a few footpaths that converge in the area so it is very popular with walkers. The food is excellent, and it has a tiny, and very strange little museum.

Always a good experience at this pub. My wife and I have been going to this memorable, hole in the wall pub for 35 years. It is the business.

All sorts of pasties is the only menu. Lots of different beers to choose from and the most amazing view, it's on a hill and best to experience when sunny. Outside seating is really unusual on lumps of stone or wooden benches.

Come here all the time and this was the first time they lost a star ⭐️they open at 12, went in to queue at 11:55 in order to look at the menu and decide on a cider and pasty. Met by a girl behind the counter who might have been new or just woke up on the wrong side of the bed as her words were "we're not open yet, we open at 12" so I said it's ok I'll wait and she said quite bluntly "oh you're going to wait there are you, it's 5 mins" so I said it's only a few minutes so yes I'll wait here. Maybe they don't want the business or perhaps as I don't live down the road as a local. No need to be rude is there. Hence they lose a star ⭐️for her poor manners.

I think this might be my favourite pub in the world

Quirky and interesting in equal measure, Evan a small fossil museum! Good range of ales and ciders, pies and pasties. Lovely to sit outside on a sunny afternoon or inside by the fire now Autumn is with us.

Great locally produced cider and pasties

Very quirky establishment Good selection of beers and ciders.

Great rural pub with immense views, very busy, lots of outdoor to take advantage of the views, good beer and cider selection and lots of pasties

Nice pub. Met Willem Dafoe there as he drinks there regularly. Signed a green goblin figure my son had with him

The best country pub in Purbeck. Great selection of ales, including non alcoholic options. And there's a fossil museum too!

Quaint little pub, found in the middle of nowhere. Lovely, oldy worldy, good pasties, home pressed cider and a walk afterwards just what you need to blow the cobwebs away.

Dropped in for a drink. Quaint place; like the in-house fossil museum!

Outstanding! Don't miss it if you're in the area

A wonderful pub to visit in beautiful surroundings. There's plenty of outdoor seating also. It's a great area for coastal walks too.

It is a lovely traditional pub with a great family history. The food is based on the love of pasties. Lovely views over the coast.

I just seen pasties and cider. Couldn’t wait in the que as our toddler wasn’t up for the wait. Seams like the perfect place for ramblers, not really for a lunch or a sit down.

One of the best pubs around the Jurassic coast. Simple food, amazing beer, lovely chatty staff, and always brilliant bands play here. It is no frills, but the scenery, location and atmosphere is just sublime. Don't hesitate, get yourself there!

The best country pub in the south of England. Handmade cider (the best) and pies made with love by the owner. At the side of the garden, two kind ladies bake delicious pizzas. Great view. I can see why so many people have it as their hangout. On the side of the building, there is a small fossil museum.

Class spot, watched live music on a Wednesday evening. Highly recommend

Brilliant classic English pub with great sea views, a very nice, tasty pasty and a pint. Highly recommend!

Always nice to stop off for a cider and pasty :-)

Brilliant pub in a lovely area for walking, nice outside area that had a few musicians playing when I went there and a cool little dinosaur museum on the side

England's best kept secret! What a pub!!! Amazing!

Beer at still under £5 a pint, although on a sunny day you might have to queue outside!

Basic food, mainly pies. Very old, quaint pub, serving beers and cider mainly from the keg or barrel.

Absolutely amazing little pub with great cider and beer, and tasty pasties and puddings. Well worth a visit!

Quirky little place with a small museum attached. Curry pasty and pint were lovely.

Great small pub and loads of outdoor. Side was brilliant, pasties were great and loads of dinosaurs for the kids to look at

Lovely friendly atmosphere, and dogs are welcome! Spectacular location near the sea oh and pasties to die for!

Amazing atmosphere and great food, I went when it was busy tho so there were big queues

Came across this pub on their festival day - what a treat! Great beer, great great music, and even better atmosphere. Highly recommend if you’re stopping in - an amazing beer garden too.

Nice to visit on a lovely day as outside space has wonderful view. Pasties are yummy. Beers are good.

Love this place local people are great staff excellent and what a view and great ale and cider and Alex is a good lad and Charlie are all ways make you fill welcome

Great pizza, fantastic local cider and what must be the best view from any pub garden in the world.

Great cider brewed by themselves ...

Whenever we have a week off in the summer we always come down here. Quirky place. Staff are attentive and the food is delicious.

Best pie I ate in a long time! I got the steak pie and I would come here again. The pie is 5 pounds but worth every penny. The area is beautiful with views of the mountains and sea.

This is a really authentic old English pub. Tried some epic ciders - which were cloudy and still - more like Scrumpy. The cornish pasties looked really tasty. It's good to know there is a 200-space public car park over the road, so it's best to park there rather than clog up the narrow lanes. My friend liked the cider so much that she ordered 2 carry-outs so her partner could also enjoy it when she got home

Great place for a drink, food is tasty but microwaved pastys.

We love visiting this place when we’re down this way… the pies, pasties and sausage rolls are the best you’ll find. The atmosphere is friendly and buzzing. Great walks around the area too. Highly recommend!

Lovely place and quite busy when we cane here, plenty of choices of ciders and beers and other drinks, they also serve pasties here as a food choice which were delicious.

A pint straight out of the barrel after a walk on a sunny evening. Very relaxing worth a stop if you're at Worth Matravers excellent beers.

Lovely little rest stop. Delicious pasties!

A busy pub with walkers and locals. We called in on a walk and it just started to rain so the pub was very busy as the large seating area outside emptied. The staff did really well despite the rush. We had a pasty and a sausage roll that were very tasty which were very tasty.

One of my favourite pubs, great pints and pasties in a stunning location

A very different pub but a must to see

It's a great place to stop and have a pint and pasty mid-walk. Being it's in Worth Matravers it's full of walkers (don't worry I did say walkers 😜) walking along the coastal path to or from Swanage. You can get a great variety of ciders or ales and homemade pasties and pies. No other food other than bar snacks. I loved the cheese pasty and washed it down with a crisp cider after a long walk. Definitely recommend.

Remember going here about 30 years ago on an annual fieldtrip. Memorable, quaint and with a great view.

Very busy but the service was great would recommend this pub,soo,many hikers and guests but the staff weren't phased good luck to them all ,lovely guys!!

We come every year. A great pub with a huge amount of outdoor seating. The pasties and cider are great and the pub itself is really interesting and unique.

As always a great choice of craft ales and ciders and the basic (pasties) but good quality food does the job.

This place is unique, a must see location in the heart of rural Dorset

Been here a few times, always a joy. Great ales, now even more additions to food choice. Plus a new pizza oven. Very busy but very quick service. Fully recommend, even a small museum to visit. This heart and soul of old England. All 8 of us enjoyed it.

This has got to be one of the best beer gardens in the world - you sit on various granite(?) slabs that work as tables and chairs or the grass slopes complimented with a wonderful view, Service is via a hatch. Plentiful local ciders and beets. The pasties are awesome and they do events.

Outstanding pub, with an outstanding view

Probably the best pub in the world

Great live music, followed by dj music of an atmospheric, ethereal type.

Nice pasties and pies. Vegetarian and vegan options. Dog-friendly

Excellent pub with an interesting range of ciders. The staff were lovely and efficient. The delicious pasties were enjoyed by us outside, surrounded by a great sunset view. The museum inside is a lovely touch, giving some historical context to the place.

Lovely cider festival with music and gorgeous views from the front gardens

Brilliant pub, stunning views from the garden and great selection of beer, cider and pasties.

Great pub, lovely sitting outside, beautiful countryside

Outstanding popular local pub with a wide variety of ciders (home made) and a good selection of beers. Food wise mainly limited but good. The main problem was I was more than willing to have a few, but I was driving 😁

After a very warm 4 hour walk along the beautiful coastline, the Square and Compass was a much welcome sight as always. A lovely pint too. I was not keen on the cheese, onion and potato pasty, for the simple reason they had added chunks of swede to it which, combined with the cheese, made for a most peculiar taste! I couldn't eat it. Please stick to the 3 vital ingredients that makes a delicious pasty.

Lovely pub excellent choice of beer and local ciders didn't eat here so can't comment thinkbitwas pies and pasties

A wonderful village pub. Low ceilings, small rooms, traditional door bar. Simple food of delicious hot pasties and pizzas, great selection of beer and cider. I got lucky and was entertained by local musicians. Great space in front of the pub for drinking and relaxing outside. Children and dogs welcome. Chilled atmosphere, village car park around the corner with great walks in the area down to the sea and along the coast path

One of the great British pubs - beer straight from barrel - amazing setting and atmosphere! Corniche parties to die for! What's not to like?

Love visiting this old pub and museum. Often has a singer/band at the weekends and is set in a beautiful little village surrounded by excellent walks and views

Lovely place to spend some time with friends

Excellent watering hole to refresh after a long day exploring. The snack options are great also! I won’t ruin the surprise of the many excellent oddities of this pub.

Fantastic local pub in Worth Matravers. We stopped here after a walk along the coast. Fine selection of beers and ales and at excellent prices! All but one beer were under £5. Also recommend to try the steak pasty. Lovely views over the countryside with plenty of outdoor seating. We even had some pretty chickens visit us. 😊