The Botany Bay Inne, Blandford Forum

The Botany Bay Inne was built in the 1920’s and owes its excellent roadside position to the local squire who provided the land for the pub to be built outside the actual village of Winterbourne Zelston so that it was out of his sight. The pub was known for many years as the General Allenby, but changed name back in the 1980’s to reflect its proximity to the famous ‘Red Post’ which marks the spot where ailing prisoners due to set sail for Botany Bay were hung by the roadside. The pub is currently set up in a simple, two room format with the bar at the front being a nice enough carpeted space with a few seats and some limited stained glass partitioning, although most of this looks to be relatively modern. A shelving unit in one corner displays a lot of local produce made either in the pub or village. Beyond this there is a small additional seating area with a few tables and a sofa. The walls in this area have been covered with Derby County memorabilia, as the landlord appears to be a fan and there is also a dartboard and a number of darts trophies on show as well. At the rear of the pub, past some heavy, tied-back drapes, is the restaurant which comprises a single large room. A number of odd paintings of birds are hung on the walls, possibly from a local artist. The windows look out to the small outdoor seating area, which had a few bantams running around when we were last there. The food was quite nice and certainly competitively priced, but sadly the service was very slow and we had to endure over an hour of waiting from when we ordered until the food actually arrived, although it was very busy when we visited. This is a Hall and Woodhouse pub, so just the two Badger beers available – First Gold (£3.00) and Firkin Fox. The latter was pretty dismal, but the First Gold was much better. The bar and waiting staff were all very friendly which almost made up for the delays in the kitchen. Whilst there is nothing out of the ordinary here, there’s not much wrong with this pub and it would be a good place to break a journey for a meal, although you might want to check how busy it is first.