Fox Inn, Dorchester

Quite an upmarket bar and restaurant in rural Dorset. It didn't look open until we approached closer to the door and heard music playing through some outdoor speakers. You enter into a reception hall, with the bar to the left and a dining room to the right-hand side. Further down the corridor, there is another dining area which is an altogether brighter space. The bar area has several pictures of foxes as well as fox ornaments. Two real ales were on - Otter Amber & Gritchie Best Bitter. I wasn't convinced on the Bitter, but is seemed in reasonable condition. With the Amber getting towards the end of the cask, the barman was pulling through a third beer. He tried it and also offered it to the barmaid. Neither seemed too impressed with whatever it was. A boxed cider was also on the bar back. This was Purbeck Cider Company Purbeck Pirate. By the time we were ready to leave, around a dozen people and their dogs had arrived for lunch in the back room. Nobody else was there just for a drink though.

The original village pub, The Fox, which was a few yards away, burnt down in 1915, so the pub business moved to the house where it still trades. The house was originally called Broadclose and was the home of the Hall family who founded the Ansty Brewery, then went into partnership with George Woodhouse; the Hall and Woodhouse Brewery moved to its current site in Blandford in 1900 and the former brewery site – a stone's throw from the pub – is now a small business park. Broadclose – or, if you prefer, The Fox – is an impressive Victorian manse which rambles and now provides a B&B, restaurant and pub. The bar contains artifacts from Hall and Woodhouse's early days as museum pieces. There is outside seating on a grass area at the front and plenty of parking next to the pub. The pub is dog and family friendly, even providing complimentary snacks for the canids. The staff are incredibly hospitable, even offering to keep the kitchen open late for a group of people who turned up at the last minute. Being still owned by Hall and Woodhouse, there is a full range of Badger bottled beers available and two ales on draft. I had the First Call which was in very good condition. It's quite a trek to find, and its remoteness means it's not easily included in a crawl, but it's well worth a visit for its beer quality, food and history.