Ship in Distress

Much more fun inside than the unassuming exterior suggests, this former smugglers' pub is full of entertaining nautical bits and pieces. There's everything from rope fancywork and brassware through lanterns, oars, to an aquarium, boat models (we particularly like the Mississippi steamboat) and the odd piratical figure; darts, games machine, board games, a big screen TV, piped music and a winter woodburning stove. Besides a good few boat pictures, the room on the right has tables with masses of snapshots of locals caught up in various waterside japes under the glass tabletops; Ringwood Best and guests such as Brains Rev James and St Austell Tribute on handpump alongside several wines by the glass. A spreading two-room restaurant area, as cheerful in its way as the bar, has a fish tank, contemporary works by local artists for sale, and a light-hearted mural sketching out the impression of a window open on a sunny boating scene. There are seats and tables out on the suntrap back terrace and a covered heated area for chillier evenings. The pub is near to Mudeford Quay and Stanpit Nature Reserve is close by.