Rich Gabe, Press Officer and Social Secretary, CAMRA.
Lying in the shadow of Eggardon Hill, and with distant views of Golden Cap and the Marshwood Vale, the Spyway Inn at Askerswell is located, just off the A35, between Dorchester and Bridport. West Dorset Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) are delighted to announce that this pub has won the prestigious award of “Pub Garden of The Year 2026”. The Spyway was the first pub to win this award when the annual garden contest was started in 2017.
Set on a slight incline to the rear of the pub the garden is bordered by shrubbery, hedging and a small stream with a large Acer tree directly outside the back entrance door from the pub to the garden. The garden is a vista of colours and features many plants including Geraniums, Cosmos, Salvia and Marigold all blended together with various herb plants in a pretty cottage style to name but a few, all essential for the local bee population.
At the top of the garden there is a veg patch with a large plum tree and Sweet Pea bush that is in bloom. Centre features include a pond that is fenced off, Shepherd style pods ideal for when the weather chills, a T-P tent for children to play in, a fire pit for late summer/autumnal weather nights and a large summer house with removable window panels that can sit around 24 people. Well behaved dogs are welcome and there is a dog cooling off zone where customers can hose their pet down in the extreme heat.
The garden is well frequented by diners sampling the array of home cooked food by the landlord Dave Compton and a well kept selection of ale and cider by Louise Compton, the landlady.
On hearing of winning the award Louise said “We are delighted to have won, we didn’t realise we were part of a competition and have done quite a lot of work ourselves in the garden. We love it and hope our customers appreciate it too. We have tried to make it as inclusive and welcoming as possible”
The pub garden beat off stiff competition from other nominated pubs by CAMRA members but, with independent judging, came out top.
West Dorset CAMRA Competitions Co-ordinator Kylie Stroud said “It was a close contest with strong contenders but the Spyway is a worthy winner.”
On visiting the pub West Dorset CAMRA Press Officer Rich Gabe said “It was an ideal location, peaceful and tranquil, ideal for watching the sunset, I was surprised how green the grass was and it was explained by Louise that water is taken from the stream and it flows back through the earth into the stream again like a natural irrigation system.”
