The Shaston Arms

A fixture on trendy ‘Carnaby’, the Shaston Arms is also a second home for the area’s fashion folk who go shoulder pad-to-iPad with local media mavens, shoppers & boutique assistants at this frantically popular hole-up. Expect to see smokers & others spilling out onto the pavement in all weathers; also expect to queue at the bar during the evening rush (6.30-9pm), although you’ll eventually be rewarded with affordable wines & ales from independent Dorset family brewers Hall & Woodhouse: Tanglefoot, Badger, Blandford Fly & award-winning Golden Glory at around £3.30 a pint. For those who like a bit of pub trivia, Shaston is the alternative name for Shaftesbury, as conceived by Thomas Hardy in Tess of the d’Urbervilles.