A load of Piddle

The River Piddle is a small rural Dorset river which rises next to Alton Pancras church and eventually enters Poole Harbour.

Many of the villages it passes through are named after it: Puddletown, Tolpuddle, Piddlehinton, Piddletrenthide, Affpuddle,Briantspuddle, Turnerspuddle.

All but two of those names now contain "puddle" rather than "piddle"; a local tradition tells that the villages were renamed to avoid embarrassment before a visit by Queen Victoria. However, there is no firm evidence of this and Puddletown was certainly still called Piddletown into the 1950s.

The Piddle Brewery in Piddlehinton produces a fine range of beers, with names that capture the imagination.

This is a retail selection.

Cheers