Walking. Gossip. Travel.

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  • Wetherspoons – Cambridgeshire

    As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited   🙂

    There are nine JD Wetherspoon outlets in Cambridgeshire, and one which has closed. I’ve visited seven of the nine open pubs and the only closed one.

    Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

    Number visited : 7/9 (open pubs) 1/1 (closed pubs)

    Favourite pub in county : Sandford House

    College Arms (Peterborough) – The older looking red-brick section of this pub was formerly the County Technology College, hence the name of College Arms. Wetherspoons opened the building as a pub in 1996, making it one of the earlier pubs which the chain opened outside of London. I’ve encountered some of the friendliest of Wetherspoon’s staff in this pub and the environment is comfortable, with a usually quiet small upstairs section.

    Although I like the pub, the reviews aren’t particularly positive and they’ve suffered from the same debacle of poor quality 2019 Christmas meals that is littering the reviews of Wetherspoons across the country…. Not least:

    “Went to the Collage Arms today for a Christmas lunch ,the meal was very poor quality, they forgot to put the pigs in blankets and peas on the plate and had to take the meal away to add the forgotten items. The roasted seasonal veg were clearly reheated in the very thick salty gravy and not like roasted veg and hidden under the very processed Turkey roll, mashed potatoes had clearly been over microwaved and the pigs in blankets cremated in a deep fat fryer.”

    What completely surprises me is that there’s also a positive review of the same meal, so at least someone is happy with it somewhere in the country….

    This review of the pub though seems just a little harsh….

    “Smells of death and sick. Smells of men’s broken dreams drowning in tequila and death, with a side of sick. Gone to turtle bay.”

    Draper’s Arms (Peterborough) – I can’t wait to come back here for another exciting night of quizzing…. What I hadn’t realised on my visit a few weeks ago is that the pub was about to close until February 2020 for a £1.4 million refurbishment which will increase the space available to customers by moving the beer cellar into, well, a cellar rather than being on the ground floor and adding a rear extension. There’s also going to be a new roof terrace garden and hopefully they’ll fix up the toilets which are currently too small and just a little rickety and worn. CAMRA report that this was the first pub in Peterborough to go smoking-free, all the way back when Wetherspoons took it over in 2005, and after it was a drapery (hence the pub name) it became the Old Monk pub in 1996.

    George Hotel (Whittlesey) – It’s a while since I’ve been to the fine town of Whittlesey, it dates back to the late seventeenth century when it was named the George & Star. Formerly a hotel, although no longer, it’s a large venue with plenty of space.

    I’ve heard this complaint a few times over the years:

    “I don’t understand how I can have fried egg but i cannot have poached egg?? He said we have run out??? Do you realise how easy it is to make one?”

    I don’t dislike that Wetherspoons bring in poached eggs which are just reheated, at least it leads to them nearly always looking the same and being appropriately cooked.

    Anyway, that’s about as far as I can go about the George, primarily since it’s so long ago that I’ve visited, I can’t remember much about it…

    Hippodrome (March) – I recognise that Wetherspoons is, by its nature, a generic chain in some ways, but they have a real ability to transform buildings and this is no exception. Formerly a cinema which opened in 1929 and could seat 900 people, it later became a bingo hall before finally closing in 2009. Wetherspoons reopened it in 2011 and also turned part of it into a hotel, with the whole refurbishment being sympathetic to the building itself. It’s a very well reviewed pub and I remember it being clean and organised, with particularly engaging staff.

    I like reviews like the one below, as often this is my sort of pub….

    “Shame they haven’t got a music license as it can become abit boring and the atmosphere in there well is rubbish!”

    This is the entirety of a 1 out of 5 review, I hope it made more sense to the pub…

    “Thursday curry John chicken balti Michael lamb durriage it cold we had 2 sweets its cold custery cold. i stroke sorry”

    Regal (Cambridge) – This was apparently once the largest pub in UK, although I’ve never been entirely convinced by that, although it’s a bit irrelevant now the Wetherspoons in Ramsgate has opened. It’s spacious, although it’s still not always that easy to find a seat in. There are two bars which makes things easier, although I keep forgetting that the upper bar is there and stand like an idiot waiting at the lower bar.

    Anyway, onto TripAdvisor:

    “My partner and I went to one of the bodyguards to ask where we can leave our jackets to which he impolitely answered ‘no where’. My partner then answered that it’s crazy they don’t have a clock room open in such a big place so we were kicked out of the bar.”

    I like the idea of Wetherspoons supplying bodyguards, and I’m also intrigued as to whether any of their outlets in the country has a cloakroom…

    And, the review below probably has a really interesting back story, shame the pub didn’t reply to the customer’s comments as I like reading about dramas such as this.

    “Was sitting with a good friend of mine, enjoying our time, some food and all, at one point the friend goes to toilet. Upon coming out the toilet he is met by Theo, a Duty Manager who accuses my friend of doing ‘naughty things’ in the toilet and that he needs to leave. Keep in mind that the friend is smartly dressed, and a lecturer at one of the universities here, in his 30s. Very rudely tells me to ‘shut up’, and tells us that someone reported he’s been doing… ‘cockaine’! Friend offered to be searched by said Theo, upon inspection finding NOTHIN”

    Given the number of students in Cambridge, I’m surprised there aren’t once again two Wetherspoons in the city, but maybe in the future…..

    Sandford House (Huntingdon) – This is my favourite pub in the county and is another really well converted building, half from a former chapel and the other half from solicitor’s officers, with a new connecting area between them. A combination of modern design with old buildings, it’s open and bright with plenty of space for customers. There’s also a hotel element to the operation and it has a more relaxed feel than some other pubs, with the manager saying on one review that “Since opening, no one has ever failed to find a table”.

    I also like the pub’s review to one customer and their side of the argument seems more likely to me….

    “On looking into this matter, I can say there are always two sides to a conversation. Our managers and staff always try to give perfect customer service. You may not always like the outcome but we all follow our company policies.”

    Swan & Angels (St. Ives) – Never been here…..

    [Closed] Tivoli (Cambridge) – This pub, formerly the Graduate, was once a cinema which was open from 1925 until 1956, before being used as a warehouse. It was turned into a pub in 1995, the Fresher & Firkin (what a horrible name) before Wetherspoons transformed it into one of their outlets in 2010 at a cost of over £1 million. Then a little incident happened and the damn thing burned down in March 2015, less than five years after it opened. And, it has never re-opened since. Wetherspoons have now sold the still fire damaged pub and plans were submitted in early 2019 to open it as a student orientated pub with crazy golf. A shame that it hasn’t survived as a Wetherspoons, but hopefully the new owners will ensure what is left of the art deco design can be maintained.

    Weeping Ash (St. Neots) – Never been here…..

    Wheatsheaf (Wisbech) – Not the most visually appealing either internally or externally, but entirely acceptable in terms of the food and drink. Since I’ve written about this pub recently, I’ll just link to that page  🙂

  • Wetherspoons – Suffolk

    As I bored everyone with here, my travel has meant that I’ve managed to visit a lot of JD Wetherspoons over the years. So in an attempt to remember them all, I’ve decided to try and write about them. As explained elsewhere, other perfectly good pubs are also available and of course should be visited   🙂

    There are eight JD Wetherspoon outlets in Suffolk, and another three which have closed. I’ve visited seven of the eight open pubs and two of the closed three.

    Figures: (which are more for me than to interest anyone else):

    Number visited : 7/8 (open pubs) 2/3 (closed pubs)

    Favourite pub in county : Willow Tree

    Corn Exchange (Bury St. Edmunds) – Located on the top floor of the town’s corn exchange building which opened in 1862. There was a burst of these openings in the 1850s and 1860s following the change in the Corn Laws, but most started to fall out of use by the late nineteenth century, although many of the buildings have survived. The building was split into two floors in 1969 and it opened as a JD Wetherspoons in 2012, despite some ridiculous plans in the 1960s to entirely demolish the structure.

    Incidentally, Wetherspoons have a minor issue with customers using the app to buy things for people at other tables, which is a potential nuisance if a table ends up with 13 pots of peas. Unfortunately, they’ve also had an incident where someone sent a customer a banana, which raised all sort of race-related issues for the company. Anyway, this review is where the pub thought something was a joke and wasn’t….

    “Ordered a banana waited 45 mins went up to the bar for the staff member to tell me they didn’t bother bringing it because it’s normally a joke. Awful attitude why have it on the menu if you won’t bother bringing it.”

    Cricketers (Ipswich) – This large pub has been a Wetherspoons for some time, a 1930s building formerly known as the Town House and Millars (or at least according to CAMRA that’s what it was called, I’ve known it as the Cricketers since I first went there in 2004).

    It’s quite a vibrant pub, although I note a complaint was made on TripAdvisor by a customer who was with her children and was asked to leave in the evening because that’s a requirement of the pub’s licence. The woman then went to take photos of staff at the bar, which she admitted doing, although this seems like erratic behaviour for someone out with their children. Anyway, the pub responded and added “you have since returned on Saturday 22nd June 2019 at around 10am where you physically assaulted on our shift managers by throwing a glass in his face”. I feel more than sorry for the poor staff involved in this, I hope the police took action.

    Although I’m also surprised that the pub charges for extra gravy at 75p, I’ve never encountered that at any Wetherspoons, although I’m sure it happens frequently as I don’t tend to go about asking for extra gravy that often.

    Drabbet Smock (Haverhill) – This pub has more of a cafe bar feel, comfortable although perhaps a little soulless, although that’s perhaps primarily as it’s a conversion from a former butcher’s shop and shopping unit rather than a grand historic building. And a Drabbet Smock is a form of clothing which was made locally, a pub name that I rather like.

    I love this review on TripAdvisor, primarily as there’s a photo of the broom which has been thrown down.

    “I cannot believe it, now having dinner and the rude staff literally just cleaned the floor and the table next to us and without any hesitation just threw his broom down next to us and walked outside for a social without hatting an eyelid, blocked my passage of getting up and left all the stuff there, im disgusted and outraged and not an apology in sight.”

    [Closed] Golden Lion (Ipswich) – I only went in here once, in around late 2004, with my memory of the pub being very hazy. This was one of the Wetherspoon outlets that was closed down, perhaps because it was just a little small to be viable (I say small, I can’t remember quite how big it was, but I always got the impression it was small), despite a handy central location in the town. Last time I walked by, the building was closed and no-one has yet to take it over, a shame as I’m sure it could work well in some sort of slightly large micro-pub (I accept that’s not actually a thing though) type arrangement. I have no recollection of note about the interior, but there’s been a hotel at this site since the sixteenth century, when it was originally known as the White Lion.

    Golden Lion (Newmarket) – Popular with those working in the racing industry, or at least there always seem to be horse related conversation every time that I’ve been in, this is a slightly smaller Wetherspoons, albeit with a large pub garden. It was once the Golden Lion Hotel, and there was an ad in the Sporting Life on 3 February 1900 when the entire premises were up for sale. The advert read:

    “An exceptional opportunity to purchase this old-established hotel public, which is in the market for a short time only, owing to a leading firm of brewers having purchased the same, and only wanting the beer trade, which is comparatively small to the large and very profitable wine and spirit trade that is done. As is well known, it is one of the leading hotels in this flourishing town, with a billiard room, and accommodates some of the leading sporting and other gentlemen and trainers, also having very extensive stabling, which are always readily to let to them. The property is leasehold and requires a cash of around £3,000.”

    And, a little pop over onto TripAdvisor amused me (I’m so easily pleased it’s untrue):

    “I waited 10 minutes overall to hopefully buy 2 coffees. By this time my husband who had been watching this unfold signalled to me to go back to our table and said ‘Look I need to speak to the manager as the staff are not serving properly or fairly. On returning to our table he was horrified as when he spoke to the ‘manager’ to say the service was unacceptable the manager rudely said ‘Oh all right. Goodbye then‘. Not the thing to say to a customer.”

    I’ve long since muttered privately to myself, and indeed posted on this blog to the two people that read it, about slow service, but I’m not sure I’ve ever got a manager and told them that it’s unfair. Anyway, I was amused that the pub replied and said they were sorry and that it was actually a customer who said “goodbye then” and not a staff member…..

    Grover & Allen (Sudbury) – I actually thought that I’d been here, but it transpired that I had muddled it up with the Haverhill pub. So, at some stage in 2020 I might manage to make my way here….

    Joseph Conrad (Lowestoft) – Situated opposite the town’s main railway station, this always seems to be one of the cleanest Wetherspoons, although no doubt it has its moments as well. Named after the Polish/British author, I’ve heard a few people accidentally call this pub the “Heart of Darkness”, which is one of Conrad’s books. The pub also seems to fare better in terms of reviews than some of their other outlets manage, perhaps they just have a competent manager, unless the people of Lowestoft aren’t very demanding.

    Although, to be fair, this customer wasn’t pleased on TripAdvisor….

    “went in for a couple of beers and was told by a staff member what do you want customer service gone out of the window will not go back”

    A staff member asking a customer what do they want doesn’t strike me as worthy of a 1 out of 5, but there we go. And another review is titled “Homophobe and Chips” and I’m sure there’s some likely quite exciting back story to this:

    “A recent visit with family brought a surprising appearance in the shape of the duty manager.His purpose to inform me i was on their most wanted list of banned customers !The reason? I am allegedly a homophobic. I duly asked for the police to attend, because it was a false accusation.”

    And another customer complained about a manager not committed to customer satisfaction. The pub’s reply tells me all that I really need to know.

    “After our discussion I am very sorry that you disagree with our policy on drinking responsibility however as I said the staff are only doing their job and trying to ensure the safety of yourself and other customers.”

    King’s Head (Beccles) – I remember this pub from before it was a JD Wetherspoons, and it was a much less interesting affair then that did have a tired feel. The pub has several hotel rooms above it, although there’s a limited space for customers for dining and drinking, so finding a table can be difficult at times, although I think that an extension was completed in 2019 to provide more space. The pub appears to me, if I may generalise in such a manner, to have a much more middle class customer base than some of the other pubs in the chain and it’s also in one of the higher price bands for food and drink.

    My favourite TripAdvisor review for this pub was a customer who was livid as they had found grass in their meal and claimed that the pub had tampered with their food as they had complained about their meal.

    “My Daughter found some grass, actual grass with little roots, in her salad, I have attached a picture taken of the said grass. Never before have I experienced anything quite like this.”

    The pub were polite in their response, but it really doesn’t look like grass to me, it looks like mixed leaves. But, the photo is on TripAdvisor for those who want to make their own minds up about whether a staff member rushed outside to find some grass to chuck in a meal.

    [Closed] Robert Ransome (Ipswich) – For a time this was the third Wetherspoons in Ipswich, although they’re back down to one as this and the Golden Lion both closed. This was a Yates before 2009 and they took it back in 2017, but it always seemed a strange purchase to me as Wetherspoons have the Cricketers located opposite, although I assume they wanted to operate this as more of a student venue. The building was once a carpet shop and it seemed to be quieter than the Cricketers when Wetherspoons operated it, which is perhaps why they closed it. But, I’m sure Ipswich could do with another outlet of Wetherspoons though, just one seems a little low at a time when the chain is looking to expand again.

    Willow Tree (Stowmarket) – Although this is probably my favourite of the chain’s pubs in the county, it’s also the one that I’ve seen the most arguments and the most abuse to staff in. And they’ve had flooding issues when it rained on two occasions when I visited, but otherwise it’s a cheap and cheerful location which is spacious and is rarely as rammed as some other pubs.

    The pub opened in 2012 and the building is entirely new, with the former offices that were on the site having been demolished in 2008. Just as Lowestoft and Beccles seem to be well reviewed on TripAdvisor and similar sites, the Stowmarket pub seems to be struggling in comparison, although maybe their locals have higher expectations.

    And, on the matter of TripAdvisor, this lovely customer gave 1 out of 5 and wrote:

    “Only me at bar 16.00 on Friday… No staff, then one appear to say having a drink because allowed. Dont argue that, but these ignorant specimens need to remember who pays there salary. On that, it will be a long time before I set foot in this worst managed WS in the country.”

    The pub had a look at the CCTV and reported that the customer actually waited only 53 seconds. Unforgivable….

    [Closed] Wolf (Bury St. Edmunds) – This was one of the earliest Wetherspoons outside the capital, but it had a relatively short life span as it only operated from 1996 until 1998. I had always assumed that it closed as the company opened the Corn Exchange, but it seems that there was a bit of a gap between the two events. The building has been used for various purposes since Wetherspoons left, but it re-opened in early 2019 as the craft beer bar, Tavern at St. John’s.

  • Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Willi Schulz Shirt)

    Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Willi Schulz Shirt)

    According to Nathan, who studied this shirt in some detail (I’m not really into looking at old clothing), this is quite important for those interested in football. And, I must admit, it’s an interesting display item to have, which is a football shirt which was worn in the 1966 World Cup Final. It was worn by Willi Schulz, a German, er, footballer, who would have run up and down the field whilst wearing it. That’s all I can really write about football if I’m being honest.

    I was interested to read though that eight of the eleven England football players who received a winning medal felt the need to sell it to raise money. Certainly different times in terms of how much players received in wages. And, also, the majority of players seem to have suffered from Alzheimer’s, it’s suggested that might have been linked to how players used to head what would have been an heavier ball than is used now.

  • Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Ballot Box)

    Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Ballot Box)

    In an attempt to be topical since today is a General Election, here’s a ‘wahlurne’, or ballot box, which was used in German elections on 20 April 1947. After the years of Nazi rule, it must have been something of a relief to be able to vote once again in a democratic election.

    And that’s all I’m going to say about today’s General Election…..

  • Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (1714 State Crown of King George I)

    Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (1714 State Crown of King George I)

    I had wondered why there were so many staff at the UK exhibition at the Haus der Geschichte, but having seen the exhibits, I’m sure that many were actually security guards. Given some other little incidents at German museums recently, this seems a very wise precaution. HM Queen Elizabeth II has lent this 1714 State Crown from the Royal Collection, first used for the crowning of King George I. This is of course highly relevant to the museum, since King George I was German, the first Monarch from the House of Hanover.

    Only the empty gold frame of the crown now remains as the stones were used in a lighter replacement for Queen Victoria, so King William IV was the last to use it as his Coronation. The crown was discarded by the Royal Family and it somehow came into the hands of the Amherst family who placed it on long-term loan at the Museum of London. Later acquired by the Prince of Brunei, it was returned back to the Royal Collection as a generous donation, with apparently an estimated value of a little over £500,000, but it’s of a much more important historical value.

    The crown is usually on display at the Tower of London, where I assume it will be returned after this temporary exhibition ends. But what a rather lovely item to send to Bonn, although its importance was perhaps not as clearly described as it could have been on the small information panel at the museum.

  • Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Fawlty Towers)

    Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (Fawlty Towers)

    Part of the exhibition on British-German relations at the special UK exhibition being held at the Haus der Geschichte. The curators seem to have amused themselves in finding cultural references to how the British view the Germans and vice versa.

    The light-hearted approach from British and German newspapers…..

  • Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (9/11 Girder from World Trade Center)

    Bonn – Haus der Geschichte (9/11 Girder from World Trade Center)

    This is one of the girders from the collapsed World Trade Center which was destroyed during the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey made available 2,200 of these pieces of steel to be used in museums and public buildings around the world. I’m not sure that a list exists of where they currently all are, but I must have seen tens of them over the years.

    Eleven Germans were killed during the attack and this is the museum’s memorial to them.

  • London – The Craft Beer Co Clerkenwell

    London – The Craft Beer Co Clerkenwell

    This was another of Nathan’s excellent drinking choices, but I had been trying to remember why I had heard of this rather lovely pub chain. This is the advantage of this blog, well to me anyway, as I was able to see that I had visited their outlet in Brighton.

    The menu here is for drink as the pub stocks several hundred different bottles from around the world, alongside twelve or so guest beers on tap from around the country. The choice was certainly excellent with just about every beer type that I could think of being listed. The pub doesn’t sell food, but customers are apparently able to bring pizzas in from next door. There’s a Greggs opposite, I’m unsure whether customers are allowed to bring in their fine food as well, but I’m sure the staff would be amenable to such a sensible request.

    It’s clear from some of these prices that this pub isn’t nervous about stocking higher end beers which are harder to find. I’ve never really understood why some people feel that expensive beer is somehow unjustifiable, whereas expensive wine is acceptable. I’m not drinking anything that pricey, but small scale imported beers are sometimes inevitably going to be a little specialist.

    There was quite a refined atmosphere in the pub, but it remained relaxed and comfortable.

    The ceiling of glass panels was intriguing….. There’s seating upstairs in this pub, which dates from the Victorian period and was formerly known as the Clock House before the Craft Beer Co took it over in 2011, although before the 1860s it was the Coach & Horses from at least the late eighteenth century. It was a Greene King pub before 2011, so there’s certainly been an upgrade on the beer at least, with some of the pub’s old internal features retained.

    Service was relaxed and engaging, with the staff member chatting away about the range of drinks. The prices aren’t the cheapest, but I’m far more interested in the quality of the beer than the quantity. As clearly was Nathan, as he spent some ridiculous sum on his beer, the name of which I can’t recall.

    So, on to the delights of TripAdvisor, where this pub is very well reviewed by hundreds of happy customers. Bar this one.

    “Not only I work in the area so tried it a few times but also on occasion went with friends who are professional brewers from Switzerland. On all occasions beers were just rank. My friends pointed out they are infected with wild yeast hence the spoilage but the reaction was “nah mate all good”. Bottled Budweiser (and oh dear lord is it pisswater) tastes better than spoiled beer. I’ll always avoid at all costs and recommend you do the same, plenty of other good places around serving fresh beer from a tank.”

    From a tank?!?!?! And the chances of the beer being infected is near zero in my view given how many they sell and not one other person has managed to find infected beer in any other TripAdvisor review….

    This pub is the first in the chain, which other than Brighton is only in London, and they note:

    “Our first pub was opened on an historic site on London’s Leather Lane and held the distinction of having the most beer taps in the UK until May 2014 when it was overtaken by out very own Covent Garden pub”.

    That is some claim to fame….  Anyway, a marvellous pub and quite rightly in the Good Beer Guide.

  • London – Masque Haunt

    London – Masque Haunt

    I’ve been to this JD Wetherspoon outlet many times, but I felt that a repeat visit was necessary since we were walking past it anyway. I’ve spent too many hours here faffing about whilst waiting for VISA applications, not a process I’ve had to endure recently. It’s located near to Old Street and it’s a relatively large Wetherspoons, with a raised area towards the back of the pub.

    The Market Porter from Portobello Brewing Co was unexceptional as it lacked a little richness, but it remained entirely drinkable.

    I like the below review on TripAdvisor, it seems to have escalated quickly…..

    “We came in as a group and the bar manager decided we were too loud and refused us service. No food, no napkins and [they] threatened to call the police”.

    Also, I’m not sure that this is how London pricing works….

    “I bought a nachos (normally What I get from my local Wetherspoons) they’ve given me a tiny teaspoon of each ? when I asked for more because I’ve paid extra because I was in London they were REALLY REALLY rude”

    Long ago, around the end of the eighteenth century, the site of this pub was the White Hart and it remained open until around 1910. The old buildings have now been demolished, but I like the continuity of the site once again being used as a pub, a Wetherspoons since 1994.

    The name of the pub is also intriguing, and Wetherspoons note:

    “In Elizabethan times, the nearby gatehouse of the former Priory of St John served as the office of the Master of the Revels, who was responsible for licensing plays, masques and other entertainment for the queen. A masque was a lavish drama with music and dancing, written by the leading poets and playwrights of the day. It was performed by masked figures and had an unusual name, like the masked haunt.”

    Anyway, a perfectly acceptable pub and the prices are towards the cheaper end of the scale given the location.

  • Business Traveller

    The final paragraph of an article in Business Traveller by Richard Tams, who is apparently an airline consultant now but he used to work as an airport manager.  The story amused me….