The Pilgrims Progress (JD Wetherspoon), Bedford

This is a large Wetherspoons pub - the only one remaining in town after the closure of the Banker’s Draft - with a decent central location a short walk from the train station. The pub occupies a very large single room, with an approximate L-shape layout, comprising a fairly shallow but wide front space running from the right-hand side, all the way to the bar on the left-hand wall, where the room then starts to extend further to the rear. The right side of the pub is mainly a split-level, carpeted area with a raised seating section under the front windows and a slightly larger space on a lower level behind. The room has plenty of dark wood panelling as well as a few rather grand bookcases filled with what I can only assume are auction job-lots, rather than someone’s esteemed library. A partitioning rail separates the two levels, and on the lower section, this is used as the backing to a row of nice banquette booths. The room is broken midway along by a large brick chimney stack with a small fireplace, which acts as the divider between the right side and the more open bar area to the left. High tables and stools dominate this space, running from the fireplace all the way to the bar, which has a simple wood panelled counter front and white tiled bar back of the sort that would look more at home in a craft beer bar than in a ‘Spoons. The room then runs a long way back, again across a couple of different levels, with lots more seating mainly in the form of basic tables and chairs. There may be some sort of beer garden or patio area to the rear, but I didn’t get a chance to explore. The three usual ‘Spoons ales were complimented by four guest ales and two real ciders, and I enjoyed a good quality pint of the Saltaire New World. I also stopped here for some food and thought it was of a much higher standard than in your average Wetherspoons, with a bit of attention to detail paid to what are essentially nothing more than microwave reheat meals. Service was pretty good and there was a busy Wednesday evening crowd in. This is a fairly bog-standard Wethersppons pub that doesn’t really have a great deal to make it stand out from the crowd, but it did at least have a good guest ale policy, friendly service and some decent food, which helped to round off my Before pub crawl nicely. Sure, you’ll have seen it all before, but it’s a solid choice and worthy of including on a trip around town.

Average Wetherspoons, some booth areas, food area at rear.

This is a largish corner Spoons dating from 1997 that was originally a furniture shop. The name recalls some local bloke who wrote a book called this donkey's years ago. It's an L shaped open plan single room where the most attractive area is around the bar at the back of the pub which leads to a paved patio. There is a screen and projector here for sporting events which to my relief was not in use on my visit. The room is filled with the usual Spoons mix of tables and chairs. The bar has two banks of three hand pumps and a further six at the side. The net result of this was the two GK beers doubled up, Doom Bore, Broadside, Milestone Classic Dark Mild, Hambledon Nightmare, Stonehenge Pigswill, Moorhouse Farmhouse and two beers available soon. I went for the Moorhouse Farmhouse (£1.99) which was in very good nick. Overall I thought this was the better of the two Bedford Spoons. The fact that the toilets are at bar level must be worth a point in itself.