The Calverts Court (JD Wetherspoon), Stockport

Calvert Court is a long and thin Wetherspoons with a bar along the right hand wall and a mix of seating throughout. Standard and premium keg is available and there are two banks of five handpumps. The usual suspects were all in attendance alongside Ringwood Old Thumper, Peerless Skyline and my new favourite beer, Titanic Plum Porter which was £2.10 a pint! I found this pub to be better than the outside suggests and I’d have no problem returning for those prices.

Despite having been drinking in Stockport several times, I had never paid the Wetherspoon pub a visit, as there are so many other great pubs nearby that warranted my attention first. However that changes on Friday lunchtime when I went for a meal. The real ale selection was surprisingly good, with Titanic Plum Porter, Titanic Iceberg, Peerless Full Whack and Lymestone Stone Cutter available as guest ales. The Full Whack (6%) and Plum Porter slipped down very nicely indeed. The food was pleasant and good value, and the service was friendly when our drinks were brought over (we ordered via the app). This is a fairly narrow but quite deep Spoons, and there is a beer garden to the rear. It was actually a lot better than I imagined it would be.

Official site of The Calverts Court (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Calverts Court (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

This is a long, shop-converted Wetherspoons pub, centrally located at the top end of Petersgate. The pub very much falls into the chain's 'drab conversion' category, with no real effort made to make the place particularly stand out from the many other former retail outlets they've opened up around the country. The pub is carpeted throughout and has a long servery along the right hand wall with a fairly standard counter and bar back. Standard tables and chairs run through the centre of the pub but there were a few nice banquette booths down the left hand wall that looked like they were probably the best seats to grab. Elsewhere, a few high tables and stools make up the numbers and the usual 'Spoons information boards provide details about the original Calvert's Court from which the pub takes its name and explain the history of a long since demolished local theatre. Decorative features were very thin on the ground, but I did note some grotty panelling which was very unpleasant to look at and an unusual layered ceiling decoration which was quite stylish but hardly a talking point. The place was quiet by 'Spoons standards on our Friday evening visit but busier than expected when I dropped in for breakfast the following morning. I noted four guest ales on the bar alongside two 'Spoons regulars and two real ciders. I gave the Saltaire Cascadian Black a try and thought it was in reasonable condition, if not quite on a par with some of the beer we'd enjoyed around town that day. The food was the usual cheap but hearty fayre and did a good job as a quick refuelling stop. With so many fantastic pubs around town, the 'Spoons really only has the draw of a cheap pint to tempt you in and as such it stood out as one of the weaker pubs of my time in Stockport. Whilst not a particularly bad branch of Wetherspoons when taken in isolation, it fails to match the warm welcome and exciting, well kept ale line-ups offered by many other pubs around town, most of which had far more interesting interiors as well, making it really only worth popping in if on an extended crawl or in need of a quick bite to eat.

In a town that has so many pubs included in the historic interiors list its ironic that the local Wetherspoons offering is one of the blandest of the chain you are likely to experience. Apparently at one time the Petersgate area of Stockport was home to many great buildings, including the original Calverts Court from which the pub takes its name. Sadly not any longer and this must be one of the least attractive of the ‘Spoons chain from the outside being a conversion of a previous retail outlet in a drab 60's building. Sadly it doesn’t get any better when you weave your way inside past the nicotine bouncers in situ on the small outside drinking section. Internally even by Wetherspoon's standards this is a featureless bland pub with no distinguishing points whatsoever and the long thin room is as characterless as you can get. On the positive notes, alongside the usual uninspiring house ales there were some interesting guest offerings in the shape of Grafton Brewing Apricot Jungle, Moorhouse Ruby Witch, Black Sheep Rye Mild, Saltaire Cascadian Black, plus Roosters Pistol River and Cairngorm Trade Winds albeit both with the dreaded Available soon clip. And the primary reason for us choosing to meet up here, the usual Wetherspoon’s laminated card of cheap eats delights with its Breakfast Club options available till 12, was all on and I couldn’t fault my Eggs Royale that was done well and served promptly. So for the main things you rely on a ‘spoons to deliver at an early lunchtime the team at the Calverts Court delivered perfectly fine. But it’s just such a rank boring pub to experience them in, prompting me to implore of my fellow crawlers who decided to meet here, “please tell me drinking in Stockport gets better than this ?” They assured me it did and thankfully they were proved right.

I was not hoping for much after reading previous reviews. To my surprise, I liked the pub. The atmosphere was very relaxed for my 10.30am breakfast visit. I chose a pint of Black Sheep Rye Mild for a weaker drink due to the long day ahead. It was on fine form. My breakfast arrived promptly and was very good. As with most 'Spoons, time of day has as much influence as the décor, so I will score it 7B for my breakfast visit (I guess it might have got 5E if I came back 12 hours later!)

Quite a small 'spoons in a shop conversion,it's long and thin with a series of semi circular seating booths along the left wall.Standard 'spoons furniture and decor elsewhere with the lavs of the ground floor towards the rear.Two ranks of 5 handpumps with only GK Abbott and Ruddles Best representing the regulars with two ciders and guests of Cairngorm Trade Winds,Moorhouse Ruby Witch,Black Sheep Rye MILD,Saltaire Cascadian Black (decent nick) and Roosters Pistol River (available soon).Decent enough selection,but it's hardly a memorable venue and much more expensive than the various Sam Smiths pubs if you want a boring brown beer.