The Brockley Barge (JD Wetherspoon), Brockley, SE4

Visited 24/11/25. Visited previously 28/06/21. Cask offering apart from the omnipresent Abbot, GKIPA and Doom Bar were two from Sambrook's - the Junction and the Tomahawk and two from Oakham, the Icon and my Citra, in superb shape for under £3! Keg offering was K1664, Carlsberg, Guinness, Budweiser, Corona, Stella, original and dark fruits SB, Angelo Poretti, Worthington CF, Stowford Press, Bud Light, Carling, Leffe, Coors, Big Sea IPA from Mad Squirrel and Punk IPA. Busy venue on this and all previous visits here near the exit from Brockley station. One of the smaller JDW's, tiled towards the middle of the front of the venue and along the bar counter which is on the right-hand wall from middle to rear. Ledge seating on tall stools around quite a few pillars in the middle of the venue, some booth tables towards the rear and otherwise plenty of regular and tall tables. Plenty of fruit machines in this one and the sole TV as I could spot about the front entrance showing BBC News with the volume off. There is some seating out the front but redundant on my late afternoon visit in poor weather conditions.

The Brockley Barge is a relatively small Wetherspoons with a serving counter across the rear wall that faces a mix of standard and high tables in amongst central supporting pillars. More high tables are found in the rounded section to the right that is a bit of a thoroughfare. In amongst the keg are two banks of five hand pumps that were drawing the usual Spoons’s three plus three from Sambrook’s Brewery, Tomahawk, Junction and Pumphouse. The service was friendly and they knew the names of all the old boys who approached the bar, but I didn’t like the layout and struggled to get comfortable so I will probably walk past next time, although many of the pubs in this area don’t open until mid-afternoon so I may find myself in here again if I happen to be around during a midweek lunchtime.

Decent looking Spoons outside, round the corner from the station. Nice if nothing extraordinary inside. Good Beer Guide listed

Just across the road from Brockley railway station, this is a Wetherspoons venue converted from a former pub - the Breakspear Arms. Such pub conversions tend to work well for the chain as the buildings lend themselves more to a cosier, homely environment when compared to a shop or theatre conversion. However, this one highlighted one of the problems with using a pre-existing pub. In removing the formerly centrally positioned servery and relocating it to the back wall in order to create their favoured single room layout, the room has been left with a long row of pillars and sections of wall through the centre which would've formed part of the original servery and presumably can't be removed. This has the effect of breaking the room up a bit, but it also means that large parts of the pub are gloomy and lacking natural light and that the bar area gets cramped at peak periods, not to mention that the overall effect doesn't look particularly nice either. The usual 'Spoons formula has been applied here, with carpeting throughout, half panelled walls and a simple servery which is itself broken up by more pillars. The room is an unusual wedge shape and most of the natural light can be found at the 'thin' right hand end, where high tables and chairs stand under a nice curved end wall. Standard tables and chairs fill the bulk of the room and there were a couple of banquette booths to the left. TV screens showed muted coverage from the Olympic Games rather than the traditional rolling news channels. A few bits of abstract art filled up some wall space but otherwise the place was quite sparsely decorated. Ten handpulls offered four 'Spoons regulars and four guest ales, with two ciders occupying the remaining handles. I tried a pint of the Pretty Things Seasoned Traveller which was a good pint served by one of the friendly and industrious bar staff, one of whom putting in his own Olympian effort with some highly efficient table clearing and cleaning. I thought this was a bit of a mixed bag, as I found it tricky to settle down here - not a complaint I normally associate with Wetherspoons pubs. The beer was in good shape and I thought the service was well above average for the chain, but I think this still rates below the Antic and Late Knights pubs down the road.

I have to say that this is the first time I have been to Brockley apart from straight through on the train. I was disappointed that there wasn't a pub called the Cauliflower here. The Brockley Barge was once a Courage pub called the Breakspear Arms which had Public and Saloon bars with a bar billiards table in each. Needless to say it is now one large bar but I have to say that as usual a Wetherspoons that was an original pub is always better than the usual shop/cinema/office conversion. I arrived here alarmingly early in the morning and found 10 pumps with three devoted to the two GK Beers, Old Rosie, a Welton's beer, Wasterham Audit Ale and four festival ales which were priced at £2.15. I had the Jennings one and the American Supremely Self-Conscious Black IPA from Adnams. Both were in good condition and the Black IPA was outstanding.

Randomness Guide to London - Brockley Barge entry

Randomness Guide to London - Brockley Barge entry

Curiously-shaped building, with an unusual rounded end nearest the railway station, a small beer garden at the rear and a big cube sat on the central section (giving a slightly ship-like appearance from certain angles for those with a vivid imagination). Apparently the building was actually a pub before it became a Wetherspoons (if you see what I mean), and inside it has a relatively light interior. Ten handpumps with a reasonable range of real ale at £1.89, including Granny Wouldn't Like It from the Wolf Brewery and several other rarities.