The Bellwether (JD Wetherspoon), Wednesbury

Fairly standard Spoons with the usual clientele. 4 guests on alongside the usual trio including a couple from Silhill brewery. I went for Silhill Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as it was new to me. Always a risk having a festive beer in mid January but this was in decent shape! The managers special was Silhill Blonde Star at 99p a pint!

JDW claim that this place is the site of the Bell Inn which closed in the late 20th Century. It is situated between the end of the Upper High Street and The A461 which is the main road from Walsall to Dudley. Unusually it has a garden which overlooks the above road and provides a charming viewpoint for watching the traffic racing past. It dates back to Summer 2000 and is fairly standard open plan with the usual mix of furnishings. The bar has 10 hand pumps which on my visit had the two GK beers, Doom Bore, six festival beers and one Available Soon. I went for the Vale SPA (£1.89 festival price) which was by no means clear but not bad enough to send back. Given it is GBG 2015 listed this was rather disappointing. I hope I was just unlucky.

An end terrace multi-building site, in white render with blue paintwork, with a beer garden. The interior is a typical 'Spoons open plan, multi-coloured wall job; brown, red and white mainly. Lots of historic pictures and information boards adorn the walls and the place is set out mainly for food. There are different seating areas, mainly tables and chairs, but comfy seats and a sofa also show. The usual silent Sky TV's are all over the place. Service was fine, the clientele mixed and it was busy. Beer; the usual tap stuff, with a cold Highgate MILD and several real ales, including Abbot and Ruddles. Spoons appeal the the mass, as they are cheap, but too often their beer isnt up to it in one way or another. This seemed a better than the usual, but i tend to avoid them in general

Official page of The Bellwether - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

Official page of The Bellwether - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk