The William Rufus (Lloyds No. 1), Carlisle

The William Rufus is a Wetherspoons with a serving counter up the left that faces a mix of seating throughout. I ended up sat at a tiny copper topped table with half a Hawkshead Brewery’s Red that was served by a very friendly barmaid. Bowman Ales Hop Hearted, Sharp’s Sea Fury, Jaipur and the usual suspects were also available from the two banks of four hand pumps found in amongst a sea of keg products along the counter. There are large screens that were showing Monday night football build up, which had me double checking that this is actually a Spoons… yes it is, although I didn’t venture upstairs to see how far away the toilets are. I thought it was alright in here so would return if passing for the very agreeable pricing in a town that turned out to be a lot more expensive than I expected being this far oop north.

The Lloyds No.1 and non-GBG version of the two Spoons almost next door to each other. Looks like a mid-00's interior of the Scandi variety - mid brown wood, clean lines, maroon finish and pretty tidy if slightly nightclub over two levels. Clientele a bit more ‘Carlisle’ than its sister pub, I overheard a convo about the local lunatic’s latest scrap and noted a teenage boy making a very strange call, who I suspect will be on the Sex Offenders Register before too long. At the bar my first want of Plum Porter was off, still leaving a surprising three guest casks and my consolation Kirby Lonsdale Tiffin Gold was fine (NBSS 3). Gratifyingly the PP was pulled through as I nursed my original choice, and a resultant pint of it was another solid NBSS 3. I didn’t venture in again over the rest of my three day stay in the town but did notice that it certainly gets lively in an evening, with bouncers on the door. But for a mid-afternoon pint it was agreeable enough. 6.5