The Sir Richard Owen (JD Wetherspoon), Lancaster

An unimpressive exterior,up some steps into a front section across two sides with the bar in a rear corner.There is a staircase to a large much lower level and doors to the street entrance beyond.Overall not the largest spoons and the low ceiling in the upper section meant it felt quite dull inside. The trio of Doom were supplemented by guests Old Speckled Hen ,Brightside Hoppy Blonde and Manchester Magic Mild (NBSS Good) and Cairngorm WildCat.I was on a brief crawl visit and then again the following morning for breakfast but this 'spoons wont stay long in the memory.However light years better than the nearby Hogarts,so be grateful for small mercies !

A relatively small and unexceptional Spoons on two levels, a bit low-ceilinged and unattractive. Just three guest ales on, although admittedly the Brightside Manchester Magic Mild was in very good nick. I can't help feeling there must have been a more auspicious building in Lancaster they could have restored.

This is a good sized, town centre branch of Wetherspoons, split across two levels and accessible from the front and via a rear entrance down a rather uninviting back alley. I entered via the main, Upper Spring Garden Street entrance, into a fairly compact, carpeted room with the servery over in the rear right corner. The bar has a plain, wood panenelled counter front with an unusual light box feature beneath the counter top and a broad bar back due to the deep serving space behind the counter, behind which there is plenty of dark wood shelving and fridges. High tables and stools run through much of this upper level, with regular tables and chairs over to the left. The room has a high ceiling with concrete beams running across it and a few slot machines stand on either side, whilst TV screens were showing muted news coverage. Stairs lead down to a similarly compact lower bar area, which is full of regular tables and chairs and has its own section of servery. When I first visited, there were three 'Spoons regular ales and three guests on the handpulls, although an extra guest had appeared when I popped in a couple of days later. On my initial visit, I tried Coach House Old Porter, which was a fine beer in pretty good shape, whilst on my return, I sampled another guest which I forgot to note down, but it was in great nick. I also ate here and found the staff friendly and prompt with their service and the food the usual reliable, unspectacular fayre. Despite the split level layout this place felt small and cramped, with limited seating available once a bit of a crowd has built up. Whilst the beer seemed to be in good condition and the service was friendly, the pub itself is a bit underwhelming, making it a worthy, if rather uninspired, addition to a crawl around the city centre. Date of visit - 14th January 2024

A fairly standard Wethers on two levels. The front (upper) level houses the bar and the rear (lower) level leads to a small outside patio. 10 handpulls but once you took away the Wethers Three I was left with a fairly mundane selection. Saying that the Beartown Creme Bearlee was delightful.

Not a bad Spoons with the semi circular bar to the right as you enter. Usual suspects on hand pumps to the right, guest ales to the left that I could not see properly. Bar downstairs at the back which I used as the other area was quite full.

I turned up here early on a Friday evening, probably the worst possible time to visit a Spoons or any other pub. It was very busy and the staff were under pressure to keep things going. Superficially it seems like a small Spoons until you see the large lower area down some steps to the left. The bar is in the upper area so I ignored the downstairs room. The bar has two sets of five hand pumps and it was too busy to note everything but on top of the usual suspects and cider there was Lytham IPA & Harvest Gold and Moorhouse Pendle Porter. I went for the Lytham IPA (£1.95) and managed to find a seat. It was in good nick. It's hard to judge any pub at a peak time but this seemed to be a fair Spoons with the plus point of still selling beer at under two quid a pint.