The Old Manor (JD Wetherspoon), Bracknell

Hidden away in Bracknell's dispiriting town centre and made tricky to reach thanks to a busy ringroad that cuts it off if approaching from certain directions, this is a lovely old building that has been nicely converted by the Wetherspoons chain. After a struggle to find my way here, I ended up entering through what I took to be the back entrance, via a nice patio area with limited shelter and a view of the aforementioned ring road. From here, I entered the left-hand bar, passing through a small seating area to reach a narrow carpeted space with the servery down one side and limited seating opposite. The bar has a traditional dark wood counter and matching, mirrored bar back which fits in nicely with the dark beamed building. Moving on again, you reach the rear lounge with two-tone lincrusta wall coverings, a large TV to the rear showing muted Olympics coverage, three rows of tables and chairs and a small fireplace on the back wall. Lots of plain mirrors, traditional pictures and Spoons local history boards line the walls and a door to one side leads out to a large patio garden area with lots of seating and umbrellas for shelter. From here you can access the right side of the pub, which is a sprawling space with a bar to the right with six more handpulls, high tables and stools arranged between a row of central support pillars, TV screens showing Olympics action with the sound just about audible, and a lot of slot machines. The left hand bar had four guest ales and the three regular options, but there were additional handpulls in the right-hand bar, so the range may have been more extensive than I first thought. I tried a pint of Wolf Coyote which was in reasonable condition. The locals were as miserable and depressing as their town and I had to move seats to spare myself from having to listen to a torrent of racist hate speech in the lounge. Whilst this is a pretty impressive building, the fractured layout does the place no favours, creating a disjointed layout that almost feels like two separate pubs. The beer and service were just about okay but the knuckle-dragging locals were enough to make me never want to patronise this place again. Not one of the chain's finest efforts, but I guess it remains a relatively safe bet in a town lacking good ale options. Date of visit - 10th August 2024

This Spoons opened in Summer 1993 so by my reckoning is one of the oldest of their pubs outside of the Greater London area. Unlike many of their outlets it is not a huge single room but a series of carpeted interconnecting rooms two of which contain bars. I started in the back bar which only has three hand pumps (Doom Bore, Loddon's Ferrymans Gold and Old Rosie Cider). The solitary barman was being snowed under with food orders so I went in search of the main bar. This one had six hand pumps which had the two GK beers, Banks's Central Session Room IPA, Twickenham Summer Sun, Hogs Back Hog IPA and Wharfebank Yorkshire IPA. I went for the Wharfebank beer (£2.35) which was in good condition but had a slight haze. This is an excellent Spoons that has been a GBG regular for a long time. Even the anti Spoons brigade might like this one!

Above-average Wetherspoons in historic building, with lots of different rooms and areas separated by beams and old walls. Usual good range of beers and food, but it has a general feel of being well-run, which makes all the difference. Car park is charged for, with refund at bar.