The Dockle Farmhouse (JD Wetherspoon), Stratton St Margaret, Swindon

The Dockle Farmhouse is a massive Wetherspoons with a large barnlike open plan bar to the right and a smaller more pub-like bar to the left. During a recent Thursday evening visit the larger bar was empty and soulless, but there was a bit of atmosphere in the smaller bar. The usual Spoons food is available, and I counted five hand pumps on both bars. There is no music or live sport, but the usual Spoons rolling BBC news TV was in situ. Out the front is a large picnic strewn beer garden that is accessed via patio doors along the rear of the pub. There is also a fenced in children’s play area, which I do not recall seeing in any other JDW I have visited. At the front of the pub is a large car park. This place is like two separate pubs, one of which is not worth visiting and the other maybe is.

This is a rather unusual Spoons in that it's a huge venue set in what appears to be a quiet Eastern suburb of Swindon. It's listed in the JDW directory as a Lloyds but it isn't really as it's effectively two pubs in one. I entered via the large front garden which includes a substantial area with kiddies play apparatus. Unlike some Spoons with gardens that aren't just patios for smokers they haven't replaced the real grass with astroturf. I pressed on into the bar and was dismayed to see just three pumps with one displaying a sign. This sign said something along the lines of there being another bar stocking a range of real ales so I left the family bar and headed for the adult bar. This is a more typical place with tall tables by the bar and in the passage connecting the two bars are some low tables and a few sofas. There was a music soundtrack playing but not at an objectionable volume. This has two sets of five hand pumps but the beer choice was poor, the two GK beers plus Box Tunnel Vision were doubled up and one was unused. This left just Doom Bore, Mauldon's Cuckoo and a Moorhouse beer. As I ate here which included a drink I went for the Banks's Devils Backbone on keg. It's hard to score this one as just a place to come for a drink it's not that great but if you're a local with a young family it must be a great venue. I'll settle for a 5. The number 7 bus comes almost to the door from Swindon Bus Station.