The Babington Arms (JD Wetherspoon), Derby

One of the better Wetherspoons I have come across, especially for their real ale selection. They have a massive 18 hand pumps with details of the brewery, strength price etc. shown on an electronic “blackboard”, like the Wellington in Birmingham (q.v.). Unfortunately they also ask you to order your beer by pump number instead of name which makes me feel as if I'm in a Chinese takeaway. The pub has a nice frontage with a few outside tables.

On the face of it, the Babington is just another of the bog standard plastic Wetherspoons, a rather dull and uninteresting former furniture showroom of little visual merit. The low ceilings, large open floor and standard Spoons livery including the ubiquitous bookcases, sofa area and historical snippets would ordinarily lead me to have a quick sample of the guest beers before moving on. Of course, having a quick sample in the Babbington is a major problem. The staggering line up of hand pumps (18 in all) dispense mostly guest beers with the 2 or 3 regular 'Spoons stalwarts (Pedigree, Abbot etc) pushed to one end and almost hidden from view as an embarrassment to the rest of the selection on offer. Just choosing what to have is a major dilemma but the choice does at least make up for any aesthetic disappointments. To make things a little easier, an electronic screen displays all the beers available along with additional information and ordering should be done by pump number rather than ale name. It is a shame that such a range is wasted in such a bland pub as no matter how spectacular the beer range is, it really needs the surroundings to compliment them and, to be honest, I would gladly trade an 18 ale souless plastic pub like the Babbington for one with more character and just half a dozen decent ales. Top marks must go for the effort on the Ale front and it must be considered a vital stop on any Derby Ale session but it is not a place I could spend any length of time, no matter how many treats they aim at me.

Street corner pub in busy housing residence. Very tatty inside and untidy pub. Usual beer range such as Carling, Bass, strongbow etc.. Tiny beer garden for smokers.

One of the two Wetherspoon in Derby (other being Standing Order) One of best pubs for serving real ale in City. Up to 8 to 10 real ales served anytime during the week. Can be crowded on days.