The Sir Walter Scott (JD Wetherspoon), Airport, Edinburgh

Large windowless barn of a place airside at Edinburgh Airport. With a little time to spare, I popped in to see if there were any beers I'd never had. Regular cask ales here are Sharp's Doom Bar, Greene King Abbot & Belhaven 80/-. Guests were Stewart Edinburgh Gold & Coach House Christmas Stocking. I chose the latter which set me back more for a half than I had been paying for a pint in the Wetherspoon's in Galashiels earlier in the day. It was served to me by a young girl who was more like a machine than a person offering customer service. There's very little, if any, character to this place. It's just a case of packing as many tables and customers in as possible. It serves a purpose, I suppose. I'd been here previously back in 2012 but really should have opted for the Brewdog opposite instead. I'll try to remember to do that the next time I have the opportunity.

One of three airside pubs at Edinburgh airport, it is very much part of the departure hall with open ceilings and some partitioning around the perimeter to try and make it a bit of a separate space. The main entrance, if you can call it that, is through a “Wetherspoon Bar” archway, flanked by fake stone pillars and an attractive tiled globe set in to the floor. To be fair, working within the constraints of what was available to them, they’ve actually done a pretty decent job overall. Flooring was a mixture of wood effect chequered tiling and carpet, with dark wood panelling around much of the perimeter. This was quite high at the back and included not only etched glass to replicate windows, but even a fireplace stacked up with logs, although this was clearly decorative rather than functional since there was obviously no chimney. The only TV screens were departure boards, and some recessed seating to the right was quite attractive with shelves of old books lining the wall alongside. Tables were very tightly squeezed in to the extent that although I spotted a spare one towards the back, I really couldn’t work out how I would actually get there. Service at the bar was quick an efficient, and I was approached two or three times by different members of staff while I was waiting for my drink to be poured. Beer choice was a little limited compared to most of the company’s outlets with just Abbot Ale, Doom Bar, Old Smokey and Peaky Blinder being available. Ciders meanwhile were Magners, Strongbow Dark Fruit and Thatcher’s Gold. The latter went down very well, but at £2.48 for a half, it must be around double the price of most of their outlets.