The White House (JD Wetherspoon), Scraptoft, Leicester

A JDW situated in a large stone-built country house, away from any obvious town centre area. Despite the inevitability of Spoonerisation it's fairly nicely done. Enter to where the reception and grand staircase are which has had an injection of wood panelling. There are some rooms heading off, with a small bar to the right with a reduced offering but prefect for the simple cheap option imbibers; there’s a nice fireplace here and stuff about the history of selective breeding in animals (it is Leicestershire after all…). Straight on and down some steps is the main area, which is where the diners congregate. It’s a decent space as it looks like an old conservatory and there are windows overlooking a nice garden enclosed by semi-mature woodland. Two genuine guest ales at this bar, with no complaints about my Naylors Old Ale (NBSS 4) and one I forgot to note (3); Aqualung will be pleased/gutted to learn that the prices were rock-bottom, under £2pp sans Spoons CAMRA voucher. Amusement value provided by a toddler who replicated the pace and swerve of JPR Williams in his prime, twice escaping the table he was on, past the despairing grasp of the adults and powered over to the disabled lift to press the emergency alarm button, which the whole pub heard quite clearly.

This is an extraordinary Spoons set in a huge stone built mansion with extensive grounds that include a front car park, a large side patio and a rear garden that actually has real grass. Inside it's a huge open plan room that is divided up into various areas. It's a task in itself finding the bar which is at the rear left of the building. A banner at the front of the building advertises a Sunday Carvery which if it exists is very unusual especially after the ditching of the Sunday "Roasts" for the Sunday Brunch. Furnishings are better than average but food prices are generally higher. There seemed to be a few people in on a Thursday morning for breakfasts and no sign at all of any daytime brigade but the place is so vast there could have been an enclave hidden away somewhere. The grandiose surroundings were completely let down by a really rubbish selection from the ten hand pumps on the bar. This consisted of a Well's beer available soon, the JDW Trio Of Doom & Marston's One Is 90 doubled up and Adnam's Broadside. The choice was so dismally poor I went for the keg Banks's Devils Backbone which at £2.99 wasn't that much dearer than the £2.55 standard guest ale price. I don't know Leicester well and had never even heard of Scraptoft but the Ordnance Survey map reveals it's right on the Eastern edge of Leicester which makes you wonder if a place this size is viable. It's a great place to come for something to eat but if you're after anything other than boring rubbish on the Real Ale front then forget it.

A famous local landmark, that until its recent £1m renovation had become decidedly 'tired'. Now sympathetically restored, with usual Wetherspoons open-plan design. Decent garden and helpful staff - one agreed to wheel my bicycle away out of sight as I'd forgotten to bring a lock. Beers were well kept, as usual, all other aspects were Wetherspoons-standard. A welcome restoration of a pub that otherwise looked destined for closure.