The Hope & Champion (JD Wetherspoon), Beaconsfield

This place is famously the UK's only service station pub, so with a visit to nearby Beaconsfield Town FC earmarked for the afternoon, I felt almost obliged to pay a quick visit. The pub occupies a surprisingly small space, accessed by a car park-facing, outdoor patio area which leads you to the main entrance. You enter into a bare boarded front seating area with just a small strip of 'Spoons carpeting along the space under the large front windows. Drinking ledges and stools predominate here, with regular tables and chairs through the open space beyond. The bar is down the rear part of the left-hand wall and has a typical 'Spoons counter and bar back. More basic seating stands opposite, under a huge wall mural of local interest pictures - a nice twist on the usual local history information boards. Doors to the rear lead out to a large garden which looked across some sort of pond. Stairs opposite the bar take you up to the toilets and an overspill seating area with views down to the garden. It's a fairly plain space with some short banquette booths, basic tables and chairs and a nice drinking ledge looking directly over the pond. Screens throughout the pub were showing muted rolling BBC News and I was surprised that the place didn't feel as transient as I'd expected, although that might partly be because I wasn't slogging along the motorway myself. On the bar, there was no sign of the three usual 'Spoons cask ales, with just Twickenham Honey Dark (£1.99 a pint) and Windsor & Eton Guardsman available along with two more W&E beers listed as 'Coming Soon'. The Honey Dark was in decent shape and the barman was very friendly and super apologetic when he started pouring me a Guinness by mistake. I thought this place would just be a bit of a novelty and not much more, but it held up well enough thanks to some decent beer, comfy seating and a pleasant garden. It felt a lot more substantial than an airport 'Spoons and whilst there's no reason to schlep out here from the town centre, it makes a nice alternative from the usual motorway service station dross. Date of visit - 16th March 2024

Been meaning to come here for years, but this proved a conveniently well-placed stop recently. Reasonably sized bar area, with a bit more seating upstairs and plenty of outdoor tables at both front and back. I found four of the five handpumps being used, with Doom Bar supplemented by Twickenham's naked Ladies and a pair of Rebellion beers from Marlow: IPA and Roasted Nuts. Overall, not bad for what it is.

If we fancy a stop on the M40 we have a selection of pubs we know will do the job, but after a particularly tedious day in London, time was pressing and a very quick one was required. Like others, I was rather surprised, and the terrace to the rear made a nice spot to unwind for twenty minutes or so. Of course, it wasn't 100%. It is, after all, a JDW, and a motorway services: you don't expect an olde Englishe pubbe. But the service was surprisingly cheerful given the aggro service area staff have to put up with; the Knight of the Garter, a snip at £2.49, hazy but drinkable. Only real annoyance was trying to spend a Camra voucher, which caused much fiddling with two tills and was eventually abandoned, my voucher remaining unspent. It is fine for what it is, you wouldn't go out of your way to visit, but if you are stopping the night in the adjacent Ibis you'll be mightily glad it's there.

I was pleasantly surprised, both by the 'Spoons and by the Services generally, which are a cut above the average. The pub is very modern and nicely fitted-out, with a long bar in the busy ground floor room and a quiter upstairs level with some nice 'compartments' overlooking the bustle of the main food court. There are outdoor tables both at the front and rear. Usual Wetherspoons fare with an emphasis on Windsor & Eton beers. Although there was considerable opposition to the thought of a pub in a motorway services, this one makes a pretty good case for having more.