Sandford House (JD Wetherspoon), Huntingdon

Good Beer Guide listed spoons, partly housed in an old chapel. The right hand section is the former chapel and the counter runs the full length of the right hand side. Home to two groups of six pulls, terrible trio on each with Jaipur and Ghost Ship doubled up, the other two had Brew York Calmer Chameleon and an Windor & Eton beer. Usual kegs interspersed on large T bars, a trio of more crafty pretenders and another with Guinness a latin lager and a cider, keg cocktails also available.  Tall seating by the counter and lower tables and chairs in an extended section on the left. This also has a raised section at the far end leading up to the gallery and into the building on the left. The front of the chapel has a gallery reach by stairs on the immediate left on entering. The left side is pretty much an independent building, the original Sandford House, with lots of leather based furniture but no counter. There are many more pictures and info boards than normal in Wetherspoons, maybe Huntingdon has more history. Beer quality was very good. There’s a Wetherspoons hotel and beer garden at the back.

As described previously, a Spoons hotel, created from two buildings with most of the action taking place in a large room built between the two. One end holds a substantial bar and the other a quieter, tabled area while there is a large terraced outdoors behind, where you can also find the hotel part. Usual Wetherpoons arrangements apply and it's not unpleasant by any means. I was pleased to find 5 guest ales on, and mostly from far-flung places - I went for the Salcombe Shingle Bay which was in very good condition, particularly surprising as it ran out shortly after mine.

Sandford House is a large Wetherspoons housed in an old chapel and an attractive, and very solid, Victorian building that have been spanned by a less interesting extension. The serving counter is found in the chapel end where it runs along the outside wall under a high vaulted ceiling. Above the chapel entrance, that has a very heavy wooden door, is a gallery with some tables which obviously have menus. The counter faces a couple of rows of high tables beyond which is a sea of standard open plan seating that is found in the low-ceilinged extension. Steps at the far end climb into the Victorian building that feels a lot more like a standard Spoons. There’s lots of seating along the windowed walls and a smaller seating area with an impressive log burner is also available. Out the back is a large beer garden that I didn’t visit. On the drinks front, standard and premium keg was available alongside the usual three cask suspects plus Mad Squirrel’s Stimulus, Hawkshead Brewery’s Red, Hogs Back Brewery’s Creature Comforts and Bowman Ales’ Hop Hearted. I love the concept of making a pub out of two completely different buildings, but I think it could have been done better as the extension area is depressing.

Branch of Wetherspoon's that stretches across from a former chapel to another adjacent building. We remained in the area near to the bar and found it to be fairly bright and airy compared with most Wetherspoon's. Staff didn't seem to be too attentive, preferring to serve a couple of lads who had arrived after me, behind whom a queue started to appear. A subsequent staff member arrived and was about to serve the next person in the newly-formed queue, before I had to intervene to place my order. Regular beers here are Greene King Abbot & IPA & Sharp's Doom Bar. 4 guest beers were Beartown Skinful, Goddard's Fuggle-Dee-Dum, Nelson's Shipwrecked & Salopian Darwin's Origin. Ciders were Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon & Weston's Old Rosie. We ordered food on the app. This came fairly swiftly, but wasn't up to much.