Swan Hotel (JD Wetherspoon), Leighton Buzzard

This was my first visit to a Spoons hotel. It seemed much the same as others but being an old building and not a shop allows it to be split into small areas. On my lunchtime visit it did seem that a lot of people were there for the food. On the bar there were ten pumps with the predictable 2 GK beers, Doom Bore available soon and Adnam's Broadside. More interestingly there was Cotleigh Commando, Hook Norton Flagship, White Park Kelly's Stout, Red Squirrel London Porter then Elgood's Cambridge and Concrete Cow Fenny Popper both available soon. I went for the Red Squirrel Porter which was in very good nick. This is GBG 2015 listed so three beers being unavailable was unfortunate. Despite that it's a reasonable sort of place but think it unlikely I would return partly because the town is so far from the station.

Official site of Swan Hotel - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

A large Wetherspoon’s directly opposite the Market Place, the pub also offers accommodation as it’s name suggests and was full to capacity on a recent Tuesday evening visit when I just managed to bag the last table. As a consequence, food service was somewhat slower than is usual in their establishments with a 20 minute wait, although to be fair this was pointed out to me when I ordered. The pub consists of a number of interconnected areas, although the front half feels perhaps a little more hotel like with a cream and pale blue colour scheme, whereas the rear half which includes the bar counter is more traditional. Flooring is predominantly carpet with some parquet wood around the bar area and there were some old light fittings as well as a number of beams on the ceiling, some of which had old pewter tankards hanging from them. The bar is presumably an original feature being curved and made of ornate carved wood. A number of old black and white photographs showed the local area, including the market place in the 19th Century, the nearby Grand Union canal and the Leighton Buzzard sand quarry. A long list of previous licensees suggests that it has been a hostelry for some time, unless Wetherspoons have an unusually high staff turnover. A small courtyard looked pleasant enough and included an old brewer’s dray as well as a covered area for the inclement weather. The food menu was extensive and divided in to several sections such as wraps, salads and pasta, pub classics, chicken and ribs, burgers and dogs, fresh from the grill and even an under 500 calories section. I went for a Chicken Tikka Masala which as well as rice came with naan bread, poppadums and mango chutney. It was ok, although nothing special, and I thought that at £7.50 it was perhaps a little pricey, particularly as there didn’t seem to be a massive amount of chicken in it. Beers on this occasion were Doom Bar, Abbott Ale, Adnams Broadside, Fenny Popper and Old Bloomer from the Concrete Cow Brewery in nearby Milton Keynes, Ruddles Best, Cotleigh Hoofing Commando, White Park Kelly’s Stout and Red Squirrel London Porter. Ciders were Strongbow, Thatcher’s Gold and Mr. Whitehead’s Beetroot on tap as well as a couple more options from Mr. Whitehead boxed up behind the bar.

Official site of Swan Hotel - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

I found this pub much as described by BF, especially the bit about wondering if they actually had a bar :-). They do seem to have upped their game a little on the real ale front; with a good selection of diverse and interesting ales.