The Eric Bartholomew (JD Wetherspoon), Morecambe

An unimpressive 'Spoons with just two guest beers to complement the Trio of Doom ((c) Aqualung). These were both from Kirkby Lonsdale brewery, but I didn't fancy the 5.5% stout having just had two 5%ers in the previous pubs, and the other was a blonde. So I ended up with Doom Bar. To be fair, it was in pretty good nick, but it's an underwhelming beer even when it's brilliant, which it wasn't. This pub suffers from the usual 'Spoons problem: not enough staff to serve the number of people waiting. (Or too many customers; take your pick.) It was the same when we called in for breakfast the next morning, or rather it was worse because the lass was so busy and the customers were gathering round the bar so quickly that she had no idea who was next to be served. As usual, we all complain about it but we all still use it - it never occurred to us to get our breakfast elsewhere! Oh, and the toilets, as mentioned by Aqualung (below) are upstairs and then down again. Probably designed by an architect just back from a liquid lunch.

A large Wethers that's on 2 floors. The ground floor is an open plan oblong with a different areas set off and a long servery. 10 handpumps on the bar and a fairly safe selection of beers alongside the 3 dullards. I never ventured upstairs so have no idea what its like.

Quiet on Tuesday evening other than the mass of elderly eaters lining the front windows. Aqualung has described the layout, especially the toilets! Usual selection of real ales - would revisit.

The Morecambe JDW looks like a shop or supermarket conversion but I could find no confirmation of that. It consists of a wide rectangular modern looking room with an additional upstairs area for eating. The downstairs room is split into different areas. The worst thing about this one are the toilets where you have to climb three flights of stairs to get to the upper floor then descend a flight of stairs to reach the toilets. How rubbish is that? The best thing is the standard guest ale price of £1.79 making it one of the cheapest JDWs around. The bar has ten hand pumps which had the JDW Trio Of Doom with Doom Bore doubled, three unused, Cross Bay Sunset & Dusk and Exmoor Gold. I went for the Sunset (£1.79) which was in good nick. It's not bad as a JDW and is GBG 2017 listed.

Its A SPOONS and one of those thats full of the local down and out

For the benefit of the youngsters, this Wetherspoons is named in honour of the town's greatest star, Eric Morecambe of Morecambe & Wise fame (Bartholomew being his real name). The pub is a ubiquitous, run of the mill, modern style Wetherspoons with a typically plastic and fairly gloomy interior. The low ceiling makes it a bit claustrahobic and the atmosphere is rather subdued. Like many Wetherspoons, its main draws are the cheap prices and Ale selection – 3 guests on my visit (Bryson Hurricane, Archers IPA, Cheeky Pheasant) plus a couple of standards (Pedigree and Abbott). The forthcoming ales are shown on a blackboard by the bar. There is further seating upstairs which is a bit brighter and offers panoramic views of Barclays Bank. A few old prints of the town adorn the walls but pride of place is taken by a copper & steel sculpture of Eric & Ernie in the stairwell. I don't know Morecambe very well but there did not appear to be a great deal reasonable competition in the area and for that reason alone, the Eric Bartholomew is worth noting.

Official page of The Eric Bartholomew - www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk

A JD Wetherspoon establishment