The Wouldhave (JD Wetherspoon), South Shields

This dull-looking 'spoons is thankfully a bit more appealing inside, with a split-level layout and the bar dominated by a large mural commemorating the eponymous inventor of the self-righting lifeboat. Otherwise, regulation stuff, although they are obviously proud of their Good Beer Guide 2018 status. Having said that, only five of the six handpumps were in use, and ignoring the Ruddles and Abbot, and also the local Maxim Maximus which at 6.0% was a trifle strong for early in the day, the choice boiled down to Cotleigh Old Buzzard (in good form, and just £1.89) and something from DBC / Jurassic.

This is a smallish Spoons that is made bigger by having an upstairs area where there is also what looks like a functioning dart board as well as some booths. It's a square shaped building with fairly typical furnishings and was quiet when I turned up for breakfast just around half past nine on a Thursday morning. There are only six hand pumps here which had one available soon, Doom Bore, Ruddles, Great Newsome Holderness Dark, Wold Top Wold Gold and Lees Kaleidescope. The Holderness Dark (£2.05) went down a treat with the large breakfast.

Just a stones throw from the Northern entrance to South Shields Metro station, this is a decent sized Wetherspoons pub that takes its unusual sounding name from a local boat builder - William Wouldhave. The ground floor is a simple rectangular room with the servery along the rear wall boasting a tongue and groove counter and a simple bar back with a TV screen above showing a rolling news channel. The room has been carpeted throughout and has some particularly comfy banquettes around the perimeter, with high tables and stools opposite the bar and standard tables and chairs elsewhere, including on a raised section over to the left hand side of the room. Large windows allow you to look out towards the Metro stop, which is handy if, like me, you want to keep an eye on incoming trains so you can make a dash for one. Elsewhere the usual mix of local history boards and black and white photos rounded out the fairly standard 'Spoons-by-numbers décor, supplemented by some beer related quotes above the bar. Stairs to the rear lead up to a first floor room with a mix of banquette and standard seating plus that rarest of Wetherspoons sightings - a dartboard. This seemed like a very nice place to relax over a pint or two, but the area was inexplicably empty on my Sunday evening visit, whilst seating remained at a premium downstairs. I counted four guest ales available at the bar along with two 'Spoons regulars, which is a pretty decent ratio in my books. I tried something dark and malty from the Celt brewery, although I can't for the life of me remember what the beer was called. The barman who served me was very chatty and he talked me through some of the pubs plans for upcoming beer related events and lamented the fact that I hadn't visited the day before when the Maxim Brewery had tapped a beer from a wooden cask, which apparently had proven very popular. On the face of it, this is a fairly standard Wetherspoons outlet of the sort you can find up and down the country in towns of this size. However, I thought the place was comfortable, with a decent ambiance and some very friendly staff who were working hard to find ways to keep people coming back. I was debating dropping this one from my crawl around town, but I'm glad I visited and would happily return when next in the area.

A small JDW with a corner entrance and then up a few steps, disabled access is at the rear entrance. Pleasantly decorated with a large, interesting mural behind the bar. Large windows give a great view of a car park and the nearby Metro station. Friendly, quick service with a decent range of mainly local ales on the bar. My pint was in good nick as well. It's a very good JDW.

Only a 3 min walk from South Shields Metro station. You enter this Spoons from the corner, after a small lobby you take a few steps into the main lounge and bar area. This was decorated in a light green, the main windows had stained glass panels along the top. Six ales on handpump, I saw the Meerkat Mild, so went with that.