The Powder Monkey (JD Wetherspoon), Exmouth

Just a short distance from Exmouth station, this is a pleasant branch of Wetherspoons with a bit of a locals’ boozer vibe to it. You enter the pub through a small front courtyard with some nice garden furniture and an old cannon, which ties in with the pub’s name - a naval slang term for the young boys who would fill cartridges and shells with gunpowder. Moving through to the front seating area, there are a few decent, comfy seating spaces that maybe feel a little detached from the main body of the pub, but are each tucked away behind partitioning walls and had individual lit fireplaces, which made them relatively cosy spots to bag. The bar appears midway down the left-hand side and has a bevelled purple counter front and typical ‘Spoons bar back, with the customer side benefitting from a wide skylight that allows plenty of natural light into this otherwise rather gloomy central part of the building. A good mix of high tables and stools plus regular tables and chairs fill the space opposite, with a couple of TV screens showing Six Nations rugby with the sound on. The room extends into a wider rear space, chopped up a little by covid screens, with a lot more tables and chairs under wood panelled walls with ‘Spoons info boards detailing the history of pub and its links to Walter Raleigh and his eventual execution. A solid mid afternoon crowd, many of whom were seemingly here for the sport, ensured a decent atmosphere, although this did include a fair share of screaming kids, plus one who was running a remote control car through the rear part of the pub. On the bar, there were three regular ’Spoons ales plus a rather impressive five guests, from which I chose a pint of Green Jack Lurcher Stout which was served in good condition by a very pleasant barmaid. I also stopped here for a quick spot of lunch and found that the food came within a few minutes of ordering and was the usual cheap, no frills fayre you expect from this chain. This place seemed to have quite a bit going for it, whether that be a good ale selection, welcoming staff, a few cosy seating areas or the nice front courtyard, making it a notch up from your average provincial town ‘Spoons experience. With a central location so close to the station, it’s a bit of a no brainer to add this to any crawl around Exmouth.

I couldn't find any reference to the original use of this building. It looks like a large house so maybe it was. The entrance is via the front patio and inside it consists of a rectangular room with the bar area in the middle. It's not that large as their outlets go but on a Friday evening despite being busy getting served was no problem and I found a table. The bar has ten hand pumps which had a better than average choice of the JDW Trio Of Doom, Otter Head, Dartmoor Jail Ale, Hanlon's Firefly, Woods Shropshire Lass, Bays Devon Dumpling, Hobgoblin and Dorset Brewing Durdle Door. I had time for a few of the Otter Head (£2.75) which was excellent. I thought this was a good Spoons.