The Panniers (JD Wetherspoon), Barnstaple

My final stop of the night in Barnstaple was this branch of Wetherspoon's which appears in the latest Good Beer Guide. It was one of the quietest branches of the chain that I've been in, with just a handful of customers sat on tables near the bar. The regular beers are Greene King Abbot & Ruddles Best, 3 guest beers were Exmoor Stag, Adnams/Black's Irish Red & Country Life Country Bumpkin. Ciders were Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon & Thatcher's Cheddar Valley. There are various seating areas, this being a long, thin pub stretching back to an outdoor courtyard at the rear. I sat off to one side, which was quite dark. My Stag was nothing too impressive and neither was the curry that I ordered. But it filled a gap. The pub is named after the Panniers Market building which sits opposite, but is currently closed for refurbishment. As with Quinno, I preferred the other Wetherspoon in town. Staff were friendly though.

Fairly unremarkable JDW. Decent cosier seating area off left but otherwise a minty snot green colour in the main bar area. Doors propped open on a cold night to deter any thoughts of lingering. Teeny tiny side courtyard, possibly the smallest Spoons garden in Britain. Two local guest ales and a bit of an upturn in fortunes, with Exmoor Exile (NBSS 3.5) and Dartmoor (3.5) both being quite drinkable. I preferred the other Wetherspoon in town.

This appears to have been constructed by knocking together two adjoining shops. This has resulted in quite a large open plan room with the bar down the right side. It's a fairly typical JDW and was doing a good trade on my April Thursday afternoon visit. The bar has ten hand pumps which had the JDW Trio Of Doom with Ruddles doubled, GT Ales Battleaxe doubled, Cotleigh Barn Owl, Bays Devon Dumpling & Trunk Ale and Dartmoor Legend. I went for the Battleaxe (£2.49) which was in good nick. Overall I found this to be a decent Spoons.

Quite a good Wetherspoons, at least at time of writing. Several beers sampled were all in very good form, while food was certainly up to the corporate standard. The front room can be opened out in hot weather, which is nice, and there is an outdoor area at the rear.