The Clydesdale Inn, Lanark

Appears to be a substantial old inn, but not quite as large inside as one might expect (unless I missed some additional seating areas somewhere). Eight handpumps on the bar counter, with a reasonable choice including Houston Crystal at a very reasonable £2.30.

Certainly one of the most tasteful Wetherspoon’s conversions I’ve visited, this used to be, if I remember correctly, the Clydesdale Hotel. Possibly as a result of this, there’s lots of space for both eating and drinking in the multi-roomed ground floor. The draught range is excellent and varied, with Amstel (at £2.95 a pint), Foster’s, Heineken, Tennent’s, Stella Artois, Carlsberg, Kronenberg and Tuborg lagers, Thatcher’s and Strongbow ciders, Guinness and the new McEwan’s Red heavy. There are also four real ales: Swedish Blond, Edinburgh Gold, Forty Niner and a German brew whose name I was unable to decipher due to the Gothic script on the tap. Opening at 8.00 a.m. for breakfast and serving reasonably priced meals throughout the day, until 11.00 p.m., the Clydesdale is extremely popular for both food and drink, and deservedly so.

I visited the Clydesdale Inn during its annual, fortnight long, Autumn real ale festival. Eight ales were on sale, all priced at £1.49 per pint, and the ones I sampled were excellent. Every other pub in Lanark sells beer at almost double this price, so it’s no wonder this place is popular. Reasonably priced meals are also on sale and children are welcome. J. D. Wetherspoon pubs often have something of a negative reputation, but I really can’t fault this one. It has the advantage of being in an older and more interesting building than most of them. It’s cheap without being nasty, family friendly without being noisy and roomy without being barn-like. All in all, it’s probably the best Wetherspoon’s pub I’ve ever been to.