The Flying Horse (JD Wetherspoon), Crawley

This pub is for airline passengers only.

The Flying Horse is an airside Wetherspoons pub that is much bigger than the Beehive which is the landside offering from Spoons. The bar along the left hand wall faces plenty of seating that also stretches much further back to the rear. Standard draught is available and I counted six hand pumps, one of which was off. I did have a chuckle whilst I watched the barman try and explain pub etiquette to the line of Europeans that had started queuing by the entrance waiting to be seated. I’ve been in much worse high street pubs so well done Wetherspoons for making this pub half decent even the crowd is captive.

Located airside on the first floor of Gatwick's South Terminal, this Wetherspoons bar seems to have been relatively undisturbed by the terminal's recent revamp. I've always thought that this place has much more of a 'pubby' feel to it than most other airport bars, from the traditional pub name (partly inspired by the former racetrack that the airport was built on) to the hop lined walls which add a nice touch. The pub is set up in a functional way, with the servery down the left hand wall and vast amounts of seating opposite and to the rear. The place is usually packed and if you arrive as part of a group you will almost certainly need to get busy re-arranging the furniture in order to get everyone a seat around your table. Perhaps unsurprisingly, quite a few people had taken their pints out to the airport chairs outside the front of the pub, which no-one seemed too bothered about. Interesting features are minimal, although the servery has a fairly nice 'Flying Horse' mirror on the bar back. Otherwise, there are TV screens showing muted news coverage and handy airport departure boards. There are six hand pumps which were dispensing three 'Spoons regulars and three guest ales on my visit. I tried the Adnams Fat Sprat, which was really good, although when a friend went to get another round in, he returned with a sludgy pint of what he claimed was the same beer, so not sure what had happened to it in the intervening 30 minutes. Plenty of customers were getting stuck into the usual 'Spoons fayre from the comparatively cheap menu and the waiting staff were doing a manful job of despatching the dishes without tripping over various bags and cases. There are no surprises or innovations here - it's a Wetherspoons in an airport and expectations have to be adjusted accordingly, but I found the place to be one of their better airport bars and don't mind spending a bit of time here before jetting off.

The Flying Horse is an airside Wetherspoons situated at Gatwick’s South Terminal. As one would expect it is geared for the transient masses and even at 8am in the morning when I was flying out, was pretty full with baggage laden holidaymakers and businessmen. As airport bars go, it is one of the more acceptable places to knock off a pint at an ungodly hour and the beers and choices are far better than some other aiport ‘Spoons I have encountered in the past. 6 ales were available – Spitfire, Hobgoblin, Adnams Old Ale, Pride Abbott and Saltaire Blonde. Prices are above your normal ‘Spoons but not exactly a rip off in the scheme of things. Service was prompt and polite. The décor was as one would expect, the usual plastic, contrived stuff with a rear section divided by a low screen and a few bookcases lining one wall. If this were the High Street it would all seem pretty formulaic but with time to kill time at an airport, it is more than worthy of a visit.

As you exit the security area there is an escalator straight ahead; at the top of the escalator the Flying Horse right in front of you. An airside pub where you can get a decent pint before flying off is a definite plus. As a Wetherspoons it does get busy, with most visitors having masses of hand luggage with them sometimes making moving around a bit tricky. But that’s the nature of the beast with an airport bar of course. This one always seems very cramped, and it’s at the end of the building where there is no natural light. They usually seem to have Exmoor Gold on, along with some of the usual suspects. On a previous visit in January 2010 they also had Phoenix Christmas Kiss on, which at £2.78 a pint is still probably the most expensive ale I have bought in a Wetherspoons. But I’m very glad this bar’s there, as it gives me somewhere to sit and have a decent pint while my wife hits the shops.