Swatter's Carr (JD Wetherspoon), Middlesbrough

Big long room with bar on the left. Not a great selection of ales this time, Abbot being the best of the lot. Was far better on a previous visit, so giving it a six.

As mentioned below, this one is an original pub / hotel and the Swatters Carr name was applied to the building that was here in Victorian times. There was a pub quiz going on when I arrived on a Wednesday evening which seemed to be attended mainly by younger folk, possibly students. Inside it's basically one long room with typical fixtures and fittings. It appeared that only the ground floor of the building is used for the pub. The ten hand pumps had the JDW Trio Of Doom with Ruddles available soon and Abbot & Doom Bore doubled, two more available soon, Titanic Full Steam Ahead, Cairngorm Wild Cat and Thornbridge Jaipur. I went for the Jaipur (£2.95) which was excellent. I thought this was the best of the three Middlesborough Spoons but it's the best of a poor group.

Located on a long main road leading South out of town, this is a large Wetherspoons venue set inside what appears to be an old pub or hotel that was previously a Hogs Head among many other incarnations. There is a surprisingly big front patio area with loads of seating and some limited shelter in the form of giant umbrellas. You enter into a large front lounge area with lots of standard tables and chairs and a contemporary statue, although I forgot to make a note of what exactly it depicted. There's some nice wood panelling here to create something of a cosy lounge feel and a TV was on showing rolling news. Moving further into the pub, you reach the main bar area with the servery down the left hand wall, sporting a dark wood counter with a marble top and mirrored bar back, broken up by a green tiled pillar. The space opposite is carpeted and sees a row of large pillars run through it, which breaks up the sight lines nicely. High tables and stools fill much of this space, with some comfy looking banquettes running down the right hand wall underneath some smart back-lit artworks. To the rear there is an empty window frame which has been filled with what I thought at the time was old industrial equipment, but might in fact have been some items to represent the former Swatters Carr cricket ground from which the pub takes its name. Walls have been decorated with the usual local pictures and information boards as well as various quotes from local poets and traditional songs. The bar supports ten handpulls which were split between four 'Spoons regulars and six guest ales - not a bad ratio. I opted for a pint of the York Centurion Ghost (£2.35) which was much heavier than I remember it, but still in pretty good shape nonetheless. The pub was absolutely heaving on a Saturday evening with a mix of football fans, glammed up girls, workers and family groups. This place certainly benefits from being sited in a former pub premises, adding some character to what might otherwise have come across as a drinking barn-style venue. The front part of the pub certainly looked like quite an appealing place to stop for a drink or two and the ale range was the usual 'Spoons mixed bag. This place didn't quite impress me as much as the Issac Wilson, but it's still a pretty solid venue and worth including on a town centre crawl.

Long JDW in their normal style, a well lit front section with comfy seating, going back towards the left hand side counter is a bit less well lit. Usual jumble of crammed in tables and a few booth like areas down the side. Beers are the usual mix of standards and locals in two banks of five - the pub is GBG listed this year but other than the five micro pubs it's no contest in the Boro'. A few local worthy displays complete the picture and there are some etched or painted windows down one side letting in a little light.