Dockle Farmhouse, Swindonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub was closed yesterday after a major fight - involving 20/30 customers.
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After a swift visit to an Arkell's pub called the Fox & Hounds in Haydon Wick (not on BITE), my last stop in Wiltshire on Sunday turned out to be the Dockle Farmhouse. This Wetherspoon's on the eastern outskirts of Swindon was on its final day of a cider festival. 'Spoon's used to do these nationwide. But, it appears that they are now restricted to the West Country, as its presence was a complete surprise for me. Aside from my usual argument with the bar staff as to why I couldn't use my CAMRA vouchers for the real cider (apparently there is a difference between a festival cider and a real cider - who would have known?!), I enjoyed a couple of ciders that I hadn't previously had and made the decision to return the following day for more. The usual ales were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar. The two guests were Cairngorm Trade Winds & Titanic Captain Smiths. Ciders were Abrahall's Neapolitan Cider, Farmer Jim's Grape Escape, Sandford Orchards Merry Legs, Weston's Old Rosie, Malvern Cider Company Malvern Gold, Purbeck Cider Company Dandy Dab, Mr Whitehead's Henry's Orchard Perry, Saxby's Original, Hunt's Barn Screecher & Dorest Nectar Old Harry Rocks. There's loads of seating and there were also plenty of staff available at the bar and out on the floor serving food. Quite a decent branch of Wetherspoon's. I returned on Monday evening to exactly the same ale and cider list.
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Great idea to hold a beer festival, great idea to put up a rack with 24 casks on it, not such a great idea expecting the one poor overworked girlie behind the normal bar to serve coffees, take food orders, serve ordinary drinks and then every time someone wants a beer from the fest selection have to take a pint glass, leave her bar, walk across the room, go behind the fest bar, serve the beer, walk back with the pint to her other bar then ask the customer to pay. This, of course lead to the service being even more dismal than it normally is, come on Wetherspoons, if you are going to run a festival put some more staff on for gods sake. Its not rocket science.
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Huge pub. Extensive gardens helpfully segregated into kids and 'no kids' zones.
A typical 'spoons really, but very clean and tidy. Staff were nice, if spread a bit too thinly.
Good prices and ale was good. The food was tasty and fresh, if basic.
No complaints.
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Popped in today not too bad, nice pint of Caledonian 80 shillings, service ok by Wetherspoon standards, quite busy, for you beer cranks its on the stagecoach No7 bus route.
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Wetherspoons 4th pub in Swindon is situated on the edge of Stratton, with extensive gardens its a converted farmhouse. There are 2 bars, one cavernous and typically 'JD' with only 3 real ales on but a multitude of fizz fonts, head to the farther flung bar where the more interesting guest beers are found.
Unfortunately the service is also typically 'JD', expect to have to wait a long time to be served when busy. If its sunny the gardens and play area will be wedged with squealing rugrats and their 'chavvy' parents, fortunately another part of the garden is 'adults only', I've not tried the food but Brake Brothers and Microwave come to mind. I suppose it does what it says on the tin.
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Well, even though I haven't been in since Christmas, I'll be the first! Pretty good as a fine weather family pub. 2 seperate bars, 2 seperate gardens. Fairly standard 'spoons fare, decent ales, fair selection of bottled ciders, pretty good food, decent service. If you live in Swindon, and have kids, go there in the summer and you should have a good time.
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