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Beer lover buys plane ticket to tick off every Wetherspoons in Britain and Ireland
Call yourself a beer enthusiast? One Derbyshire man has spent four years and £30,000 on visiting 875 Wetherspoons pubs, heading to his final stop located in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport this week.
David Bingham, from West Hallam in Derbyshire, will complete his extensive bar crawl, which first began in 2019, this week before heading off on holiday.
The 60-year-old retired forklift driver is a self-proclaimed “lager lad”, according to the BBC. But Bingham isn’t only in it for the beer; the architecture of Wetherspoons buildings is also part of the fun.
“The one in Ramsgate [in the Royal Victoria Pavilion] is my favourite because the history behind that building is incredible,” he told BBC Radio Derby.
“But there are five police stations, there are churches, there’s chapels, there’s a tram depot, there’s a fire station.
“They just save these fantastic buildings. I love architecture and I love buildings.”
Bingham has visited 875 of the chain’s venues since 2019, including more than 40 which have now closed. His pilgrimage began when his partner Una Cooper bought him a £3 directory of JD Wetherspoon pubs off eBay which he began checking off.
The Derbyshire resident has now booked a flight from the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport, which will allow him to tick off the last pub on his list — the Flying Horse, which is located past security. Bingham will then set off on holiday, having booked a flight to Shannon in Ireland, the cheapest air ticket he could get.
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon told the BBC: “We applaud David Bingham on his outstanding achievement.
“Many people love to visit Wetherspoon pubs across the UK and Ireland, but only a handful have visited each and every one.
“David will now join that select group.
“He has obviously put in a lot of time and effort into achieving his goal and we thank him for his dedication to our pubs.”
In other news, Wetherspoons and AB InBev are locked into a high court dispute over the beer that is sold from T-bar fonts at the value chain’s pubs. Read more on that here.
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