Our local Wetherspoons the Trawl boat is always packed no matter what time of day. On sunny days the outside drinking area is full, so clearly there is a need, especially with the level of day trippers we have coming to the coast for the day. We use it occasionally for the Guinness is better kept, as its regularly pulled compared to other locals. The ever changing range of guest ales is staggering. Its offering local jobs, is usually much cleaner than many of the other pubs around, feels maintained, warm and not full of the obvious regular bar flies, that prop the bar up in other establishments.
Being in a big retirement area by the sea, over 60% of the locals are over 65 therefore understandably most regulars tend to be pensioners, often in large social groups who come together for a meal, a drink and lots of putting the world to rights in a warm environment, especially welcome in the depths of winter, many of whom are asset rich and cash poor..
And yet Wetherspoons seems to be making money with this business plan, it certainly has taken its toll on other local pubs, where they have seen trade fall, but on a sunny weekend many will be full of day trippers, so much so you can't get into a local and we have to travel out of town to other favourite haunts if we fancy a pint.
