Gatwick: Wetherspoons fan to complete all 875 pubs - but he’ll have to get past security first

“I call them boxes of fun because you never know where they’ll be.”

That’s the unusual description of JD Wetherspoon’s sprawling portfolio by pub fanatic David Bingham.

The 60-year-old has spent four years on the “longest pub crawl in history”, travelling thousands of miles.

Tomorrow (June 7) he will complete his challenge of visiting all 875 Wetherspoon pubs in the British Isles, clocking up tabs totalling £30,000, including travel fares, drinks and accommodation.

His final pint will come at Gatwick’s The Flying Horse, and as it is beyond security, the retired forklift driver had to buy an airline ticket to ensure he can get in.

“The cheapest air ticket I could get was to Shannon in Ireland which doesn’t have any Wetherspoon pubs but that doesn’t matter because I’ll have completed the challenge before I get there,” he said. “It’s been a wonderful journey across Britain and I’ve visited so many places which I would never have gone to if I’d not been checking off the pubs.

“I call myself a pub-spotter because I like to go down my directory of Spoons pubs and cross them off one by one. I daresay it’ll be strange to finally finish the challenge but I’m keen to revisit some of the ones I went to in the early days.”

David, from West Hallam, Derbyshire, came up with his Spoons challenge after his partner Una Cooper, 63, bought him a £3 Wetherspoon directory off eBay. The couple took it to their local branch, The Observatory, in nearby Ilkeston, and David decided to visit every single one on the list. His challenge has taken him to 875 Spoons, including more than 40 which have since closed.

David is often accompanied by tee-total Una, with the couple taking public transport to tick off the pubs. As well as trains and buses, the couple took a hovercraft to reach the Man in the Moon pub on the Isle of Wight. Last month they knocked off nine more during a ten-day cruise up the West coast of Ireland.

David, who has one daughter, a stepson and one grandson, said: “I love going in Wetherspoon pubs because they are all different buildings. Many of them are old fire stations, post offices, churches and other beautiful sites. I call them boxes of fun because you never know where they’ll be.”

David often ticks off dozens of pubs every day and only has a pint in his favourite ones. During a four-day trip to Scotland, he knocked off 46 boozers before celebrating with a pint of San Miguel and a bottle of Heineken.

His favourite Spoons are the Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate, Kent; The CornExchange in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk; the Winter Gardens in Harrogate; and the Caley Picture House in Edinburgh.

David now says Una will plan their weekend breaks, but he hasn’t ruled out another Spoons challenge in the future. He said: “There are 57 Wetherspoon hotels across the country and Ireland and I’ve only stayed in one so I’m already thinking that’s just 56 to go.”