Our Caledonian ‘Wetherspoon Wonders’ – the unique pubs you’ve got to visit whilst on your holidays!

Holiday mode is activated, the shades are on and it’s time to put the world to rights. You arrive at your resort after your blissful coach journey and in typical Brit fashion, you take refuge in your nearest Wetherspoons, grab a beverage, and recline ahhhh.

With its cheap drinks, extensive food menu and quirky buildings, the pub chain has earned a roaring popularity, despite the loud carpet choices. From former banks to theatres to even chapels, Wetherspoons has made a name for itself by converting unconventional buildings into bustling pubs with unusual features.

Sure to be worth a visit when you’re next happy holidaying, we’ve pulled our very best ‘Wetherspoon Wonders’ - crowning the top spot as the most bizarre in our much-loved Caledonian coach holiday resorts, towns and cities.

• The Winter Gardens, Harrogate

First up, we have The Winter Gardens in Harrogate. This pub used to be a part of the Royal Baths, a popular place where locals relaxed. This place has some serious history, having first opened in 1897 as commissioned by Richard Ellis, the man who was dubbed “the father of Victorian Harrogate”- what a guy. Today, you’ll find a large pub in all its glory with the building’s original features such as its beautiful domed decorative glass ceiling and towering columns.

Browse Harrogate breaks now.

• The Samuel Peto, Folkestone

Folkestone’s The Samuel Peto Pub is set in a former Baptist chapel. Stained glass windows, white columns, pews, the lot, this place is jam-packed with character with beautiful original features of the former chapel.

The ‘new Salem Chapel’ was named after MP Sir Samuel Morton Peto who helped fund the build. Peto was a well-respected great railway contractor back in Victorian times and as humble brags go, is responsible for laying around 750 miles of track in England and his company also built Nelsons Column in London’s Trafalgar Square!

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• The Velvet Coaster, Blackpool

Perhaps one of the best pub names I’ve seen. Up next is The Velvet Coaster in the beauty we call Blackpool. This Wetherspoons is named after arguably one of the most famous Blackpool fairground rides of its time in the early 1900s.

The Velvet Coaster featured open carriages with crushed velvet seats where thrill seekers of the past swept down humps and curves of a white wooden track. Today you’ll find the coaster has had a bit of a facelift and is now named Nickelodeon Streak.

Despite the historic name, the pub’s interior is modern with photographs and memorabilia from the town's amusement park history. The pub also has a rooftop terrace with stunning views of the Lancashire seafront.

Browse Blackpool breaks now.

• The Caley Picture House, Edinburgh

Now to the land of Caledonia, we travel north to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh to a charming art deco Wetherspoons which would capture the hearts of any Great Gatsby fan.

Caley Picture House used to be a part of a hotel back in its day and later opened its doors as a cinema in January 1923. The site was badly damaged during a Zeppelin raid of the city and the hotel was demolished. The picture house however was extended to welcome the new era of ‘talkies’ - magical.

With a capacity of up to 1,900, the cinema was the epicentre of entertainment in the 1970s and 80s opening itself up to host many concerts with great performers including Queen, AC/DC, Pink Floyd and The Smiths!

Today you can enjoy a well-deserved pint or cocktail pitcher and spot the building’s original features including the cinema’s huge screen area, balcony and mezzanine, not forgetting its spectacular stained-glass windows and a striking mural on the ceiling.

Browse Edinburgh breaks now.

• The Palladium, Llandudno

Like the old Caley, The Palladium in Llandudno back in its day used to be a cinema come theatre which first opened to the public in the 1920s. Now a pub, inside the place has plenty of character with original features providing the perfect relaxing environment for a refreshing bev. 

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• The Royal Victoria Pavilion, Ramsgate

To be honest with you, we don’t offer any coach breaks in Ramsgate at the moment but this one is worthy of mention for being the world’s biggest Wetherspoons!

A place of dreams, believe me, this pub is housed in a gorgeous Grade II listed building dating back to the Edwardian times with stunning seaside architecture. It was originally built as a concert hall and designed by loved architect Stanley Davenport Adshead. The building later was transformed into a nightclub, then a casino.

• The Counting House, Glasgow

Feeling fancy? Glasgow’s The Counting House is arguably one of the best-looking Wetherspoons in Scotland, designed in Italian Renaissance style.

This pub was formally a Bank of Scotland and has an underground vault hidden inside open to visitors to sit and enjoy some grub and a drink in this elegant boozer.

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• Hamilton Hall, London

If you're in London, make sure to swing by Hamilton Hall. Situated just outside of London’s Liverpool Street Station, this former ballroom in the Great Eastern Hotel should be top of your list. Enjoy the interior decked in gold with a grand chandelier as you slurp with your pinkie up for the occasion.

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• The North Western, Liverpool

Alllll aboard?! The North Western pub is nestled within a Grade-II listed building which was first built as a hotel in 1871 to serve Liverpool Lime Street Station.

If you’re a fan of trains you’ll be taken on a journey of the local stations past with paintings of the former North Western Liverpool train line and vintage photos of trains in the old workhouse, as well as plaques of train numbers.

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• The Chief Justice Of The Common Pleas, Keswick, Cumbria

You may have been able to hazard a guess from the name, but this pub is the site of a former magistrate’s court and police station. Having been built in 1902 the court remained in use until the early 2000s.

This lovely Lake District Wetherspoons was built on what was the site’s ‘workhouse’ as found in the will of lawyer and judge Sir John Bankes. Sir John was appointed Attorney-General and in 1640 later became the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, one of the highest judicial officials in England!

If you pop into this pub, you’ll be welcomed by some of the building’s original courtroom features including a witness box, main bench, defendants box… as well as two cell rooms which look much cosier today as small dining areas.

Browse Lake District breaks now.

Friends, there you have it, from deep history to elegance, bank, ballroom or courtroom, there are some interesting Wetherspoons across the UK worthy of your visit. So, when you’re next gallivanting off on your next Caledonian coach break be sure to give one of these Wetherspoon Wonders a try and let us know what you think!