John ‘Chester’ Hunt has visited Wetherspoon pubs across the length and breadth of Britain over the past eight years (Picture: Simon Czapp/Solent News & Photo Agency UK)

A pub-hopping pensioner visited his 901st JD Wetherspoon pub after a 300-mile round trip to Birmingham from his home in Southampton.

John ‘Chester’ Hunt, 83, spent a few hours at the Navigation Inn last Friday after making the journey by public transport.

He took a combination of buses and trains to get to the pub in Kings Norton, which he gave a mark of 10/10.

John is a loyal drinker of Abbot Ale and now has the socks to match after receiving a huge gift hamper from brewers Greene King.

He is putting his tours on hold for now as the dark nights set in so the trip to Birmingham will be his last visit in a while.

‘The Navigation was very nice,’ John said. ‘I spoke to a couple of people, including one who worked for Cadbury at the factory in Bournville.

‘The pub has been done up nicely, it has a fire and a dining area. I ordered Abbots and I was there for two-and-a-half hours.  

‘It was well worth the trip. I would give it 10 out of 10.’ 

John also tried to visit the London and North Western at New Street Station in the city centre but found the pub still under construction ahead of its opening on November 21.

His Spoons-crawl, which he began in 2014, has taken him as far north as Wick in Scotland. The great-grandfather’s journeys have also taken in Kent, London, Yorkshire and Wales.  

He made the most of a trip to Bournemouth, visiting nine pubs in a day, telling the Southern Daily Echo that he was jolly by the time he left.

The retired railway worker’s favourites are the Opera House in Tunbridge Wells and The Palladium in Llandudno. 

John Hunt drank his first pint at the age of 15 and enjoys real ale when he visits Wetherspoon pubs (Picture: Simon Czapp/Solent)

He uses public transport to visit the pub chain’s venues on journeys from his home in Weston, which included connections at Leamington Spa and Moor Street train stations on his latest trip.

John’s local is The Bright Water Inn a few miles down the road in Shirley and he also enjoys curries, steaks and scampi and chips.

He once met Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin at another local, The Standing Order, where he recalled that they both drank Abbots. 

John has been limited in his travels over the past two years due to Covid and rail strikes. But he plans to continue his ale house adventures as Wetherspoon opens up new premises.

John ‘Chester’ Hunt has been sent a gift hamper of Abbot Ale beers and themed items to thank him for his loyalty (Picture: Greene King)

Asked what made round trips of up to 1,400 miles worthwhile, he replied: ‘When I sit down and enjoy a nice pint of Abbot, it’s lovely.’

The loyal customer got his nickname because of his resemblance to Chester Goode, a marshal’s assistant played by Dennis Weaver in the American radio and TV drama series Gunsmoke.

The Western began in 1955, the year he made his first pub visit to The Coronation Arms in Hamble, Hampshire. 

John at The Railway in Rainham alongside shift managers Gemma Fields (left) and Zoe Ball (Picture: Wetherspoon News)

The lookalike is taking a rest as the nights draw in but has plans for the new year when he resumes his trips to nationwide bars from February.  

‘It’s been lovely visiting all the pubs,’ he said.

‘I’m going to try to get to Wales to visit The Mardy Inn in February and I’m going to go back to Scotland in April. I’m going to get a train to Dundee to visit the Jolly’s Hotel in Broughty Ferry.  

‘I’m looking forward to it because I love visiting the pubs, it gets me out of the house. You can’t sit at home all day can you?’

John said the ale and company at Wetherspoon pubs makes long trips worthwhile (Picture: Simon Czapp/Solent)

There were 861 Wetherspoon pubs in the UK as of 2021, according to the Statista information service, with John’s list reflecting licensed premises which have since closed or changed hands. 

He may now need to navigate the digital age after exhausting his printed list of Wetherspoon venues, where he puts a cross against the ones he has visited. Along with the under-construction Birmingham venue, the programme of new pubs also includes The Scribbling Mill in Leeds. 

John was this week rewarded for his loyalty to Abbot Ale with a hamper sent by the makers after they read about the ’superfan’ on Metro.co.uk.

The package included four bottles of the award-winning brew as well as Abbot socks, pens and a glass and badge.

A spokesperson for Greene King said: ‘We are honoured to hear that John is such an enthusiast of Abbot Ale and we thank him for his continued support of the beer. As a superfan, we thought it was only right to share some Abbot Ale merchandise to enjoy while he relaxes with a pint on us.’ 

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John ‘Chester’ Hunt has spent eight years visiting Wetherspoon pubs on round trips of up to 1,400 miles.