You know spring is just around the corner when JD Wetherspoon restocks its hanging baskets and window ledge flower pots outside its two Broad Street pubs.
Both The Soloman Cutler and The Figure of Eight are ready to hit full bloom as soon as the weather really warms up – just in time for the company’s latest Beer Festival.
The spring event will run from Wednesday 6 March until Sunday 17 March (St Patrick’s Day) and include up to 30 real ales, 26 of which will be new to Wetherspoon, and five international brewers.
A ‘local international’ drink will be Bavarian speciality Leikein Chocolate Ale, brewed especially for Wetherspoon by Banks’s Brewery, Wolverhampton.
To get ready for its arrival, all manner of shrubs and flowers have been planted outside of The Soloman Cutler opposite Symphony Hall, including wooden dividers on the pavement.
Meanwhile, The Figure of Eight’s art deco frontage close to the corner of Granville Street is also now home to ten restocked hanging baskets and ten rectangular windowsill flower pots.
The rear of this pub also has what is claimed to be the city centre’s largest beer garden, complete with a central, green pergola.
But to enjoy spring at its finest, don’t forget the impending full bloom pink blossom display in Oozells Square right in front of the Ikon Gallery and its Yorks Cafe, where buds are already starting to emerge.
On the corner of Water’s Edge next to Broad Street, The Brasshouse also usually has some floral arrangements outside of its building which dates all the way back to 1781.
Although this pub has been closed for a major refit so far during February, it is scheduled to reopen on Leap Year Day – this Thursday 29th – and its opening weekend band will be The Sharpeez.
Meanwhile, The Walkabout has been adding some more colour to Broad Street – with an archway of balloons to advertise ‘Walkie’s Happy Hour Faves’, with drink offers from £3 all day until 7pm on weekdays. Lunch and a drink is from £7.49, every day until 4pm. Download the Mixr app to get a free drink.
The Slug & Lettuce opposite The Water’s Edge bandstand in Brindleyplace is also currently closed for a makeover, and this pub is set to reopen in March. And it’s on the nearby bridge over towards the ICC where you can usually spot some of city’s best floral displays in the warmer months of the year.
You can watch the arrival of spring on Westside in our special video here:
All photographs and video by Graham Young.
