The Dockle Farmhouse – Swindon, SN3 4PD

The Dockle Farmhouse is in East Swindon, just across the road from the Greenbridge Retail & Leisure Park. Its central building was a farmhouse dating back to 1800 and Dockle Farm operated until 1975. Shortly after two large extensions were added, and it opened as a public house, trading as the Greenbridge until being acquired by J D Wetherspoon.

The Dockle Farmhouse in Swindon has a huge beer garden, with ample seating and bright patio doors.

The size of the pub itself is impressive, certainly one of the larger ‘Spoons, and made up of three distinct buildings. The centre building built in the early 19th century while the two extensions attached to it were added in the 1980s. The three buildings work well together, and despite the difference in ages there is a feeling of consistency. The pub has a car park which gives three hours free parking.

The interior of The Dockle Farmhouse in Swindon is huge, with a massive room at one end decorated with Wetherspoon's trademark carpet.

Each of the three connected buildings has a separate feel, which makes the pub feel inviting to all. One ‘wing’ feels like a more traditional Wetherspoon bar, with tall tables and quite a dense table layout. The largest of the three buildings is a more family-oriented bar, with a relaxed atmosphere and a separate bar entirely. (I ordered a pint of Top Dog Stout at this bar but the pump was broken, which meant it had to be delivered from the other bar – quite a trek!)

The beer garden at The Dockle Farmhouse in Swindon is huge, with dozens of tables and umbrellas across the grass.

The Dockle Farmhouse does boast a huge beer garden, stretching the length of the pub with about 100 tables, making this one of the larger outside areas we’ve come across at a ‘Spoons.

There's a small play area for children in the beer garden with a numbered snake.

As well as plenty of seating, the outside also offers some entertainment for children, with a large numbered snake on the ground. Precisely what game this is designed for I’m not sure, but I’m certain kids can imagine something for it.

The men's toilets are quite ordinary with small facilities and decorated in a simple manner.

The pub has two sets of toilets, one upstairs in the old farmhouse and another downstairs in the larger of the two extensions. They are fairly underwhelming; much smaller than you’d expect for a pub of this size and with reasonably uninspiring in their décor.

Ratings (out of 5)

We both rate the pub based on three criteria; the building, the interior and the toilets. These scores are averaged out to give the pub its overall rating. You can read more about the rating system here.

Building: 4.5 & 4.5
Interior: 4.0 & 4.0
Toilets: 2.5 & 1.5

Overall: 3.5/5

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