The Wetherspoons Uni League: The universities with the best boozing facilities in the country

You should have gone to Cardiff


As September comes around again, students new and old will be wondering whether they picked the right university for them. But it’s not research quality or qualifications that we really care about, it’s how easily we can get bevved at our favourite, cheap-as-chips pub chain.

We have gathered all the information you could possibly need about your uni’s branch to find where you rank on the Wetherspoons Uni League.

Our research involved counting all the ‘Spoons in your university city and how far you need to travel from campus to reach your nearest pub. For those who value a Somersby in the sun, we have also calculated the percentage of Spoons’ with a licensed pub garden.

After aggregating the rankings across these categories, here are the full rankings:

Cardiff tops the charts with an impressive nine branches in the city and the fourth closest ‘Spoons from campus. Also, every single one of the Wetherspoons has a pub garden, meaning you can soak up that Welsh weather with a pint in hand.

Plymouth came a close second, showing that you don’t have to be in the Russell Group to top the league tables.

Newcastle drew in third but with the closest ‘Spoons to campus, just 0.2 miles away.

The top 10 also includes Sheffield, Cambridge, Bristol and Leeds, amongst others.

Bath brings up the rear of the rankings, with a pitiful single ‘Spoons that also doesn’t have a beer garden. Sussex students will also be disappointed to know that their campus is 4.2 miles from the nearest Wetherspoons, taking the spontaneity out of Steak Club Tuesdays.

The city with the most branches was Birmingham, with an impressive 15 pubs. The London universities, King’s, UCL and LSE had, 14 Wetherspoons’ nearby. Although, the metropolitan location may be the reason behind only 36 per cent of their branches having beer gardens.