At 11.30am on June 7, after travelling for four hours, one of the world's biggest Wetherspoon fans finally completed "the best adventure of his life" - which saw him visit all 875 of the chain's pubs across the British Isles.
David Bingham, 60, has been on the "longest ever pub crawl" over the last four years, spending around £30,000 and travelling by train, bus, and even hovercraft to visit every last Wetherspoon pub in existence - including 40 that have since closed.
The retired forklift driver was joined on his journey by partner Una Cooper, 63 who he claims made the hobby so much better by being there.
His final pub along the way was The Flying Horse in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport and The Mirror's Courtney Pochin was there to raise a glass with him to celebrate his unusual accomplishment.
We'd both had to buy cheap Ryanair tickets to fly from Gatwick to Shannon in Ireland to bypass security and get to the boozer, but for David, it was more than worth the hassle.
The grandad who lives in West Hallam, Derbyshire, was also congratulated on arrival at the pub by Marcus Lurring, the shift manager on duty, who had nothing but kind words to say about David's "Spooning" efforts.
For those not in the know, 'Spooning' is what fans of the chain call it when they visit multiple pubs.
"I'm so happy I've done it," David announced as he took a sip from a bottle of Heineken.
"I'm running on adrenaline right now, it's been the best adventure of my life."
As well as being an adventure, David admits it's also become a bit of an "obsession" for him.
The journey first began when Una purchased him a £3 guide to all the JD Wetherspoon locations and they slowly started marking off the ones they'd already visited. At some point, they just decided to keep on ticking them off.
Every weekend since 2019, the couple have been on a trip to visit a new pub, or several, depending on what was in the area. During one four-day trip to Scotland, they tackled 46 boozers in one go.
They've slotted pub visits around cruises and holidays and have been able to learn so much about the country as a result.
David's favourite of all the chain's pubs is The Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate, which also happens to be the biggest Wetherspoon joint in the country.
"It's massive, it's 11,000 square feet and it's right on the beach," he said.
"For years it was derelict, but Wetherspoons rescued it. They spent a stupid amount doing it up.
"We took two fast trains to visit Ramsgate for an hour and a half in 2019 for my birthday. It's such a beautiful building."
The grade II listed building was built as a concert hall and designed by architect Stanley Davenport Adshead. It has previously been a nightclub and a casino but fell into dilapidation after closing in 2008, before being revived by the pub chain.
This is what David loves the most about Wetherspoon - that they breathe new life into stunning buildings and unusual locations that may otherwise have been left to rot.
Other unique pubs he visited along the way included one in Whitley Bay, located inside an old fire station, and another in Keswick, a former magistrates' court and police station, where you can have breakfast in the cells and sip a drink while sitting at the witness stand.
The most expensive of all according to David was The Moon Under Water in London's West End, where the price of his bottle of beer was £6.79.
The price of the final beer today wasn't too far behind that at £6.60 - but airport beer always costs more, he shrugs.
Along with the good times, there have also been a number of low points during David's epic four-year adventure, with some Wetherspoon pubs being rather unpleasant to visit.
One in Bristol sticks out in his memory as being particularly grim, although he didn't want to name and shame the place.
"We walked in and I thought 'Oh my god', I said to Una 'We're not staying here' because it was filthy," he said.
"It was dirty and I think it was smelly. We had a drink and left."
He continued to admit: "Some of them aren't the best, the tables aren't clean, the carpets are sticky - a lot of them are in serious need of refurbishment as they just haven't been making the money after the pandemic."
While that specific Wetherspoon isn't one he'd rush back to, David claims he'll definitely be revisiting some of the other 800-plus pubs again soon, especially those from the start of the journey.
He's also excited to discover new Wetherspoon pubs as they crop up.
"If there's a new Wetherspoon pub, I have to be there on opening day," he continues.
"I go down and take my pictures and I like to be the first to share them online. If I can be the first person to have a drink there, then that's even better."
David's friends and family have been incredibly supportive of his unique hobby over the years, though he does admit he's experienced some negativity from strangers online who think he should have spent his time visiting local independent businesses instead.
But he's not too bothered by the criticism as he thinks those people are just "sour grapes".
"You shouldn't slag anybody off for doing a hobby and doing what they want to do. It's called freedom of choice and we've all got it," he proclaims. "Why should I go somewhere else or drink somewhere else to please you? It's stupid."
Critics aside, David has made a great group of friends through the Wetherspoon Appreciation Society on Facebook, where numerous fans of the chain have been following along with his updates.
And while his aim wasn't to bring attention to himself, he's hopeful there is one extra thing that may come out of all this - an invite to visit the Wetherspoon head office and meet the big boss himself, Tim Martin.
Though he confesses that he's not quite sure what he'd actually say to Tim if he got the chance to chat with him.
Understandably after multiple years of constant trips around the country, David is feeling rather tired.
However, he's not going to sit back and relax just yet. Instead, he's already planning his next escapade.
For a while, he says his partner Una will be in charge of picking where they travel to on a weekend, but David has suggested trying out all of the different Wetherspoon hotels.
There are 57 in total and so far he's only stayed in one but says it was nice, so he'd be up for visiting others.
As well as this, he's also a big fan of railways and is keen to undertake a massive first-class trip around the country by train.
The journey would take him from Edinburgh to Glasgow and on to Euston, before getting a sleeper train to Aberdeen and then taking boarding the longest train ride in Great Britain all the way from Aberdeen to Penzance.
"I'm not sure if anyone has ever done all of this, but I'm going to do it," he says.
And if all else fails, he can always revisit all of the Wetherspoon pubs again - and he'd do it too, despite the huge cost.
"I don't regret any of it, I'd have spent double the amount [I did] if that's what it had cost," he adds.
"I've had the most fantastic time, I've met the most amazing people, seeing our beautiful country has been absolutely amazing, and being able to share it with my partner Una has been awesome.
"It's sad that it's ended, but it's not really over as they're always opening new pubs and I've always got a new adventure planned for every weekend. We've always got something to look forward to."
Do you have a story to share? We want to hear all about it. Email courtney.pochin@mirror.co.uk
