18/7/11 - Soho, but not the one that I know

Distance - 5 Miles
Geocaches - 9 out of 11

The Jewellery Quarter

I am looking for adventure on this Monday night.  I have noticed a new series of caches in Birmingham.  I thought that it was criminal that I have found about 10 times as many caches in London as I have in my home city.  So once I worked out is was free to park outside Captain Cods after 6:30pm, I headed off to the Jewellery Quarter on the train.
Birmingham is split up into the following Quarters....

The Jewellery Quarter
The Gun Quarter
The Irish Quarter
The Chinese Quarter
The Convention Quarter
The Millennium Quarter
The Business Quarter

Thats how good Birmingham is, a City with 7 quarters.   The Jewellery Quarter has the feel of the east end of london to me - old industry, the odd trendy bar but the streets are absolutely deserted.  People ask me about Geocaching (not often, but occassionally).  How are they hidden?  Whereabouts are they?  I won't name this cache but this is an absolute classic of the genre - tucked away down a little alley with people walking past every day.

Pull out and all is revealed!  Caching Genius

So I round up a few on the streets, taking down Spencer Street, to Warstone Lane, passing a gothic looking cemetary with the aim of getting down to the canal for a series of caches around the Soho Loop.  Views of Birmingham are never far away, and there are a few solo outlier caches to pick up.

Where is everyone?

This canal loop is off the Birmingham to Wolverhampton Canal.  Despite walking past some run down factories, the tow paths are in great condition.  I see a handful of joggers and cyclists and thats it.

Not the Soho I know

So the caches in the main loop - Cache 1, I walk past and double back around but still dont find.  Cache two requires a bit of bridge saddling.  Didn't like the look of Cache 3 - bit too much rubbish around.  Cache 4 I liked.  Pop up from the towpath to get a good look at Winston Green Prison.

Lee Hughes former home

Cache 5 is in the shadow of a railway terminus.  Cache 6 brought a smile to my face and Cache 7 could have been a nightmare but I managed to find the little fella without any trouble.  Nice little series, so thanks to Pure-CaK for setting them up.

Back up Pitsford Street and time for a quick drink at the Drop Forge before my train comes.  I pick up a leaflet showing a pub crawl of 14 camra real ales pubs in the vicinity, so I know what I am doing next time I come here.

Get back to the station, train only 5 mins late and when it pulls into Kidderminster, a gang of 30 teenagers between Ellie and Alex age all pile on with cans of Cider.  Just what is going on in Worcester at 10:30 on a Monday Night?