08/06/19 - The Duke of Cambridge, Short Heath

Walk Distance - 6.6 Miles
Geocaches - 20
Good Beer Guide Tick - 388

More Psychogeography in the West Midlands.   An overly complicated Geocaching round from Northycote Farm Country Park, somewhere in the Northern outreaches of Wolverhampton.

I would bring you photos but the weather was miserable and the walking unremarkable.

Quickly onto the post walking refreshment.  Plenty of options in the western and central areas of Wolvo but the closest entry in the Bible appears to be in Short Heath.   Nope, I've never heard of it either. 

I go out my way to track down the very definition of a back street boozer, the Duke of Cambridge.

Back Street Boozer - C17th Cottages

Its part of the Black Country Ales chain, so I know exactly what I will be getting.... the Fireside, the BFG, the pig on the wall and the randomers that could come from any brewery in the land.

First, I've to navigate my way in.   A porch area leaves me with Alice in Wonderland style choices of the bar or the snug.  Why did I go snug?   No-one there.   The barman comes around from the other side of the serving hatch, but I have made up my mind to go where there is laughter and life.  The bar.

No photos (apart from an UnTappd checkin) from inside, as I would have raised suspicions amongst the locals as to what I was up to.  An unknown, very damp rambler, had already been met with perplexed glances.  I'll have to describe it instead.

All the locals stand at the bar, despite perfectly good seating.   This doesn't present the usual problem of seeing whats on draft, as I know there will be a beer menu on the wall.   Sure enough, its on the far wall and after 3 seconds of deliberation, I go for a Fixed Wheel Shell Corner.   Taken to the perfectly good seating.

Not much to report - roof beams with beer pump clips suggesting past glories of more unusual Titanics than plum porter.   An old boy comes in, also buys a pint of Shell Corner, then tells his dog to sit and wait (there is a sign saying they must be on leads, but none about being off the furniture) and then disappears, never to return. 

Maybe the pint was for the dog.

I'm not sure I would give it mine.