08/09/25 - West Midlands Way - Stage 9 - Penkridge to Rugeley

The Prince of Poisoners

Stage 9 of the West Midlands Way. I wouldn't be surprised if this is classed as "the best section", once complete. A nice bit of symmetry at the start and end. The ancient towns of Penkridge and Rugeley. Canals, divided by a long section of the Staffordshire Way through Cannock Chase and into the Shugborough Estate. The Staffordshire and Worcester Canal to begin, the Trent and Mersey to end.

Let's show the walk through photographs;

Penkridge Church - with an inscription of 1578 carved into the sandstone wall

Autumn begins on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Deer in Teddesley Park

Hadrian's Arch - one of the many follys in Shugborough

Shugborough House

Having completed my research, I was keen to discover the mystery of The Shepherd's Monument, another of the Shugborough follies.

Shugborough Hall, near Stafford, is an 18th-century stately home built for the Anson family, whose naval hero Admiral George Anson brought back great wealth from his circumnavigation of the globe. The estate is famed not only for its elegant Palladian mansion and landscaped grounds but also for the enigmatic Shepherd’s Monument, erected in the mid-18th century. Beneath a carved relief of Nicolas Poussin’s painting The Shepherds of Arcadia, an inscription of seemingly random letters—“OUOSVAVV” framed by “D M”—has baffled historians, cryptographers, and codebreakers for over 250 years. Theories range from Masonic secrets and religious messages to hidden references to the Holy Grail, but despite numerous attempts, including by wartime codebreakers at Bletchley Park, the true meaning remains unresolved.

The National Trust gatehouse was unguarded and the blog needs more dodgy photos to bring the mystery to life.

Risk Taking in Shugborough

Must mean something to someone

Onwards with the (lengthy) walk;

Over Essex Birdge, a C16th Pack Horse Bridge with 14 arches...

... to pick up the Trent and Mersey Canal all the way to Rugeley

Another story awaits in Rugeley. A place detailed in the Domesday Book and most notable as an Industrial Revolution mining town. Its most infamous resident - William Palmer, the Prince of Poisoners.

William Palmer, known as the “Prince of Poisoners” was a Victorian doctor infamous for one of the most notorious criminal cases of the 19th century. Born in 1824 in Rugeley, Staffordshire, he qualified as a physician but quickly gained a reputation for greed, gambling, and mounting debts. Between the early 1850s and his arrest in 1855, a series of mysterious deaths surrounded him, including his wife, brother, and several associates, though he was only ever tried for the murder of his friend John Parsons Cook. Cook died after falling ill at the Talbot Inn (now the Shrew) in Rugeley, where Palmer was suspected of administering strychnine. His trial at the Old Bailey in 1856 drew national attention, and after being found guilty, he was hanged outside Stafford Prison that same year, cementing his reputation as one of England’s most infamous poisoners.

I spent a little time plotting the locations of his dastardly deeds before finding out that an Adventure Lab Cache had done all the work for me;

The Palmer Family Home

Grave of John Parsons Cook - Gambler, bon vivant, Palmer victim

Formerly the Talbot, where Palmer administered poison to Cook

Palmer's final home - where he may or may not have poisoned his own children

A first - the blog turns "true crime". Let's get back to its original purpose. Pubs.

I had every intention of investigating the Talbot/Shrew but thankfully I was saved from myself.... this, a subset of an online review.

At the rear is a dance floor, karaoke with loud music and disco lights...

Best to stick with the Good Beer Guide recommendations, of which there are two and only the Vine open on a Monday. Although, I have never seen a pub look less open. Nearest door to the street closed and barely a light on inside to show proof of life. 

A mobility scooter further down the street gave hope

There is am eponymous brewery attached. If they sell any of their beers elsewhere, I haven't stumbled across them. A choice of at least 4, with the grapefruit IPA turned down in favour of the stout.

The pressure on with the Untappd checkin.... once I start my typing, I am told the head brewer is sat next to me. At least he is on the stout as well.

It was that good, I stayed for two.

Mobility, Hi-Viz, the pub is alive with life.

Walk Details

Distance - 15 Miles

Geocaches - 23

Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6 (Part 1), Stage 6 (Part 2), Stage 7, Stage 8