This cache is inspired by Shakespeare's comedy The Two
Gentlemen Of Verona. There are only a few famous
Shakespeare quotes about one of my favorite beverages and this play
has one of them. A synopsis of the play as well as the full text
can be found here. There have been no notable film or TV
adaptations of this play.
"And thereof comes the proverb:
'Blessing of your heart, you brew good ale.'"
(Act III, Scene I)
Like all my other Shakespeare caches, you do not have to read
the play to find the cache.
The Cache
This is the first (and probably only) urban micro* that I
have put out. I'm coming to the end of the Shakespeare series and
I'm trying to make the series representative of some of the types
of hides I've enjoyed. As a rule, I'm not a big fan of urban micros
for many reasons, but I have enjoyed some of them in the past. This
micro is located at a cool urban spot and you have the opportunity
to search among the urban muggles with a surprising amount of
privacy. When you get there, ground zero should be obvious.
This is a log-only cache, so please bring a pencil.
* I have placed a suburban nano - NH's first (but not
last) "Gas Saver".
The Pub Crawl
I spent a lot of time in London in my younger years.
London is my favorite city in the world and I know it very well.
When in London, you could usually find me in a theatre, a pub, or
an Indian restaurant. I've devoted many caches to my first love of
London - the theatre - and thought it was time to devote a cache to
my second love of London - the pub. But not just one pub, but a
series of pubs known as the "pub crawl".
The pub crawl is a great tradition in England. No matter where
you are, you can usually find several great pubs within easy
walking distance. It's often difficult to choose just one to visit,
so you just visit many pubs in a single drinking session - a pub
crawl. If you are willing to hop on the public transit system
or into a taxi, you can be much more discerning in the selection of
pubs that make up your crawl.
The Puzzle
On October 1, 2007, two gentlemen - Valentine and Proteus -
arrived in London from Verona after their adventures in Milan. Each
being thirsty and having nothing better to do, they set out on a
"pub crawl". Since neither gentleman could agree on which pubs to
include in their crawl, they each set out on their own crawl. They
agreed to meet up again at the end of the evening for last
orders.
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Valentine began his pub crawl at the Faltering
Fullback in Finsbury Park. He drank two pints Fuller's London Pride
as soon as he arrived. He was a bit hungry from his trip and tried
some of the excellent Thai food they serve here. The food was spicy
and he had one more half pint of Pride before leaving for his next
destination. |
| The Faltering Fullback |
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Proteus began his pub crawl at the Fox in Hanwell.
He drank one pint of Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold as he sat outside by
the canal watching a couple canal boats go by. There really isn't
anything special about the pub, but he loves canals and enjoyed
sitting by this one. The beer was really good so he had another
pint. It was now time to move on. |
| The Fox |
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Proteus then headed to the Shakespeare's Head in
Soho. Being a big fan of the bard, he couldn't pass this one up.
The place was a bit deserted, but they had a great selection of
Youngs. A pint of Best Bitter, a half of Waggledance, and pint of
Bombadier helped him pass the time. |
| The Shakespeare's Head |
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Next on his crawl, Proteus arrived at The Royal
Exchange near Paddington Station. He was thrilled to see that they
were serving two old favorites of his - TT Landlord and Brakspear.
He had a pint of each served up by the especially pleasant and
friendly bar staff. He was also getting very hungry and decided to
have a late lunch here - the sausage, beans, and chips went down as
nicely as the beers. Another pint of Landlord and half of Murphy's
for dessert and he was satisfied. |
| The Royal Exchange |
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Valentine then moved on to the Alexandra on Fortis
Green. As he walked in he spotted a great sight - a Tanglefoot beer
handle at the bar. He had a pint of Tanglefoot sorry he had had so
much Pride at the last stop. It was so good, he had to have another
half. They also had Flower's IPA and he had to have a half of that
before leaving. He could have easily spent more time here, but the
crawl continues. |
| The Alexandra |
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Valentine made his way to The Highbury Barn. This
place has changed a lot recently and not for the good. The beer
selection and clientèle had definitely deteriorated. He had a quick
pint of Courage Best Bitter and left looking for a better pub. |
| The Highbury Barn |
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Valentine then found himself at The Lamb Inn in
Edmonton. This was a great improvement over his last visit. They
had Adnams Broadside which is a very good session beer. So good, in
fact, that he had two pints of of the Adnams. He then had a pint of
Archer's Negotiator since he had never tried that. He had found a
comfortable spot to sit at the bar and had a very pleasant
time. |
| The Lamb Inn |
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Proteus found himself at The Viaduct named after
the nearby Wharncliffe Viaduct. They had a good selection of
Fullers beers and he proceeded down the line. he started with a
quick half of London Pride, then a Pint of Chiswick. It was so
good, he had another half. He then had a pint of ESB and finished
off with a pint and a half of IPA. He always enjoyed his visits to
this great pub and this visit didn't disappoint. It was then on to
his next stop. |
| The Viaduct |
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Valentine was now in the mood for some Irish brew,
so he headed to The Twelve Pins on Seven Sisters Road. Nothing
special about this place, but you can get a great pint of Guinness.
It went down easily, so he had another. He topped it off with a
pint of Harp. Many of the classic Victorian pubs in London have
been cleaned up and modernized, losing a lot of their classic
charm. Even though the place was a little worse for wear, it was
still fun to see an unsanitized pub. After having his fill of the
Irish, he was ready to continue his adventure. |
| The Twelve Pins |
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Valentine was starting to feel all the beer he had
been drinking on his crawl and decided to take a long walk to The
Woodbine in Highbury. The pub had Fuller's London Pride, so he
nursed a half of that. He really just wanted to rest a bit and
catch his second wind. He was feeling a bit hungry again and had a
nice ham sandwich and some crisps - salt & vinegar are his
favorites. The crisps made him thirsty, but he decided to save his
drinking capacity for his next stop. |
| The Woodbine |
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Proteus arrived at The Churchill Arms in
Kensington. He had had a bot too much beer at his last stop, so it
was time to go easy, relax, and catch his second wind. It was
another Fullers house, but and Adnams sounded good. He had a pint,
but nursed it through many rounds on the fruit machine. Second wind
obtained, it was time to head off. |
| The Churchill Arms |
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Proteus headed for The Old Pack Horse on the High
Road in Chiswick. Another Fullers pub - are there any other kinds
in this area? But they had Discovery which he liked very much. He
drank one and a half pints while examining the old theatre bills
hanging on the wall. |
| The Old Pack Horse |
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Valentine last stop on his crawl was The Catcher In
The Rye on Regent's Park Road. Here he found a few beers he had
been hoping come across. A pint of Green King IPA went down quickly
followed by another half. Then he switched to Abbot Ale - another
enjoyable brew. He enjoyed his second pint. He was about to order a
third when he realized he needed to get moving if he was going to
meet Proteus in time for last orders. |
| The Catcher In The Rye |
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Proteus finished up at The Kensington Arms. The
place looks like a traditional pub on the outside, but inside it's
light, bright, and modern with lots of brass and glass. But they
serve Sharps beer here. He had a pint each of Doombar and Eden.
They were very tasty. He had enough time for another pint and a
half of the Doombar. Then, it was getting late and it was off to
meet Valentine at their agreed upon rendezvous. |
| The Kensington Arms |
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As they had previously agreed, both men met up at
The Chandos right in the heart of the theatre district where they
discussed the highlights of their crawl after getting two pints of
Samuel Smiths OBB just ahead of last orders. This pub actually has
nothing to do with the puzzle, but it is the pub where I always met
up with friends while in London. The second floor bar has loads of
comfy, overstuffed sofas and chairs making this a great place to
hang out. |
| The Chandos |
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Please Note
- The final is accessible 24/7/365, but you may have more luck
finding parking nearby after 6 PM or on weekends.
- Please make sure your replace the cache so that it stays
put.
- You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.