Monopoly Hidden in Plain Sight

In late June, we headed up to the North East last week for a couple of nights to celebrate the E's birthday. Now, I used to spend a fair bit of time in Newcastle back in my working days, but the Northumberland coast? Completely unknown territory. What would we find apart from dodgy weather?Our home for two nights was The Olde Ship Inn in Seahouses. Central, it does food, and it offers nine cask lines, though I doubt if E considered the latter aspect when booking us in.Well, you never know, I suppose, but she didn't mention it. On checking in, we err, checked out the bar. The board was a bit of a samey sea of IPAs, goldens, and bitters. Still, a first scan of the wickets threw up a surprise: Hadrian Border Brewery. I thought they’d gone under years ago! Gladly corrected, I went for their Farne Island Blonde which after a long drive was very welcome. I asked why there wasn't a single dark beer on and the barman looked at the pumps like he was noticing this for the first time. "Oh,…