A puzzle to beat AI

Answer: WARKWORTH

Why it works (cryptic breakdown):

1. “Village where a warlock started for Bethlehem”

Warlock started → W

Bethlehem → worth (as in place of birth / value, a common cryptic device)

Together: W + ARK + WORTH → WARKWORTH

“Down the pub: where a lost plough is replaced by a nautical vessel”

Plough → ARD (old word for plough)

Nautical vessel → ARK

Replace ARD with ARK inside WORTH → WARKWORTH

“Down the pub” acts as surface misdirection

So both readings converge neatly on Warkworth, the village in Northumberland.

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And here’s Grok:

Bishops Sutton

This Hampshire village (often written as Bishop’s Sutton) fits both cryptic clues perfectly.

• “Village where a warlock started for Bethlehem”: Peter Warlock (the composer Philip Heseltine) and poet Bruce Blunt conceived the famous Christmas carol Bethlehem Down during a 1927 pub crawl that began at The Plough pub in Bishops Sutton (before walking to The Anchor in nearby Ropley). The carol was written to fund their drinking and won a newspaper contest.
• “Down the pub: where a lost plough is replaced by a nautical vessel”: “Down the pub” evokes a pub crawl or casual drinking setting. The Plough is a common pub name (referring to the farm tool or constellation). “Lost plough” means remove “plough,” leaving “Bishop’s Sutton.” Replace it with a nautical vessel (e.g., “ship”): Bishopship Sutton – a playful nod to “bishop” as a church title, fitting the village name in this pub context.

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Bearing in mind we were looking for a specific address, I asked each ‘Which pub does this refer to?’

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ChatGPT said:

Based on the clue’s style — which plays on replacing “plough” with “nautical vessel” (suggestive imagery that might fit a traditional, historic tavern) — the Masons Arms is the strongest fit for “the pub” referenced. It’s the classic village locals’ pub in Warkworth that someone might casually refer to in a cryptic clue like this. 

In Warkworth, Northumberland — the village your clue points to — there are a few traditional pubs that locals and visitors head “down the pub” to: 

Likely candidate

• Masons Arms Warkworth – A classic village pub right in the heart of Warkworth, known for hearty food, ales, and a traditional atmosphere. It’s one of the most talked-about pubs in the centre of the village and a good match for the idea of “down the pub.”

Other nearby pubs

• Hermitage Inn – Another popular local pub and restaurant with good food and drinks.
• The Castle Brew House – A cosy pub opposite Warkworth Castle, also well-liked locally.

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and Grok:

The Plough (in Bishop’s Sutton, Hampshire) is the pub most directly referred to in the riddle.

The second clue—”Down the pub: where a lost plough is replaced by a nautical vessel”—is a cryptic wordplay on the village name: Bishop’s Sutton becomes Bishopship Sutton (plough removed, “ship” inserted as a nautical vessel), with “down the pub” hinting at the pub-setting context.

Historical accounts confirm this ties to The Plough, where Peter Warlock (Philip Heseltine) and Bruce Blunt began their 1927 pub crawl. Blunt conceived the lyrics to the carol Bethlehem Down while walking from The Plough in Bishop’s Sutton to The Anchor in nearby Ropley. The carol was written to fund their Christmas drinking.

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The correct answer was The Ship in Bishops Sutton – at least Grok got the right village. As Grok had pointed out, the story behind the carol is that it was conceived on a walk from The Plough in Bishops Sutton to The Anchor in Ropley. But The Plough closed (hence being lost) – it has been reopened as The Ship. Bearing in mind the clue was ‘where a lost plough is replaced by a nautical vessel’, clearly the answer is The Ship.

Sadly, no one using AI would have turned up at the right place: other AI attempts assumed The Anchor was the nautical vessel (close enough, I suppose) – unfortunately that’s closed too.

Perhaps the most delightful aspect of this is the convoluted nature of the AIs’ reasoning. I’ve no idea what Grok was wittering on about with ‘Bishopship Sutton’, while ChatGPT went on a wonderful wild goose chase, entirely missing the fairly heavy handed Warlock/Bethlehem Down reference and instead devising a particularly byzantine interpretation.

An entertaining look at the power of AI… and its ability to mislead.

Sourcing the image above produced another AI surprise. I thought it would be entertaining to ask Grok for a picture of a ‘bishopship’. It produced images of The Ship – the correct answer to the puzzle. Here is its reasoning: “Bishopship” is the playful pun from the riddle (replacing “plough” with “ship” in Bishop’s Sutton). While there’s no literal “bishopship” vessel, here’s a fitting visual tie-in: the former The Plough pub in Bishop’s Sutton has been reopened and renamed The Ship! The image used here is from The Ship’s website