No activity overnight so I guess it’s time to reveal the answer to the clue rather than subject everyone to even more misery this morning! So, the clue originally was 2²x11 +4³ +log base
2²x11 = 44 and 4³ = 64 and log base = e (natural logarithm)
“Adding” them together we get 4464e. Now all Pacific fans will recall that 4464 was the original number of LNER Class A4 Bittern.
So we finally get Bittern + e = BITTERNE which is a station on the Portsmouth to Southampton Line
Hint 1: Loss of log base might result in a sonic boom
The boom of the bittern
Hint 2: The solution to the clue is not 108e
No, it’s 4464e as shown above
Hint 3: As well as straightforward addition, what else can a plus sign indicate?
Side by side, next to each other
Hint 4: Back to the anagram "salubrious starlet". Abuse illustrators? As Roy Walker used to say on Catchphrase - it's good but it's not right! To solve this anagram AND to arrive at your final destination, you will need to get your Latin primer out. Two word answer (8,9).
The Latin name of the Bittern is Botaurus stellaris
Finally Clue 2 (which I thought was a dead give away): Newcastle Brown Ale? = BITTER N(orth) E(ast)
I declare an open floor