Our story

A proper local, made for gathering

The Albion is built around the small pleasures that make a pub worth returning to: a well-kept pint, something good from the kitchen and a table where everyone feels at home.

Meet Simone & Gary

Good food and a lovely pint were two of the things that brought us together, and returning to pub life together felt like the natural next chapter.

In 2019 we moved to Rugby to run The Windmill; after the pandemic, we found a home at The Victorian Tap in Hexham in 2021, before taking on The Dolphin in Whitby in 2023. We had wanted to work with Everards for some time. After meeting people at the brewery and getting to know their ethos, we simply needed the right pub. We have spent many years in the pub trade separately and more recently together, and over that time you learn what kind of pub feels right, and the Albion kept drawing us back.

From the moment we saw the advert, it ticked the boxes:

A welcoming feel for everyone
A thoughtfully eclectic touch, with a dash of eccentricity
A bar that works beautifully
Seven hand pulls with real potential for an ever-changing ale range
A pub-first food offer that complements the beer, rather than turning the place into a restaurant

When we visited, we felt the warmth of The Albion straight away, not only from the pub itself, but from its customers and the welcome of Ampthill. We want to build on that with well-kept, ever-changing ales, familiar faces and a full rhythm of good reasons to come together:

Weekly quiz nights and Play Your Cards Right
Wine tastings, meet-the-brewer evenings and the chance to try ales you may not have seen before
Food weekends, festivals, live music and charity nights for local community projects
Continuing the already successful Paint and pint sessions and bring your own vinyl nights
Then more seasonal events like Christmas carols by the fire with mince pies and mulled cider

Most of all, we want this to be the kind of local where we know your name, remember your favourite drink and you always feel like staying a little longer.

Dogs are welcome

Oscar and Abbie, Simone and Gary’s Labradors

Simone and Gary’s two Labradors are part of the family: Oscar is the lively brown dog who wants everyone to be his friend, while Abbie is the 15-year-old lady who may offer an exasperated tail wag and sigh if you give her a scratch. Visiting dogs will always find a bowl of water and perhaps a little treat waiting for them.

Pints worth talking about

Our bar celebrates well-kept cask ale, a changing craft line-up and the kind of pour that calls for a second round. We will keep you up dated on at bar boards and on our socials of what new things we have coming in and when things are going out so you know to get down and try the new drinks out.

Food for the table

Homemade bar snacks bring everyone together: familiar favourites, made with care and best shared over a drink. Seasonal and special occasion food will mean there is always something new to try alongside reliable all year round favourites.

Warm timber pub interior with inviting tables

Your table at The Albion

We are proud to be part of Ampthill’s everyday rhythms — a dependable place to meet, celebrate, pause and make an evening of it.

Where to find us