The Albion Inn, Loughborough

Yep, its gone. Now a residential property, the place closed at the end of 2015.

This old canal side pub was originally owned by Shipstone's. It is quite a contrast to come here after all the traffic and general bustle of the Town Centre. Inside it's fairly small with separate areas including one for darts. On the bar there were just three beers Tollgate Stand and Deliver, Albion Special (a house beer) and Falstaff Fist Full Of Hops. I went for the Falstaff beer which was in good nick at £3.00 a pint. This is a real old school pub with a landlord to match, something becoming increasingly rare. It's well worth the detour from the town centre.

Official site of the Albion Inn, contains real ale details - www.albionmyway.co.uk

When looking at the frontage from the canal, this looks more like a private house than a pub (but there is fairly prominent signage visible from the towpath road on either side). The main door leads into one smallish room, with another of similar size on the other side of the somewhat rustic bar, a little room at the back and a basic patio beer garden. Not all the handpumps were clipped, but there was an interesting selection of four real ales including the 'house' Albion Special (brewed at the nearby Wicked Hathern Brewery, and available for sale in bottled form at £2.50).

Official site of the Albion Inn, contains real ale details - www.albionmyway.co.uk