Visiting the Surrey Hills – one of our most beautiful National Landscapes.

The Drummond at Albury, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 9AG

It is always very encouraging to come across a country pub which is thriving within its local community during these very difficult times for the pub & hospitality sector. I was invited along to The Drummond at Albury, about 4 miles south-east of Guildford town centre, situated in the beautiful Surrey Hills, an area of outstanding natural beauty or National Landscape, as AONB`s are now officially called!

The Surrey Hills was one of the first landscapes in England to be designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Surrey Hills stretch across a quarter of the county of Surrey and include the chalk slopes of the North Downs from Farnham in the west to Oxted in the east and extend south to the deeply wooded Greensand Hills. It is one of 46 nationally protected landscapes in the UK, having equal landscape status and protection to a national park. It is a beautiful area, I knew very little about the Surrey Hills, so I was very pleased to be visiting. The drive over to Albury was simply stunning.

I would be staying at The Drummond at Albury, an award-winning, dog friendly gastropub with a welcoming bar, elegant dining room, a spacious landscaped pub garden, with a river flowing across the bottom of it, eleven stylish en – suite boutique bedrooms, an excellent range of good quality ales on tap and a fine selection of classic wines & popular cocktails.

This 19th century pub was once owned by the Duke of Northumberland, and until 1910 even had its own brewery, in a side building. At the rear of the pub is a delightful landscaped pub garden, which backs on to the banks of the river Tillingbourne, with a very narrow bridge leading to additional parking on the other side. I must admit to being very careful, when crossing the bridge!

The spacious new patio area, has weathered herringbone, sandstone paving & lawn, which is beautifully planted with well tended plants and furnished with a range of wooden benches, comfortable chairs and tables. I would imagine the small lawn next to the river is very popular on warm sunny days, it is a wonderful place in which to sit and read a book, with a cool drink in your hand or even stretch out on a picnic blanket, by the flowing water. There was also a large wooden covered pergola, to provide some cover from the elements and several large parasols.

You meet a better class of people in pubs

Oliver Reed

The accommodation at The Drummond consists of 11 en- suite rooms, four of which I was told, are in a separate annexe or cottage, including a family room, which is wheelchair accessible. There is a ramp & steps from the parking lot at the back of the pub, for easy access and there is a disabled toilet and baby change nearby. I know that dogs are welcome in the bar, but not in the restaurant area.

All of the eleven en-suite rooms have very comfortable beds, soft linen, tea and coffee-making facilities, stylish bathrooms, a range of exclusive toiletries, flat-screen TV with Freeview and and there is free WiFi throughout. The pub has made it a policy to remove all plastic bottles and replace them with a refillable and more eco-friendly aluminium bottle in the bathrooms. Our room also included a stunning statement headboard and beautiful wallpaper, which helped create a calming elegance to the room.

After settling into our room and changing we quickly made our way down to the bar for pre-dinner drinks. It was a Saturday evening and the bar was busy with customers. The bar was a cosmopolitan mix of nationalities from around the globe, both customers and staff, with plenty of locals enjoying a drink with friends or an early evening meal. We were warmly greeted by Tom, the GM and other members of his team, to take our drinks orders and settle us in a cosy seating area.

“Everybody’s got to believe in something. I believe I’ll have another beer. ”W.C. Fields

The Drummond at Albury is a very popular pub & restaurant with both locals & visitors from outside the village. Whilst enjoying a drink in the popular bar, I noticed several people coming into the pub, not only to eat in the restaurant, but to sit and enjoy a drink and a few snacks with friends, in the comfortable bar areas. It is obviously still very much a local for the village community, as well as a fine pub & restaurant with rooms. It is also a very popular pub for visitors with their canine friends! I saw several of our four-legged friends, leading their owners in from the village, into the pub! Man’s best friend, are always welcome at The Drummond at Albury!

The Garden Room – Breakfast Room

The dining area was very elegant with stylish upholstered chairs, displaying a pattern of bold, large-scale horizontal stripes. The texture, pattern & earthy colours of the seating created a character & contemporary edge to the pub’s relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. There were what looked like, small woodcut prints of birds, places around the restaurant walls, on a leaf motif, patterned wallpaper.

A Seasonal Food Menu: Autumn 

Starters:

Monkfish Tempura, Pickled Mooli or Daikon, a mild flavoured winter radish & a bowl of Hot, Spicy Vietnamese Dipping Sauce.

A delicate, sweet, and firm fish encased in a light, crispy savoury tempura batter. A mild, meaty fish, enhanced by the Vietnamese sauce; salty from a fish sauce, sour from some lime juice or vinegar, sweetness from the sugar, and a touch of heat from chilies! My wife found the heat a little too hot for her taste but enjoyed the crispy covered monkfish enormously.

Ham Hock, Leek & Cheddar Croquettes, Apple & Raisin Chutney.

The croquettes tasted savoury, a little smoky & cheesy, of course with a crispy exterior and a soft, creamy interior. They were simply delicious and a great way to start a meal.

Mains.

Specials Board: Mains. British Beef Wellington, Creamy Buttered Mash Potato, Spinach & Red Wine Jus plus a 175ml glass of your favourite wine.

A centrepiece dish for every occasion. A rich, savoury dish with a beautifully cooked tender, juicy beef tenderloin, encased in savoury layers of mushroom in a crispy, buttery puff pastry crust. Placed next to a rich red wine sauce and buttered mashed potato and all is good in the world! Stunning.

Gamekeeper`s Pie: Duck, Pheasant & Venison, Seasonal Greens and a side dish of Buttered Mash. A good quality filling with plenty of hot chunky pieces of tasty game meat, cooked in a very tasty rich sauce, topped with a potato layer. When I ordered the game pie, I was expecting it to be enclosed in pastry, with a pastry lid, not with potato mash, smoothed over the top. That is why I ordered potato mash, as a side dish. It in no way spoilt my enjoyment of the dish, which was excellent, but when is a pie, not a pie?According to the chairman of the British Pie Awards, a true pie has to have a filling completely enclosed in pastry, so a fish pie or cottage pie, don’t officially count as pies! I would certainly expect a game pie, to be enclosed by pastry. What do you think?

Desserts:

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake, Black Cherries & White Chocolate.

Truffle cheesecake topped with white chocolate shavings and a couple of soft cherries. What a delightful dessert.

Marmalade Sponge Pudding with Stem Ginger Custard.

I don`t ever recall seeing this pudding on a dessert menu, so I was very much looking forward to trying it. I am so glad I did! It was simply delicious. Warm sponge pudding covered in marmalade with a hot ginger custard. Awesome!

The main street in the village of Albury is lined with some stunning timber framed and flint cottages, and some noteworthy & beautiful Pugin chimneys on what was originally the village of Weston Street, later becoming what is now known as Albury. More of that later!

The Drummond at Albury is a fine example of an old English village pub with loads of character, where the community comes together, and visitors are made to feel very welcome. You can grab a simple snack, stay and linger over a sumptuous meal in the restaurant area or even stop over for the night in one of their excellent rooms. For tasty food, quality ales & fine wines in a local friendly pub atmosphere, The Drummond at Albury is a smart choice.

Have you thought about visiting a new pub restaurant, for that special dining experience?

Why not visit The Drummond at Albury for that special occasion. You won’t regret it. I had a great time, and I hope to be going back very soon! The Drummond at Albury is a great local village pub with a top quality restaurant and eleven very comfortable rooms! By providing such excellent quality food and drink, combined with the warm, friendly hospitality, this classic village pub is sure to win many awards for its food and hospitality over the next couple of years.

It certainly comes highly recommended from me! Why not check it out for yourself?

Disclosure: My visit was courtesy of  The Drummond at Albury & Sarah Pracey at Peach Pubs

The views and comments expressed are as usual my own.

The Drummond at Albury, Albury, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 9AG. Telephone: 01483 202039

Did You Know – What’s in a name? Albury & Weston Street

Villagers have been evacuated from their cottages, for many different reasons, including flood, fire and plague, but one Surrey village was emptied purely on the whim of a lord of the manor. In 1784, Captain William Finch bought Albury Manor and quickly set about forcing people from the homes, which were on his land. He closed the road which ran through the village, between Shalford and Shere, so that villagers were forced to walk up to what is now the Albury bypass, to get to neighbouring villages.

He then demolished their cottages, forcing them to go & live somewhere outside of his estate. All that remains of the original village of Albury is a Saxon church and a former pub, which later became the estate manager’s house, but the 20 cottages which made up the village are long gone. A “campaign of harassment” against the villagers continued for years and by the 1820s they had all been forced to nearby Farley Green, Albury Heath or Weston Street, the last one becoming what is now known as Albury.

In 1842, Albury Manor was sold to Henry Drummond MP, who built some of the houses with beautiful Pugin chimneys in Weston Street for the people who had been displaced, from what was now his land. Today, Albury Manor remains a private residence, however the public can still visit the Saxon church of St Peter and St Paul’s, which is maintained by a group of volunteers and stands as a reminder of the 20 households who were forced from their homes.

Hence, The Drummond at Albury! Henry Drummond, we salute you!

What does Gang Warily mean? I noticed these words written above the front door of The Drummond and was curious, as to what they meant. “Gang warily” is the Latin motto of the Drummond Clan meaning Go Carefully. It originates from the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, where Scottish troops, including the Drummonds, used caltrops to slow down English cavalry. Years later, when the clan moved to Hampshire, they named a part of their land “Gang Warily”

A good local pub has much in common with a church, except that a pub is warmer, and there’s more conversation. William Blake

The Drummond at Albury, Albury, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 9AG. Telephone: 01483 202039

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