Belle of a trip on UK's poshest train
Track back to the 1930s
CHAMPAGNE will flow when a red carpet is laid over the platform of Birmingham International Station in March as Britain’s poshest train pays its first visit of 2025 to the city.
The Northern Belle – once described by actor Bill Nighy as “the Grand Dame of luxury travel” – will take 200 passengers for a slap-up seven-course lunch trip.
The 1930s Pullman-style train, which once formed part of the iconic Orient Express group, even boasts its own resident band while an on-board conjuror adds an extra touch of magic to the journey.
One of the seven individually-decorated carriages used to form part of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Train and is said to include what was the Queen Mum’s favourite seat, from where she would wave through the window while sipping gin and tonics.
The train, hauled by a vintage diesel locomotive, will depart at 12.25pm on Wednesday, March 12.
Then in April, the Northern Belle will be back in the city when it will be pulled by a steam locomotive over the same spectacular route which crosses the 24-arch Ribblehead Viaduct.
Hundreds of trainspotters and railway enthusiasts are expected to turn out to photograph the occasion.
A spokesman said: “We like to think we’ll not only be taking passengers on a trip through some beautiful countryside, but will also be transporting them back to the golden days of rail travel.
“A time when nothing was too good for the pampered passengers.”
Other Northern Belle trips from Birmingham during 2025 include Llandudno, Torquay and Sandringham.
Fares start at £365. For more details, see www.northernbelle.co.uk