Bagpipes send off for luxury 1930s Pullman-style train

A lone piper will play a lament as Britain’s poshest train pulls out of Swinton and Doncaster stations next month.

He will be seeing off the Northern Belle as, hauled by a vintage diesel locomotive, it takes champagne-sipping passengers for a slap-up day out to Edinburgh.

It is just one of the luxurious touches to travelling on the 1930s Pullman-style train, which once formed part of the iconic Orient Express.

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“We don’t like to blow our own trumpet about how great travelling on the Northern Belle is,” said a spokesman. “So we have somebody play the bagpipes instead!”

Making tracks ... historic steam loco Tangmere hauls the Northern Belle train south over Ais Gill Viaduct along the Settle-Carlisle Railway on a stormy summer afternoon in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.placeholder image
Making tracks ... historic steam loco Tangmere hauls the Northern Belle train south over Ais Gill Viaduct along the Settle-Carlisle Railway on a stormy summer afternoon in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The trip on Wednesday, September 4, includes an optional tour of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Yacht Britannia at nearby Leith.

Tickets sold out weeks ago despite costing £495 each – although for that price, passengers do get a three-course brunch on the way to Scotland, followed by a slap-up six-course dinner with wine during the journey home.

And the spokesman said: “It is always worth checking for last-minute cancellations. We will squeeze you on board if we can."

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While they dine, passengers will be serenaded by onboard musicians while a conjuror wanders through the carriages to add an extra touch of magic to the occasion.

For those who do miss the train, the Northern Belle will be back in Doncaster on Friday, October 25, for a slap-up champagne lunch trip.

Then there will be two more trips to Edinburgh from both Doncaster and Sheffield in November, followed by a seven-course Christmas Lunch Special from both stations on Wednesday, December 18.

Prices on the Northern Belle, which actor Bill Nighy described on Channel 5 as "the Grand Dame of luxury travel", start at £295. For further details see www.northernbelle.co.uk.

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