Luxury train makes tracks for Edinburgh
TICKETS SELL OUT AT £700 EACH
BOSSES of one of the world’s most luxurious trains have been stunned by the demand for tickets in Scotland this summer – despite them costing up to £700 each.
Now two extra slap-up lunch trips aboard the 1930s Pullman-style Northern Belle are being hastily arranged from Edinburgh over the picturesque West Highland line.
A spokesman said: “We have been amazed by the response. One trip virtually sold within days and we are urging passengers to book early on the new trips before they too fill up.”
The Northern Belle was voted the fifth best train in the world by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine last year.
And actor Bill Nighy described it as “the Grand Dame of luxury travel” on Channel 5’s “The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys” programme.
Passengers will board over a red carpet laid across the platform at Edinburgh Waverley Station before being handed their first glass of champagne.
Then they will be serenaded by the train’s own musicians while they tuck into a sumptuous seven-course meal.
There is even an onboard conjuror who gets up to his tricks as he wanders through the carriages to add an extra touch of magic to the occasion.
The train will now do the West Highland route on both Saturday and Sunday July 25 and 26, and again on Sunday, August 9.
There will also be a trip to Oban on August 8 and another to visit the Christmas markets in York on November 27, as well as two Christmas Lunch trips in December.
Fares start at £445. For more details see www.northernbelle.co.uk.