A luxury train journey combining the famous Flying Scotsman and what's described as the Orient Express of the North is promising to creatre lifelong memories for passengers who bag tickets for the double treat this September.
The Flying Scotsman marks its centenary this year and a trip from Darlington to Edinburgh is on offer this summer as part of the locomotive’s anniversary celebrations. The journey - which will see it pull the Northern Belle, once part of the iconic Orient Express group said to be Britain's most luxurious train - is expected to be a fast sell-out.
At £695 a ticket, it is quite some treat but a Northern Belle spokesman said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s not every day you get to travel on one of the world’s most luxurious trains while being hauled by the world’s most famous locomotive.
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" Those people lucky enough to get a place on board will remember it all their lives.”
In February The Flying Scotsman, the world’s most famous steam locomotive, clocked up exactly 100 years since the date it first entered service and is continues to attract huge crowds whenever it travels. The historic journey which will see it team up with the 1930s Pullman-style Northern Belle will be on September 14.
There will be a red carpet laid out at Darlington Station on the day and as passengers board, at 8.20am, they will be handed a champagne cocktail. They then will sit down in luxury in its ornately-decorated carriages to enjoy a three-course brunch en route to Edinburgh.
They will have a three-hour stop in Scotland's capital before the return which will get under way with another Champagne reception on board the train. The a lavish six-course dinner with wine will be served during the return journey, which also takes in York.
It promises to be a spectacular experience on board the trainwhich was described by actor Bill Nighy as 'the Grand Dame of luxury travel' when the Northern Belle featured on an episode of Channel 5’s The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys. And last year readers of the prestigious Condé Nast magazine voted it ninth in a list of the world’s most luxurious trains.
It was the only British train in the top 10 where it beat the likes of Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer and India’s Maharajah’s Express.
Ahead of September's big trip, the Northern Belle is to have a summer journey through the North East when it embarks upon another trip to Scotland, this time to the Glamis Castle childhood home of the late Queen Mother. This will take place on May 11 when it will pick up from Darlington, Durham and Newcastle.
The following day there will be a lunch and afternoon tea trip leaving from the same three stations, followed by a steam-hauled trip over the Settle-Carlisle line on May 27. Fares start at £295. For details of all trips see here or call 01270 899 681.
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