There've been a couple of ‘pinch me’ moments in my life, but my recent experience of being wined and dined aboard The Northern Belle - Britain’s best luxury train - has to be one of the best.
Stepping into Christmas in style, I boarded The Northern Belle, once part of the iconic Orient Express group, as it set out from Manchester on one of its final outings of the year. Harking back to the golden age of travel with its 1930-style Pullman carriages - each one named after a castle or stately home - there’s something innately special about this train, with its plush interiors, luxury armchairs and festive decorations.
Just a few years ago I would commute from Manchester Victoria to Hebden Bridge - and sometimes from Leeds along the Calder Valley Line. I was always struck by the beauty of the scenery around me as the train whizzed through Pennine mill towns - so to be given the opportunity to experience it all again, aboard the “Grand Dame of luxury travel”, as actor Bill Nighy coined it, was an early Christmas gift.
