I didn’t really believe the publicity. “The Northern Belle has been voted one of the best train trips in the world by readers of Condé Nast magazine for the second year in a row.” I lowered my expectations.
What me, fall for any hype? But then I found myself stepping aboard Northern Belle from a red carpet and entering the world of enchantment that makes passengers fall in love with her. It’s hard to overstate the impact on board. The tables sparkle with crystal and porcelain settings, with real flowers, real napkins.
The chairs are fully upholstered and look fat and comfortable. Each carriage is individually decorated with murals and marquetry and the lighting is soft. The staff, immaculately liveried, are friendly, welcoming and attentive.
An instant wave of relaxation came over me. This day was going to be amazing, especially when it was announced that a mimosa would shortly be on its way. At 8.
30 in the morning! Yes please. But we need to take a step back out of the magic for a second. Northern Belle’s progress to this departure had not been easy.
In fact it had been so hard I might have been aboard her very last journey to the north-east to take us to the Highlands and back. Operated by West Coast Railways (WCR) since 2017, the charter train is low on the list of Network Rail’s priorities. Track maintenance work has made scheduling the trip from Aberdeen to and back exceptionally difficult for WCR.
not to mention a last-minute rescheduling to depart from Dy.