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 Dunrobin Castle and back exceptionally difficult for WCR.
It had taken two cancellations, five amendments and 13 months to get to this point, not to mention a last-minute rescheduling to depart from Dyce, not Aberdeen as originally planned.
Aberdeen station wasn’t open
Apparently Network Rail gave the go-ahead to the latest route timing without checking that Aberdeen station would actually be open.
In common with many of her 150 passengers that day, we had to taxi over to leave from the somewhat humdrum surroundings of Dyce station rather than glide out of the spotlessly refurbished grandeur of Aberdeen.
But any inconvenience was soon forgotten as we sank into our seats, took in our surroundings and watched the early autumn beauty of Aberdeenshire float past us.
My companion, let’s just call him Mr Train Nerd, for he is one and this trip was the highlight of a long obsession with train travel, told me we were in a 1974 Mark 2e FO, which meant nothing to me but excited him enormously.
The thing about Northern Belle is she is a bit of a pastiche.
We were travelling in 1930s Pullman style luxury, but in fact the diesel loco and the carriages are of much later date, from the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
There are Mark 1s, 2s and 3s on Northern Belle and we were hauled by a Class 57 built by British Rail and now owned by WCR.
Mr TN listened attentively to the engine sound and marvelled that we couldn’t actually hear it, or the aircon, unlike modern carriages.
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
What we did hear were such evocative wheel sounds that I asked Mr TN to record them.
This he obligingly did, even placing his phone on the floor for best effect.
For technical reasons which Mr TN can describe in granular detail, modern trains don’t make the clickety-clack sounds of my youth, and I miss them, so thank you, Northern Belle.
The Belle’s carriages are named after castles and stately homes, and decorated accordingly.
We were in Belvoir, with its delicate marquetry motif of honeybees and flowers inlaid with Indian rosewood, oak, pomelle, sycamore, madrona burr and walnut.
The other carriages are Alnwick, Balmoral, Caerdydd, Crewe, Warwick, Glamis, Mow Cop, Harlech and and Duart.
It’s all about the booze and the fine dining
A trip on the Northern Belle is all about the food and drink.
We were to fit in a three-course brunch that morning, and after our visit to Dunrobin Castle, near Golspie, a six-course dinner.
And needless to say copious amounts of bubbles, cocktails, aperitifs, digestifs, liqueurs and everything in between were at your beck and call throughout.
The sun rose, turning the fields and their neat butterball bales pale gold. We flashed through stations and waved at trainspotters.
Brunch started with an apple cinnamon yoghurt dome, with apple compote and granola.
It looked extraordinary and tasted exquisite. What a great start to the day’s indulgence.
This was followed by a tartlet ‘Arnold Bennet’, a fishy, eggy concoction served with hot smoked salmon, chive butter and a pecorino crisp.
By this time, we had got to know our fellow passengers, Gladys Cheyne and her daughter-in-law Sheena Cheyne.
They had already done Northern Belle’s trip to Dumfries with the family, and were determined to savour every moment of the trip to Dunrobin.
Lorraine and Stephen Findlay were across the way, celebrating their golden wedding.
It turned out the couple are bridge fiends, and so is Gladys. Many mutual acquaintances were discovered, adding to the craic and fun atmosphere.
We moved on to the morning bakery basket, somehow finding room for artisan bread and croissants and pastries.
Northern Belle has her two resident musicians, trombonist Pete Ackerley and guitar/vocals Tony McLaughlin, half of a Cheshire-based four-man jazz band called Casablanca Steps.
They moved down the carriage serenading each group with their very own song, period-appropriate, think Putting on the Ritz, Fly Me To The Moon.
Gladys reminded Tony that she had danced with him on the last trip.
After brunch, more entertainment with the appearance of John Harding, the Belle’s resident magician.
Corny jokes, sleight of hand and disarming patter — we loved it. How he got that hanky into Mr TN’s breast pocket is still the subject of mystification.
People who work on the Northern Belle love it, John included. He had made his way over from Liverpool via Glasgow to join the train at Muir of Ord to entertain us for a couple of hours.
He would make his way back on the sleeper later that night. That’s dedication.
The on-board team deserve a huge shout-out for their attentiveness to a bunch of very relaxed, rapidly pickling passengers.
Who wouldn’t want to work in an office like Northern Belle?
Loop line at Inverness
We approached Inverness where we had to wait for a while on the loop line avoiding the actual station.
Far from a fine view of the Highland capital, Gladys and Sheena, both from Turriff, had to admire a yard full of blue and yellow skips.
But the scenery was soon restored as we raced north on the Highland line.
We reached Dunrobin about lunch time, and were deposited at the Duke of Sutherland’s own private station, with more than two hours to explore the stunning castle and its grounds, and take in the falconry display.
Back on board, we were distinctly peckish and it wasn’t long before dinner was served, starting with champagne accompanied by caviar on a blini with sour cream and a quail’s egg.
This was followed by canapes, and a starter of smoked mackerel pate, every mouthful delicious.
The main was honey-glazed breast of duck with perfect potato puree and veg and a mini spicy duck pie. Mouthwatering.
Then a blackcurrant and sloe gin éclair with a tiny hint of crumble, followed by a generous cheeseboard of fabulous British cheeses with port.
We all wondered how on earth such delicious and perfectly presented food could be produced for so many passengers on a long thin tube racing through the countryside with occasional judders.
Chef James Rischman gave me the answer.
He said: “It’s a set menu, so you know exactly what you’re preparing, unlike fine dining with 21 items on the menu and 180 covers per hour.
“There are two kitchens, at either end of the train.
“I’m on my own doing 82 covers, the other kitchen is doing 63 covers, with five chefs.”
James used to train chefs for rosettes
James, 30, is originally from Leeds, and this was his first season on Northern Belle.
He’s so young, I imagined this level of dining would be advancement in his career.
How wrong I was.
James opened his first restaurant at 21 in Ingleton before being approached by Daniel Thwaites to train chefs for rosettes.
Cooking on Northern Belle was actually a step down for him, he informed me, but he enjoys it.
“The hardest thing on the train is finding your legs when the train is throwing you from side to side all the time.
“Until you find your legs it’s quite difficult, but you feel it, and you know to hold the gravy for five seconds.”
Haze of wellbeing
All too soon we were deposited in Aberdeen in the haze of wellbeing induced by alcohol and fine dining.
It really felt like a bubble had burst. Normal humdrum service resumed.
If you want to experience the magic of Northern Belle, she does plenty of day trips, although not from Aberdeen.
You might enjoy:
The ‘Railway Duke’: Celebrating 150 years of the Golspie to Helmsdale line
1940s weekend: Journey to the past with the glorious Keith and Dufftown Railway
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