Stepping Aboard
Immaculate carriages, superb food and warm, attentive service, and scenery to take your breath away, are just some of the delights that await you on board.
It begins on the platform. A red carpet is rolled out, the crew are waiting in livery, and a glass of chilled Champagne is put into your hand before you have taken your seat. From that moment the day is arranged around you, and the ordinary business of travelling simply disappears.
Your steward shows you to your reserved seat. The carriage is quiet, warm and lit like a country house drawing room, with polished walnut, brass fittings and white linen laid with crystal and silver. Somewhere further down the train a musician is already playing. The Northern Belle then eases out of the station, and Britain begins to arrive through the windows.
The Carriages
Each carriage bears the name of a great British castle or stately home and has been decorated to reflect its character. These are genuine vintage Pullman-style vehicles, restored by leading craftspeople, from marquetry experts and mosaic artists to hand-painted muralists, and every carriage has its own personality. Among them are Warwick, Belvoir and Harlech, along with Glamis, named after the late Queen's childhood home, and Duart, which once ran as part of the Royal Train.
Lavishly furnished with specially commissioned fabrics, intricate marquetry and glistening brass, every detail sets the scene for a step back into a more elegant and gracious age. The Northern Belle carries all the romance of the classic Belle trains of the 1930s, and was restored to that standard by the team behind the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which is how it came to be known as the Orient-Express of the North. In 2025 it was named among the Top 5 of the World's Greatest Trains in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards.
Seating arrangements
Every carriage is laid out in the vintage Pullman manner. Each row of seats forms a table for two and, across the aisle, a table for four. Carriages seat 42 guests, with room to move around and enjoy the sociable atmosphere for which the train is known.
Parties of two are seated at a table for four alongside another couple unless the table for two supplement of £105 per passenger is paid, and tables for two are limited. Larger parties are seated together wherever the layout allows, and families travel in a designated area of the train.
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Northern Belle Carriage Plans
The Team Looking After You
The Northern Belle carries a full crew whose only job is your day. They are the reason the train is remembered as warmly as it is.
Your Steward
Your steward looks after your table throughout the journey, serving each course, keeping your glass filled and quietly making sure that everything you need arrives before you have to ask for it.
The Train Manager
The Train Manager is on board for the whole journey and handles anything out of the ordinary, from a change to the running to a celebration that needs arranging. Mention it to your steward and he will be found.
The Head Chef
Head Chef Matthew Green creates the menus and runs the kitchens, working with a small team in a galley barely bigger than a cupboard to produce food that would hold its own in any dining room on solid ground.
A Symphony of Flavour
Dining is at the very heart of the Northern Belle experience, and here the train does something no other luxury train in the world does. It is the only one to offer a true à la carte menu, with your dishes chosen on the day rather than fixed weeks in advance, and everything cooked to order as you travel.
Menus are shaped by Food and Beverage Director Brian Clark, a chef who has cooked for royalty, presidents and even Madonna, and built around the finest seasonal produce of the British Isles. You might begin with English river trout, move on to grass-fed Hereford beef or halibut landed that morning, and finish with a patisserie course that arrives looking far too good to disturb. Each course is matched by the sommelier.
The meal closes in the traditional manner, with an award-winning selection of British cheeses served with chutney, fruit cake, biscuits and a glass of port, followed by Fortnum & Mason tea and petits fours. On lunch excursions the meal runs to seven courses across four or more unhurried hours.
Included in Every Journey
To mark the train's recognition by Condé Nast Traveller, every journey now includes the following at no extra cost:
Champagne Reception
A glass of chilled Champagne to greet you the moment you step aboard, with caviar blinis to follow.
Sommelier's Wine
An upgraded choice of wine, hand-selected to match your menu.
Port & Cheese
A glass of port to accompany the award-winning British cheeseboard after your meal.
Fortnum & Mason Tea
The perfect finishing touch to a very British day out, served with petits fours.
Raise a Glass: The Champagne Classes
For a truly special occasion you can lift the day further still with one of the Northern Belle's Champagne classes, bookable when you reserve your journey.
Moët & Chandon Class
A Champagne reception with Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage, an upgraded bottle of wine, and a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial per couple.
KRUG Class
A bottle of KRUG Grande Cuvée and an upgraded wine per couple, seating in the storied Duart or Glamis carriage, and a memorable gift on departure.
Menus change with the season, so these are a guide to the style rather than the exact dishes you will be offered on the day. Dietary requirements can be catered for if we are told at the time of booking and at least fourteen days before departure. See our general information page for the detail.
Music in Motion
Strolling musicians move between the carriages through the journey, bringing live entertainment and a little theatre to the afternoon. On the festive lunches a table magician works his way along the train as well, which has been known to stop conversation entirely. The effect is unhurried and rather charming, and it is one of the details guests mention most often afterwards.
What Pulls the Train
The Northern Belle runs around one hundred excursions a year behind a variety of locomotives. Most journeys are hauled by heritage diesel traction, and on selected dates the train goes out behind a heritage steam engine, which is where the Settle and Carlisle steam specials come in. Those dates are marked in our calendar and on the Towns & Cities page.
Marking an Occasion
The Northern Belle is the most memorable way to mark a special occasion, whether a milestone birthday, a wedding anniversary, a romantic proposal or simply a treat for someone you love. Tell us the occasion when you book and the on-board team will take real pleasure in helping to make it the day you hoped for. Gift vouchers are available too, for any amount and redeemable against any journey.
Ready to step aboard? Our specialists will help you choose the journey, the date and the departure station, and can arrange a Champagne class or a table for two.
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