Great Days
Out

For three weeks every August, Edinburgh becomes the largest arts festival on earth. More than three thousand shows run across some three hundred venues, from the great halls to rooms above pubs, and the Royal Mile turns into one continuous street performance.

The Northern Belle gets you there in style and, just as usefully, gets you home again afterwards without the scramble for a late service. Brunch is served on the way north, the afternoon is yours to spend as you like, and dinner runs to six courses on the way back with strolling musicians in the carriages.

Your day includes:

• A Champagne reception and a three-course brunch on the outward journey
• Free time in Edinburgh during the Festival and the Fringe
• A six-course dinner with fine wines on the journey home
• Strolling musicians on board

Smart day wear and comfortable shoes for walking the city.

Edinburgh does Christmas better than almost anywhere. The market runs the length of East Princes Street Gardens beneath the castle rock, the Big Wheel turns above the Scott Monument, and the Old Town closes in around you with lit windows and the smell of mulled wine on the cold air.

You have up to five hours in the city, long enough for the market, the shops on George Street and a proper look at the Royal Mile. Brunch is served on the way up. On the way home there is a six-course dinner, fine wines and live music, and the last of the afternoon light over the Borders.

Your day includes:

• A Champagne reception and a three-course brunch on the outward journey
• Up to five hours in Edinburgh for the Christmas markets and the shops
• A six-course dinner with fine wines on the journey home
• Strolling musicians on board

Smart day wear and warm outer layers. Part of your day is spent outdoors.

St Nicholas Fair fills the medieval streets of York through late November and December, and there are few better settings for it. The wooden chalets run along Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square, the Shambles is strung with lights, and the Minster stands over all of it.

The train runs south from Glasgow and Edinburgh with brunch served on the way, leaving you a good stretch of the day to work through the fair, the Shambles and the city walls. Dinner is served on the journey north, six courses with wine, as the light goes.

Your day includes:

• A Champagne reception and a three-course brunch on the outward journey
• Free time for the St Nicholas Fair and the medieval city
• A six-course dinner with fine wines on the journey home
• Strolling musicians on board

Smart day wear and warm outer layers. Part of your day is spent outdoors.

Gold Cup day is the summit of the National Hunt season and the last day of the Cheltenham Festival, when the best staying chasers in the world meet on the New Course. The atmosphere in the enclosure as the field turns for home is unlike anything else in British sport.

The Northern Belle leaves London Paddington after breakfast and brunch is served on the way west. At Evesham you transfer by road to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, then take a steam train to the racecourse's own station. Entrance to the Club Enclosure is included, along with a jockey host, and dinner is waiting on the train for the run back to London.

Your day includes:

• A three-course brunch with a Mimosa cocktail on the outward journey
• Road transfer and a steam-hauled connection to the racecourse station
• Entrance to the Club Enclosure and a jockey host
• A five-course dinner with Champagne and wine on the journey home

Smart and country chic. Part of your day is spent outdoors, so dress for the weather.

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the most famous gardening event in the world and has been held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital since 1913. The show gardens are built and planted in a matter of weeks, judged in a single morning, and dismantled days later, which is part of what makes seeing them in person worth the effort.

The Northern Belle runs south from the North West and the Midlands with brunch served on the way. You have the afternoon at the show, then rejoin the train for a six-course dinner and fine wine on the journey north, which beats a crowded evening train by a comfortable margin.

Your day includes:

• A three-course brunch on the outward journey
• Coach transfers and admission to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
• An afternoon at the show gardens and the Great Pavilion
• A six-course dinner with fine wines on the journey home

Smart day wear and comfortable shoes. The show ground is largely outdoors.

Ladies Day is the Thursday of Royal Ascot and the most watched day in the British social calendar, with the Gold Cup itself as the centrepiece. The Royal Procession comes down the straight mile at two o'clock, the massed bands play at the bandstand afterwards, and the hats are a spectacle in their own right.

You arrive by luxury train rather than by car park, which is a considerably more civilised way to do it. Brunch is served on the way south, entry to the Queen Anne Enclosure is included, and a six-course dinner with fine wines is served on the journey home while the day is still being replayed round the table.

Your day includes:

• A three-course brunch on the outward journey
• Coach transfers and entry to the Queen Anne Enclosure
• A full afternoon of Royal Ascot racing
• A six-course dinner with fine wines on the journey home

Queen Anne Enclosure dress code applies. Ladies wear a hat or a substantial fascinator, gentlemen a suit with a collar and tie.