Pullman Away

From a love of Agatha Christie and 1920's style, I have long dreamt of traveling on the Orient Express. As my 21st birthday present, Jeordy and I were able to taste a morsel of this experience by traveling on the British arm of the Orient Express, the Belmond British Pullman. The Pullman has long been used to connect England with the trains destined for the Orient.

The journey is steeped in history and we were lucky enough to be given a taste of this luxury from of vintage travel.

Our train was set to depart from Victoria station at 8:15 am. Despite the early start we were bright-eyed and excited to board the train. After checking in we were allocated a carriage and a table and made our way aboard the beautiful vintage train cars. Guided by porters in white jackets and bowties, we were shown to our table. It was set with elegant cutlery and duck egg blue crockery. Almost as soon as we had sat down we were greeted with Champagne Breakfast Bellinis.

As we pulled away from the station we made ourselves comfortable and watched London slowly pass by our window. We were served more bellinis and a morning cup of tea or coffee. Soon breakfast was served: waiters in smart white jackets served us a selection of muffins and pastries and toast. This was followed by a fresh fruit salad and lastly scrambled egg with chives, smoked salmon and caviar, accompanied by crumpets. The food was impeccable and was served spread out over the three hour journey to Cambridge, along with constant refills of champagne and tea.

Jeordy was especially enamoured with the tiny pots of jam for our toast...

Every carriage had a name and its own history. We were placed in the Ione. The carriage was built in 1928 as a First Class Kitchen Car. It was originally intended for the Queen Scots Pullman and was used as a high speed First Class Car until 1968. It has now been restored to its original decor with beautiful red wood panelling, red carpets, curtains and lamp shades. Without a doubt the most captivating pieces within the carriage were the chairs. The colourful chairs were not attached to the floor but were simply very large, beautifully pattered and soft armchairs . We were in awe of the decor.

After three hours of charmingly rickety train travel spent gazing out of the window to see the beautiful English countryside, we arrived in Cambridge, feeling slightly weary after eating so much. We were met at the station by a guide and a large coach, which we took to the centre of Cambridge.

Once in Cambridge we disembarked from the bus on the Queens' green where guides met us for a tour. We wandered deeper into Cambridge all while the guides explained all about the collegiate system in place there and pointed out local landmarks such as the green door of Darwin's house. Darwin resided in Cambridge while he was at University there and the house remained in his family for generations longer. We wandered on through the twisting maze of beautiful brick buildings past some of Cambridge's 31 separate colleges.

~Fun Facts: Cambridge is home to the world's oldest printing and publishing house, commissioned in 1534 by Henry VII.

Peterhouse, a dining hall built and used by the university was completed in 1290 and has been in continuous use ever since. It is the oldest building in Britain still used for it's original purpose.~

We moved on to one of Cambridge's most famous colleges, King's College Cambridge. The guide led us through its beautiful court yard, surrounded by beautiful buildings consisting of a dining hall, dorms, a library and a place of prayer. These four things were historically deemed everything a student may need. Jeordy, being the rebel she is, placed her foot on the grass despite standing next to a sign that read 'DO NOT STEP ON THE GRASS' in 5 different languages.

We walked around the meticulously tended lawn towards our destination, the marvellous King's College Chapel. With the first brick apparently being laid by Henry VI in 1441, the historic gothic exterior is simply breathtaking. However, the real spectacle is inside. It cannot be denied that the stonework all along the walls is incredibly detailed and unique. It is also hugely symbolic, with entirely individualistic hand-carved stone dragons, dogs, and Tudor roses lining the walls.

The show-stopper was of course the ceiling. Each part of the roof is made from 4 huge ornately carved pieces of stone that were put together and held in place by a single round stone depicting either carved roses or castle gates (which Jeordy insisted were medieval waffles). This building is one of the best examples of a medieval 'fan-vault' style ceiling in Britain.

Though the ceiling is impressive, it would be impossible to miss the beautifully coloured stained glass windows. The largest collection of original stained glass in Britain, these windows tell Bible stories in chronological order around the chapel. The bottom half of the windows show the New Testament stories which are mirrored above by comparable stories of the Old Testament.

The glasswork miraculously survived the English Civil War when most 'idolatrous' Catholic relics were destroyed, as well as the bombing during the Second World War. When war was imminent, every window was taken out of the Chapel and placed in storage and then put back after the war. Unfortunately, not every piece made it back. During the process of recreating this giant glass jigsaw puzzle, it eventually became evident that Mary's face from the nativity scene had gone missing. Out of desperation her face was replaced with that of her mother, causing her to look unusually old and withered.

After our tour around the Cathedral we were given some free time. Jeordy and I continued to wander around the beautiful colleges of Cambridge and over the bridges and rivers.

At 15:00 we reconvened and took a coach to the cathedral town of Ely, so named for the eel-filled swamp land that once surrounded it. Ely Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral originating in 672 AD. The present building however, dates back to 1083. Built predominantly in Romanesque style, but showing some gothic elements, this magnificent complex served most of its life as a large monastery. It therefore is made up of a variety of buildings including living quarters, a barn, a vineyard and a dinning hall.

Like the King's College Chapel, the real beauty of this building is held within. Like most cathedrals of its time, Ely was originally hugely decorative, lavish, and extravagantly painted. The walls and pillars were formally bright red and blue with gold trim. Although this has all worn away apart from a few flecks of paint, the ceiling remains beautifully decorated and in tact. The vibrantly coloured ceiling was in fact painted by two different artists, the second finishing the task after the first unexpectedly died. There is a slight but noticeable difference in styles from where one finished and the other took on the work.

The central bell tower of the cathedral collapsed in 1322, falling into the centre of the cathedral creating a crater. The people of the town stated it fell so forcefully and loudly they thought it was an earthquake. The bell tower was restored soon after, but this time made of wood to make it lighter. Unfortunately it was so light that when the bells rang it swayed so violently the monks feared it would break, and so the bells were removed. It is this wooden tower which, somewhat miraculously, still stands today.

After a short tour of the cathedral we took the bus to Ely Station and boarded our train at 17:00. We returned to our table to find it ready for dinner, and we were welcomed back by more champagne as we pulled away from Ely. Before dinner was served Jeordy and I took turns changing into our evening wear and were astonished by what we found in the lavatory. They were each adorned with a beautiful 1920's mosaic floor and frosted stained glass windows.

Once we had changed we returned to our table for more champagne and we prepared for our four course dinner. We had selected two bottles of wine for the table, a red and a white, which were waiting for us. We had the white wine first, which had been kept cold by an ice bucket on our table. It paired nicely with a starter of grilled Loch Duart salmon with salad and tantalising lime dressing.

After some time and a few glasses of wine we were served our main of roast duck breast, potatoes with duck confit served with cabbage and mushrooms in a thyme and port jus. It was spectacular, pipping hot and mouth watering. The duck simply melted in your mouth.

A while later we were presented with a variety of biscuits and cheeses and asked which ones we should like to try. Naturally Jeordy and I decided we wished to try all of them. There were approximately 7 different cheeses varying widely in taste and texture. After gorging on cheese there was a much welcomed wait before we were given our dessert of a delicious apple tart covered in a butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream.

After finishing dinner and the white wine, we had about an hour before we would arrive in London. Slightly exhausted from our day of exploring, food and wine, Jeordy and I decided to relax over cards and red wine. It was a most wonderful setting to play cards in as we sipped our red wine to the sound of the tracks and a humble din of content chatter coming from around us. It would not have been hard to imagine we were a couple in the 1920's, rather luxuriously traveling on the Orient Express and passing time with a little light gambling.

We arrived back in London Victoria at 21:15.

It was one of the most magical and romantic experiences either of us had the pleasure to partake in. It was a long day filled to the brim, and even overflowing a little, with luxury, spectacle, beauty and amazing food. Our trip on the Belmond British Pullman was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I would greatly recommend to anyone who ever has the chance, as it's certainly something to tick off one's bucket list.

As a final note, or rather a warning, I should like to add that the experience did less than nothing to quench our desire to travel aboard the Orient Express itself. If anything, it has made this a slightly more tangible dream to one day cross off our bucket lists. Perhaps a trip to Venice, or even Turkey shall be planned in the eventual future.