A Vintage Adventure on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway

I have to admit I get a romantic notion in my mind and then I can’t let it go. Often there is a rose-tinted, vintage element to these notions. What encompasses all of these things more delightfully than a ride upon a steam train, through beautiful countryside, whilst enjoying a silver service meal? That’s exactly what we decided to do one Saturday on the gorgeous North Yorkshire Moors Railway. 


It’s all very Murder on the Orient Express. Picture the scene; dashing gentlemen and ladies dressed in vintage (faux) furs and 20’s flapper dresses. A waft of cologne and cigarette smoke, a winning smile from the doll across the carriage and a daring wink from a raffish chap. Various characters, each with their own story to tell, all contained, captive for hours, upon a slightly rocking train. There is no wonder it is such a great story and no wonder I was desperate to climb aboard the NYMR steam train for our own adventure. 
The train departs from the quaint town of Pickering, and the railway station looks like it hasn’t been touched by time. We donned our finery, the Carnivore looking dashing in tweed and I was wearing a vintage number with a flirty skirt and a faux fur stole. 


We sat down in an elegant carriage where we were immediately tended to by an immaculately dressed server. We ordered wine and perused our menus, eager to see what we would be quaffing.

With a lurch and a puff, we pulled off from the station making our way through town.

The crisp white linens gave it a touch of class and we really felt like we'd stepped back in time.
Our starters arrived and I was delighted to see mine was melon and halloumi, which was the perfect mix of salty, sweet and juicy.


Soon we were out into the North Yorkshire countryside and it was absolutely breathtaking, so pretty despite it being a drizzly grey day. 






There was so much to see out of the window that I was quite lost in the moment....
Until the Carnivore suggested we check out the rest of the carriages...
I got to wear this little vintage dress in a swallow print and loved the full skirt. It's the kind of dress you want to twirl around in but it could lead to a Marilyn Monroe moment.
After a wee explore around the other carriages it was time to return to our seats for the main course, all served on a silver platter.
I had a vegetarian Shepard's Pie and the Carnivore had parma ham wrapped chicken with lots of fresh greens.
I then found this cosy little spot for one with the best view of the countryside and couldn't resist going back to my daydreams...

We arrived at Goathland, the beautiful setting for the series Heartbeat, if any of you watched it, and it was time to hop off the train for a quick stretch of the legs. It's such a pretty place that I wish we could have spent more time but there was more eating and drinking to be done....
Once we got back on the Pullman, it was time for my favourite part of the meal...pudding! I spied what was to come and had to stop myself from devouring it all.
The Carnivore ordered the local beer (well it's rude not to) and I sipped more wine as we enjoyed the slow journey back to Pickering...
We took in the pretty old stone cottages peeping out from between trees on our way back, imagining who lived there and what their story is... 

While the sticky toffee pudding and chocolate fudge cake slipped down too easily...

Pretty river ways, babbling brooks and streams were in abundance....
Although getting good photos through the damp rainy windows was no mean feat but hopefully you get the drift...
The puffs of white steam from the Pullman drifted back towards our carriage giving the countryside an even more magical edge.
As we pulled back in to the station we retired to the 'lounge' where I could just imagine sipping an elegant cocktail with guys and dolls from a bygone era...
Have you been on a steam train? If you love fine dining in a different setting it just has to be tried. If you find yourself in the area and want to make a weekend of it, check out my previous posts.

2 comments

  1. This looks AMAZING. I know someone who would like this (apart from me, I mean)

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  2. It really was such a good day out - some great writing fodder there, with all the people watching, too. There has been a TV series on about it recently on the BBC. Have you seen it?

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