A Day On The Orient Express

It is embossed on the minds of many as the ideal venue for murder. But the real legacy of the world’s most famous train is its luxury. You don’t have to travel to Italy or Istanbul to enjoy its opulence, England in all its glory beckons. Paul Thomas boarded the Belmond British Pullman carriages used with the Venice-Simplon-Orient Express

- Paul Thomas

Romance will never die as long as we have the Orient Express. Standing amongst expectant travelers at London Victoria railway station, full of those celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and the trip itself, you realize why this is the most romantic, most famous and most loved train in the world.

As the cream and brown liveried Pullman carriages of yesteryear snake onto Platform 2 you just have to smile. This is the Orient Express in all its glory – the Belmond British Pullman carriages that take you beyond imagination as far as modern travel is concerned.

We all know why this train has an ingrained slot into the memory banks of most. You have either read the mystery by the world’s greatest detective writer or you’ve seen the films.

The carriages on our train were used in the recent Hollywood adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic starring Kenneth Branagh, Johnny Depp, and Judi Dench. And it’s murder trying not to associate this train with anything else.

But once you pull away into the London suburbs you are in a world of your own, on a train synonymous with elegance, class, mystery and the steam age.

Today, we are on a glorious journey – one of many around the UK on this beguiling form of transportation – to Cambridge and Ely Cathedral, with guided tours of both. We are in carriage coach Minerva, a coupe to ourselves with large armchairs, white linen, a silver, and china adorned lacquered table and inlaid wooden-paneled walls.