Piper's lament as train leaves Doncaster for Edinburgh

A KILTED piper will play a sad lament as champagne-sipping passengers board Britain’s most luxurious train over a red carpet laid across Doncaster Station on two days next month.

The 1930s Pullman-style Northern Belle, once part of the iconic Orient Express group, will take them on a slap-up Christmas shopping trip to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.

Then they will have the opportunity to visit the late Queen Elizabeth’s Royal Yacht Britannia, which is berthed at nearby Leith.

The gleaming umber-and-cream train was recently voted one of the Top 10 in the world by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine.

And only a few seats are left for the trips on November 19th and 21st despite tickets costing between £495 and £690.

But the price includes a slap-up brunch on the journey to Edinburgh, followed by a sumptuous six-course dinner, with caviar and fine wines, on the way home in the evening.

Movie star Bill Nighy described the Northern Belle as “the Grand Dame of luxury travel” when it featured on a Channel 5 documentary.

There are even musicians to serenade passengers while they dine.

The train, which will be hauled by a heritage diesel locomotive for this trip, will also pick up passengers from Sheffield.

For more details and to book, see www.northernbelle.co.uk