We are in 1951, King George VI has inaugurated the great Festival of Great Britain, and the Pullman trains have unveiled the four most modern carriages of the time (the Phoenix, the Cygnus, the Minerva and the Perseus), a marvel of technology and luxury. At London’s Victoria railway station, passengers wait to board the eleven o’clock train for a journey through the picturesque county of Kent, returning the same day for a delicious lunch and a wonderful landscape.
A few minutes before, elegant passengers board the carriage to be greeted with a glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne and settle peacefully in the wing chairs of the elegant lounge carriages. The travelers are oblivious to the crime that occurred the day before, in the gardens of Battersea Park, where a body was found… but anything can happen during this journey, the criminal has decided to get on the train.
Passengers to the train!
Once on board, ten strange characters move along the convoy making themselves known and telling a story, from a movie femme fatale to a business magant, passing through an embalmer and a lady from high society, among others. And although it doesn’t seem like it, one of them is the murderer, we will have to discover which one. The Belmond British Pullman is ready for the adventure to begin in the purest Agatha Christie style; Insight, attention, behaving like a real detective, asking questions and not being fooled by clues and false statements will eventually allow one of the travelers to unmask the culprit. There is a special award for the best detective.
And if the mystery story captivates the traveler, so will its gastronomic proposal: a five-course lunch prepared by British chef Jon Freeman, with seasonal and quality products from the county of Kent. The creative menu includes Cornish whiting croquettes with herb dressing, Cheltenham borscht with fresh cream from Hinxden Farm, slow cooked lamb shoulder with peas, mint purée, braised potatoes and lamb gravy, a great British cheese plate with chutney sauce, fruit bread and crackers, all paired with wine, and for dessert a vanilla rhubarb sponge cake. To close the lunch, petits fours from Pump Street Chocolate will be served with Drury coffee from London or Tregothnan tea from Cornwall. There is a menu for vegans.
Everything is exquisitely set, the tables are covered in pristine white linen, the china is exquisite, made by William Edward, the goblets are Bohemian crystal, and the gleaming glassware is properly arranged. Waiters serve the service dressed in white jackets with black lapels and bow ties.
The train is named after George Mortimer Pullman, an American who originally designed trains to be “palaces on wheels.” The British Pullman convoy is made up of 11 carriages with a capacity for 20 to 26 passengers; and they are true works of art built between 1920 and 1950. They all have their history and were carefully restored by artisans who preserved the details and design of each of them to the maximum: mahogany wood, art deco-style lamps and marquetry, details in bronze, velvet upholstery and hand-sewn fabrics. A marvel in motion.
All carriages have their history, the Audrey has carried royalty, Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother and the Prince of Edinburgh, as well as celebrities and politicians. The Perseus was part of Winston Churchill’s funeral train in 1965. Two of the cars, the Perseus and the Cygnus, were adapted as sets in the 1979 film Agatha, with Dustin Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave.
After lunch, almost five hours have passed and the train is back to London.
