Red carpet to be rolled for stunning Northern Belle train during visit to Wigan next month

The Northern Belle – a 1930s Pullman-style train which used to be part of the Orient Express – will be starting from Wigan and travelling on to Edinburgh to take in its famous Fringe Festival.

Passengers will board the train over a red carpet laid across the platform at Wigan North Western station at 7.25am on Thursday, August 24.

Then after a welcome glass of champagne, they will tuck into a three-course brunch during the five-hour journey to Edinburgh.

After spending the afternoon at the festival, they will rejoin the train for a champagne reception before sitting down to a slap-up six-course dinner with wine.

Actor Bill Nighy described the Northern Belle as “the Grand Dame of luxury travel” when the train featured on Channel 5’s The World’s Greatest Railway Journeys programme.

And last year readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine voted it the ninth most luxurious train in the world, the only British train in the top 10.

After this visit, the Northern Belle won’t be back again in Wigan until August next year.

Tickets on the train start at £295. For more details and to book, see www.northernbelle.co.uk