As a treat for my partner who enjoys all things from the age of steam, long before British Rail and day trips to new cities, I booked a return journey to Norwich on the Oliver Cromwell steam train by Steam Dreams.
Steam Dreams have a selection of dining choices, I booked Premier Dining as this appeared to give me everything I expected for the day. Premier Dining is a champagne breakfast on the out-journey and a four course dinner on the return. They have a few journeys per month to a selection of The Cathedrals Express cities and Norwich was my choice for this trip. There's a 4 hours gap between arrival and departure which is enough time to do a speed tourist visit to Norwich.
We headed to Liverpool Street Station and joined the crowds on the platform by the engine taking endless photos of the steam engine, and then boarded our carriage. The carriage staff are very tentative to our needs, and on the off we got our complimentary glass(s) of champagne.
This isn't a rushed journey and like everyone else in the carriage we were here for the experience of the journey. The dining experience is also not rushed, why should it be We had a few Water stops on the journey which was another photo opportunity to get a picture of the engine from a different angle. I'm not a spotter, honest
The return journey again we had the same tentative and wonderful staff serving up our 4 course meal and drinks. As the drinks flow, the chattier everyone in the carriage was getting which gave it a really enjoyable atmosphere. For the price of the ticket we got a very enjoyable day out, great service, wonderful food and an experience which we shall remember.
I would recommend this for anyone, it's such a relaxing way to travel, and all the staff were wonderful, 5-star from me for all the team at Steam Dreams for a wonderful day read more