A luxurious 3-day escape traveling up the Wales coast.
Like a few literary greats before me (namely a certain Gryffindor), I arrived at London‘s glass-ceilinged train hall at Victoria Station feeling like I was looking for platform 9 ¾, ready to be whisked away for an adventure of great excitement and even greater expectations. Though admittedly, Harry Potter’s point of departure was actually located at King’s Cross, Anglophilia had too soon washed over me, blinding me in its might.
Finding my way to a well-appointed lounge filled with plush velvet banquettes and coupes of champagne, Belmond staff eagerly welcomed me to my journey: a three-day, luxurious escape through the rolling hills of the Welsh countryside. With the debut of its brand new Britannic Explorer car, this marks England and Wales’ first-ever luxury sleeper train. I awaited scenes of lush green landscapes passing by and the gently rocking train lulling me into a deep, Britannic-induced relaxation.
After boarding, we settled into our sleeper cabin, a cozy double suite bedecked with carpeted floors and an olive green, velvet settee that doubled as a sofa by day and fold-out bed by night. The contemporary yet classically British interiors felt like being at a chic countryside estate, albeit one carefully designed by British design studio Albion Nord juxtaposed against playful, illustrated wallpaper by artist Luke Edward Hall on Rubelli textile wall paneling.
To set the mood for the tasteful indulgences yet to come, our first order of business was sitting down for a quintessential afternoon tea, held in the train’s Observation Car — the Britannic Explorer’s luxurious beating heart, where all 36 passengers onboard gathered daily for drinks, leisure and after-dinner revelry. Using the very best of seasonal British produce, the cuisine throughout the journey was decidedly haute, curated by the three-Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan MBE (whose restaurants collectively hold ten Michelin stars!). Every gastronomic element was carefully considered using regional ingredients and producers, from artisanal beverages and crafted cocktails, to a seven-course tasting menu precise enough to rival many of London’s choicest fine dining establishments.
The next morning, we awoke to a breakfast of homemade scones and clotted cream, alongside traditional English sausage, eggs and beans. The spread was the perfect start to a day spent off-train at Llandrindod Wells for an excursion that included a guided hike among the verdant landscape of the Welsh heartlands, followed by lunch, pond swim and sauna session at a painfully-charming lavender farm.
Rounding out the evening, we journeyed through Eryri National Park and landed at the quaint Welsh seaside town of Barmouth, where we indulged in the local delicacies (a pint of Guinness) and explored the town’s historic monastery, built into its craggy peaks. For our last full day, we tried our hand at a classic countryside experience: clay pigeon shooting at Dovey Valley.
Dinner that evening was another delight: our chef supplemented beautifully-prepared fish in the dining car with a British classic: traditional pub food from The Fox at Oddington (a Cotswolds institution), including fish and chips and Scotch eggs. As the train journeyed southward through Oxfordshire and the Chilterns, we had our final breakfast where we said goodbyes to our fellow passengers; genuinely sad to leave them, the incredible hospitality of the staff onboard, and perhaps most of all, the fantasy that is the Britannic Explorer.
Photography Courtesy of Belmond
