GREEN FIELDS, A LITTLE WINE AND A TASTE OF TRAVEL'S GOLDEN AGE


Antonia Windsor savoured the vineyards of the Hush Heath estate in Kent. But the journey there had a vintage all of its own, thanks to the immaculately restored Belmond British Pullman that took her to the Garden of England


I


’m not often this dressed up at Victoria station. Usually I’m rushing to or from Gatwick airport in comfortable travel clothes. But today I have on a fake-fur stole, a cloche hat and lace-up


boots. I’m imagining I live in a more elegant age, and everything around me is colluding with my fantasy Liveried stewards in sharp white uniforms with


gilt buttons stand waiting for me to board my train, which is made up of old brown and cream carriages. I peer in the windows to see tables laid with starched tablecloths, crystal glasses and lamps with silk shades. There are curtains framing the windows and beyond the luggage racks are gleaming brass. Of course, I am not on my usual platform, but at the departure point of the Belmond British Pullman feeling like I’ve landed a job as an extra on the film of Murder on the Orient Express. Around me on the platform, small groups of equally well-dressed people are chattering excitedly, eager to start their day trip aboard this historic train. On board, I sink into the plush armchair and


admire the intricate marquetry of the veneered panels. Each carriage of the train is different and has been meticulously restored to how they might have been in their heyday, when they formed part of the Bournemouth Belle, the Brighton Belle, the Queen of Scots or the Golden Arrow – names synonymous with luxury travel in the 1920s and 1930s. There are a number of different trips you can book


to experience the sumptuous surroundings of the Pullman’s Art Deco carriages, but I’ve chosen a visit to the Hush Heath wine estate in Kent. I sampled their award-winning flagship sparkling Balfour brut rosé


48 SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE


Antonia aboard Belmond Pullman


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