Swing for Skin: After the Party
June 6, 2011An Excuse to Throw a Tea Party for Marie Curie
June 8, 2011I have always hankered after taking a trip on a sleeper train.
Far too much Poirot and an obsession with the “golden age” means I’d probably be as hideously disappointed when I got on a modern sleeper train as I was when I played Lacrosse after many years reading too much Enid Blyton.
What I really want, of course, is to take a trip on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express. With the cheapest overnight trip, in a shared cabin, starting at £765 PER PERSON my dream trip is unlikely to become a reality any time really soon!
Soooo, can I get that exciting sleeper train glamour at a more reasonable price?
YES!
Well, kind of. I can holiday on a train at least. Though when I get off the end I won’t be in any exciting glamorous location. Here are some fabulous railway carriages that have been converted into hotels and holiday homes.
Take an appropriately glamorous travelling wardrobe and take along your portable gramophone and a selection of 78s for a cut price trip with some 1930s travelling glamour.
The Tulip – Selsey – Prices from £700 per week
The Tulip is located on the seafront near Chichester. It has views over the beach and has been amazingly restored with mahogany and satinwood carvings and ornate door hinges and luggage racks. As you’d expect it’s still not cheap, but from £700 a week it’s still cheaper than one night for 2 on the Orient Express!
The Sidings – York – Prices from £40 a night
The Sidings is a hotel with 5 Pullman style railway carriages overlooking the York-Thirsk railway, for that full rail travel experience!
There is a dining and car and the other carriages have been converted into rooms. There’s an online form for bookings, so you’d need to confirm price, but still a snip over the Orient Express….
The Railway Inn – Burnham Market – Prices from £132 b&b
Local to me in Norfolk this is an old railway that stopped functioning in 1957. It has been transformed into bed and breakfast accommodation with contemporary decor. One of the rooms is a converted railway carriage which is accessed from the platform.
Scotland Rail Holidays – Loch Awe Station – from £460 per week
A 1950s railway carriage that has been converted into a self catering holiday home. Less luxurious than the previous 3, but maybe more authentic with original 50s train seats and luggage racks still intact!
Rail Holidays – St Ives Bay – from £195 for 4 nights
This site has a total of 3 railway carriages. My favourite is the old luggage van which sleeps 4. It is a passenger luggage van that was decommissioned in 1932. The outside is restored to it’s original colour scheme, while the inside is lovely and cosy.
23 Comments
I’m so jealous you’ve played lacrosse (St Clare’s/ Mallory Towers?), I bet yo’ve had midnight feasts too! It took me years to understand what prep was.. I digress.
I’d love to go on a proper sleeper train, we nearly did in Prague going to Vienna – but YES you would be disappointed, I’ve seen nicer portaloos! The romantic vision went pop!
Oh wow, these are amazing. I never knew of such things!! So adorable, if I can just get his Lordship to take a few days off I’d love a railway weekend.
I’ve dined at the Sidings several times but have never stayed there. It’s placed brilliantly for visiting York, the Yorkshire moors or the east coast.
I’ve stayed at The Sidings in York in the room that’s pictured above. It’s a great concept although I wouldn’t recommend that particular venue – it’s seen better days. Really like the look of The Tulip. So much better than staying in a soulless hotel room!
This is my dream trip, only my dream also includes someone coming to my room with a pot of tea served in to bone china cups, helpful guards who call me miss whilst they tip their hats, tiffany lamps, steam and whistles.
Wow how utterly fabulous, I had no idea you could stay in anything like this and for about the same price as a weeks caravan rental! Lovely!
Highly recommend the Burnham Market one but all look great fun. Wish I wish I wish.
Favourite article of the year so far! Love the idea of sleeping on trains. I keep meaning to take the sleeper to Warsaw to visit my family. It goes from Paris to Berlin then overnight to Warsaw. The orient would be the best I reckon but wayyy out of my price rang.
My mum stayed at the Hoste Arms which is part of the Railway Inn – she said it was so lovely and the town itself is full of little quirky shops. Definitely seems worth that kind of money.
I’m off to explore the Sidings website!
I have always though it would be amazing to go on the Orient Express but never even considered that there were other alternatives. Now you have got me thinking
Fab post!! There’s one on Angelsey too, a converted carriage on the coast.
Amazing! What a fabulous idea! I love themed rooms like these; so much fun.
Thanks for the train hotels ..will look them up. We travel most places by train all over Europe , we would love the Orient Express too..However we did go on the caledonion sleeper last year London to Inverness. I expected a James Bond moment it was compact but the most lovely adventure, the stewards are so passionate about the train it is protected by any cuts as a historic train, The cabins were spotless, comfortable and you can get very good prices if oyu book in advance from £19 ! average is about £150. Leave London any night except saturday about 8.30pm arrive Inverness or fort William in time for Breakfast..such relaxing way to travel..See Scot Rail for more.
Wow, I never even realised one such hotel existed, and now I want to stay at ALL of them! Even though I spend far too much time on trains as it is. How’s that for an enticing post! x
These are all so cool! How fun would it be to stay somewhere like that!? Pretty exciting, I think!
Lovley Gemma, also the North Norfolk Railway do lunch and dinner on there trains and you atcually get to move along the track – even if you don’t go far!! They also do Murder Mystery Dinners http://www.poppyline.co.uk (or I think that is it – just google North Norfolk Railway or Poppy Line and it will come up.
Like so many others have said, I had no idea this sort of thing existed. I really like the idea of it. Something a bit different to a generic caravan. hmmm…
You really needn’t ever have wondered how wonderful lacrosse is- it’s an utterly dreadful sport that meant wasting years of my life up to my eyeballs in mud!
Ha ha! I think Enid Blyton has a lot to answer for!
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