Review: A Moving Murder Mystery, Belmond British Pullman Train

“One train. Five courses. Ten suspects.”

We were lucky enough to be invited for a trip on the Belmond train for their newest feat, the Murder Mystery Lunch, which promises ‘a sumptuous lunch and plenty of head scratching’, but it achieved much, much more than that. In our experience, everywhere I looked my eyes were met by something beautiful, and everything that passed my lips tasted divine. Attention to detail is a key feature of this luxurious, extraordinary experience.

Image: Cygnus, Belmond British Pullman Train

Anyone who has been to or lives in London has probably passed through Victoria Station, likely experiencing feelings of stress, panic and perhaps even despair. But not everyone will be familiar with the British Pullman. Just a few steps from a McDonalds it feels as though you have been transported to a different station, where pigeons unfortunately still roam, but the feeling of luxury starts to set in.

On arrival at the departure lounge we were greeted by waiters carrying trays of some delicious apple juice – not to worry, the champagne started flowing at 11am as soon as we got to our seats. Staff were dressed in the sharpest of uniforms – whoever did the ironing deserves a pay rise – waiting patiently by the doorway of each carriage to welcome guests on board.

Image: Belmond British Pullman Trains, March 2023, © MTotoe

Every element of the murder mystery has been created bespoke including the script, the plot, the outfits (which incredibly, even includes the shoes), and the gorgeous magazine that is on each place setting. Honourable mentions must be given out to the characters outfits – the colours, shapes, textures, styling was all on point, as well as the Luxury Locomotives Magazine which features the most beautiful illustrations of all the characters and a map of the festival.

There are 10 characters in the murder mystery each inspired by a carriage on the train itself – including their personalities, names, and even their clothing. We highly recommend walking the length of the train to check out the different interiors and décor of each carriage and then seeing how it matches up to some of the outfits. I was lucky enough to be seated in Cygnus which was recently redesigned by iconic filmmaker Wes Anderson, renowned for his style and use of colour, and the design of the carriage was gorgeously green with interesting details and accents. Each of the other carriages centred on a colour but then had different fabrics, patterns, and designs throughout – I couldn’t pick a favourite.

Image: Belmond British Pullman Trains, March 2023, © MTotoe

Private Drama Events is the brains behind the dynamic murder mystery which will keep you guessing all afternoon. The story itself is set around the historical 1951 Festival of Britain, a huge national exhibition and fair based in London’s Southbank. The festival was a celebration in its own right but was also created to commemorate The Great Exhibition that took place 100 years prior in 1851, in Crystal Palace.

Once the train set off, I experienced what could only be described as an overwhelmingly positive sensory overload – where to look? What to do? Each of the delicious five courses was brought in by the most attentive of waiters, who were also always topping up drinks and ready to chat if you wanted to know anything about the history of the train or just what it’s like to work on such a train. Every course was punctuated by a character from the murder mystery strolling in to present some new information to us and have a chat.

All aspects of the day are so well thought out, with the magazine also featuring a space to jot down notes on each of the characters – e.g., What is their motive? What were they doing at the time of the murder? Plus, there are puzzles and games within the magazine to complete for more clues in any quiet spaces between chatting to the characters, so the game never really stops. Each carriage can have a winner for solving the murder, so not only will you walk away with the glory, but you will also leave with a prize.

The food itself was delicious – although I only sampled the vegetarian/plant-based offering so can’t speak of the meat. As a vegetarian, I often come away from meals out, especially those with a set menu, feeling as though the vegetarian dishes were a bit of an afterthought, but this was quite the opposite. Each of the five courses were well-thought out and perfect portion sizes, with a mixture of different vegetables, lentils, sauces, breads, cheeses all complementing each other beautifully. And of course, the flow of wine and champagne helped to wash it down nicely.

Image: Vegetarian main, Belmond British Pullman Train, March 2023, © MTotoe

We left Victoria and headed down towards Whitstable and Margate, eventually spying the sea in all it’s beautiful blue glory. Time flew by, as did the English countryside from my window. By the time we looped back to London I think the whole train was stuffed full of food and rather tired – or just me? – from puzzling all afternoon. Although I did not guess who the murderer was, as I was too focused on my food and spying all of the gorgeous interiors, I enjoyed hearing how it all tied together at the end.

Image: Murder Mystery cast, Belmond British Pullman Train, March 2023, © MTotoe

I left Victoria back on the tube thinking about how I would quite like to travel on The Belmond for all of my train journeys. I have never experienced that level of attention to detail before and although, this is an expensive train ride to not even get off, if you do get the opportunity or fancy treating a special someone, I am certain you will love it.

Who doesn’t want to ride in carriages formerly used by royalty, whilst eating like a king, and solving a murder like Poirot?

Location: Victoria St, London SW1E 5ND. Date: from 7 March 2023 (Click here for more dates). Price: from £485.Book now.

Words by Mollie Kate Cohen