Latest news with #BritishPullman
Spectator
13 hours ago
- Spectator
The royal train's retirement is a loss to Britain
King Charles is a man acutely aware that the monarchy has to be seen to provide value for money in these straitened times. Therefore, to coincide with the announcement that the royal household is to be given over £130 million of public money for the next two years to complete works on Buckingham Palace, it has been revealed that the cash-guzzling royal train is to be scrapped. It is true that, from any economic perspective, the regal locomotive does not represent a worthwhile investment; it only made two trips last year, each lasting two days, and the total cost was nearly £78,000. But the news that it will be decommissioned before the current maintenance programme ends in March 2027 will make many people – not just royalists and trainspotters – feel a sense of sorrow at what is to be lost. Train travel in Britain used to be an event and an adventure. It's still an event, but these days only in the same way that a deeply unpleasant experience, like root canal surgery, is. Overcrowded, often delayed or cancelled trains; fares, especially for on-the-day travel, that make you feel like you've been mugged; the sheer unfathomable horror of heading off from Euston station, London's nastiest and worst terminus. Yet set against this are still a few private services, most famously Belmond's British Pullman and Orient Express fleets, that attempt to return an air of bygone glamour to the idea of travelling by train. They succeed, although the eye-watering cost means that this is luxury reserved for the few, rather than the beleaguered many. Perhaps surprisingly, the royal train does not represent the last word in comfort and sophistication. Pictures that have been released, most recently in the late Queen Elizabeth's lifetime, reveal an interior which has not been updated since the mid-80s and represent a time capsule of that decade's furnishings, complete with sensible, sturdy-looking tables and chairs and, naturally, floral curtains. In this regard, it reflected the character of Elizabeth II: no nonsense, functional and deeply English. While the value for money that the royal train actually represents has been debated for years, the Queen was devoted to it, and so there was never any question of its abolition during her reign. The scrapping of the royal yacht, Britannia, was seen as bad enough; to have made the royal train redundant as well would have been a step too far. Now, it will meet its Waterloo. It is, of course, likely that the vehicle will have its component parts displayed in some relevant museum or exhibition somewhere. Nevertheless, the idea that it will be used in any way as a working train seems impossible, given the cost of its upkeep and maintenance. The King can congratulate himself on the supposed efficiency of a money-saving measure that will soften the blow that the taxpayer is going to be asked for over a quarter of a billion pounds over the next two years. Sometimes, however, heritage and tradition are more important than scrabbling around the back of the figurative sofa, seeing where a few pennies can be saved. The idea that the royal train would ever be maintained (and indeed refurbished) at the King's own private expense is presumably seen as risible, hence the decision to put it out to pasture. Yet when I heard the news, I was reminded of one of the strangest and most haunting Thomas the Tank Engine stories, 'The Sad Story of Henry' when Henry, the disobedient train who refuses to move, ends up being bricked up in a tunnel and left there to rot. The royal train may be an anachronistic relic of another time – and another Britain – and liable to be put out to pasture on that basis. Those of us who still treasure such fleeting moments of eccentricity – and increasingly bygone Britishness – may mourn its last whistle more than we can imagine.
Vancouver Sun
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
A first-timer's guide to London with kids
London is one of the top travel destinations in the world — VisitBritain expects over 43 million visits this year — and one of my favourite cities. Year-round and for all ages, there's always so much going on . Every year, there are over 197 festivals and 22,000 music performances. Plus, the city is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites and more than 200 museums , 800 art galleries and 6,000 restaurants. All that is to say that you could easily spend a week or two exploring the United Kingdom's capital and not run out of things to see and do. On a recent visit this spring, I had four days to show our kids, aged 8 and 10, around London. We were there to celebrate the launch of the Hogwarts Library Collection on Yoto , a children's audio platform, so I made sure to plan some book-themed activities for my little bibliophiles. But we also made time for all of the usual tourist hotspots since it was their first time in the city. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Travel Time will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Here are the highlights, and what you might want to skip on your next family trip to London. Author J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts Library Collection consists of three books from the wizarding world, and we celebrated their debut on the Yoto platform with a bucket-list ride aboard the British Pullman . Our half-day train excursion included a Hogwarts Library-themed afternoon tea, complete with Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts All Flavour Beans , but Belmond offers a number of different train journeys of varying lengths. It was an incredible way to see the English countryside, and my kids alternated between exploring the restored 1920s train's colourful carriages — ours was redesigned by Wes Anderson — and listening to the three newly-released audiobooks on their Yoto Mini players (available for $100 at Yoto and on Amazon ), which are screen-free and a great size for travel. As long-time Harry Potter fans, we visited two sights in London for fun photo opps: Leadenhall Market , which stands in for Diagon Alley in the films, and Platform 9¾ at King's Cross Station , where the Hogwarts Express departs. Just be forewarned that there can be long lines at the latter location, which also has limited opening hours tied to the adjacent Harry Potter Shop. Steps from King's Cross is the British Library , where we saw a copy of the Magna Carta and handwritten lyrics for Beatles songs, but my kids were more enthralled with the nearby floating bookshop, Word on the Water . The charming bookbarge offers new and used tomes, several cozy reading nooks and a small but curated selection of children's books. Other bookshops in London that got top marks from the kiddos? Europe's largest bookshop, Waterstones Piccadilly , for its huge selection of London-themed books and souvenirs, and Housmans , a 'radical indie bookshop' with a children's section filled with titles about politics and climate change. The National Gallery and Tate Modern are normally must-sees for me in London. They were quite crowded during our visits, and my kids quickly lost interest in my explanations about the impacts of Impressionism on modern art. In contrast, I had to bribe them with promises of ice-cream sundaes to leave the Science Museum , which had a hands-on video game experience as well as one called Wonderlab that's dedicated to bringing science and math concepts to life. My kids made cloud rings, tried their hand at water drop photography and even participated in a presentation on probability. There are also special activities for kids at the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain , both of which are free to visit. The former offers cool sensory bags for littles and activity booklets to help them explore the collection, while the latter has a Play Studio as well as a Story Space for families (open on select dates). L ondon is an expensive city, but there are also many great free and low-cost tourist attractions, especially if you plan ahead and book reservations in advance. Most museums and galleries (including all the ones mentioned above) offer free general admission for their permanent collections. There are also lots of fun — and free to visit — markets in London. My kids loved spending a Saturday morning sampling cheese and pastries at Borough Market , and if we had more time in the city I would have taken them around the stalls at the Camden and Portobello Road markets. We also found ways to save without skipping out on experiences entirely. Instead of queuing for the pricey London Eye, we booked tickets to Horizon 22 , a free viewing platform on the 58th floor of a skyscraper that offers dramatic, 300-degree views of the city. And in lieu of a fancy Thames River sightseeing cruise, we went for a ride on the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers . An unlimited all-day, hop-on hop-off ticket purchased in advance was £50.80 (~$94 CAD) for our family of four, and the boat stops at sites like Greenwich, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Shopping Essentials , a category written by research-obsessed shopping fanatics, is now on . 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