Right on track
Trains journeys in the British Isles usually invoke images of rolling fields, dramatic seaside cliffs and picturesque expanses. Also in the mix will be some soigné intrigue, reminiscent of luxury train travel in an Agatha Christie. There will be no murders to solve on the Belmond Grand Hibernian, but there will be everything else. The luxury sleeper train departed on its inaugural journey from Dublin’’s Heusten Station on 30 August, ferrying 40 guests aboard a six-night grand tour of the Emerald Isle.
It is an itinerary that will be repeated regularly, as Ireland’s first luxury sleeper train, taking passengers through Cork, Killarney, Galway, Belfast, Waterford and back to Dublin on a 2,217km journey. Landmarks visited along the way include the Jameson’s Distillery in Cork, a private tour of Blarney Castle (where one should kiss the Blarney Stone), a cruise along Lough Leane, Ashford Castle and the Viking port of Waterford.
Outside, the Irish sights may be spectacular, but inside, it is equally sumptuous. Restored from Irish Rail carriages purchased by Belmond, 40 skilled craftsmen from Mivan Marine refurbished the cars to cater to the most exacting modern needs. The train’s 20 luxury en-suite cabins – all named after Irish counties like Kildare, Wexford, Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Fermanagh and Carlow – were designed by London’s JPA Design, using Dublin’s Georgian architecture as well as Irish flora and fauna as inspirations. Meals in the dining car will celebrate Irish cuisine and ingredients, including items like seafood chowder, roast Killarney venison, Donegal Turf smoked salmon and crab cannon, Skeaghanore duck leg confit and warm Kildare wild elderberry and plum compote.
The Belmond Hibernian’s Grand Tour of Ireland runs until the end of October 2016, before resuming on 25 April 2017, running through 14 October 2017. Prices start at €3,160 (RM14,625) per person for a two-night journey for a twin/double cabin, scaling up to €8,108 (RM37,451) per person for the full six-night itinerary.
