FULL STEAM AHEAD
FIONA WHITTY AND MUM BERYL TAKE A TRIP BACK IN TIME ON THE FLYING SCOTSMAN
THE pipe band struck up a rousing rendition of Flower of Scotland as the grandee of the steam age rolled majestically into the station, a pillow of steam billowing overhead.
Everyone cheered and the driver tooted his whistle in appreciation. You couldn’t help but feel moved, as though you were taking part in something really rather special.
The Flying Scotsman may have just turned 100 but it still oozes glamour and courts affection wherever it chugs. If only I were ageing so well.
Most of the time the engine, in its famous Brunswick Green livery, lives at York’s National Railway Museum but to celebrate its birthday it’s traversing the UK for day trips and other events at a host of stations.
I was lucky enough to jump on board one of the most famous steam locomotives in the world at the East Lancashire Railway in Bury Bolton Street Station, where I’d taken my mother Beryl along for a VIP dinner on an 80-minute trip through the Irwell Valley.
Being only 15 years younger than Scotty, Beryl had grown up hearing tales of how it became the first steam locomotive to hit 100mph yet she’d never had the chance to board it. Until now.
As we waited for Scotty to arrive, glass of fizz in hand, the atmosphere was ignited perfectly with a stirring performance on the trackside by the Bolton Caledonia pipe band, which included Scotland the Brave and Highland Cathedral.
All the passengers were glammed up – men in dinner jackets, women in posh frocks. I felt like I was an extra on a set of an Agatha Christie film.
The carriages we boarded had been immaculately restored to their former glory, with polished wood, rich claret seats, elegant gold window drapes and crisp white tablecloths. It was like being transported back in time.
The Flying Scotsman, built in 1923 for the princely sum of £7,944, ferried passengers between London and Edinburgh for 40 years and has continued to delight fans ever since.
The gleaming engine was the first to circumnavigate the globe and holds the record for a non-stop journey in a steam locomotive – a 422-mile trip. In total it’s done a mighty 2.5 million miles.
After a £4.2m restoration in 2016 – at East Lancashire Railway’s Baron Street site – it became a recordbreaker again, becoming Britain’s oldest mainline working engine.
During our journey up to Rawtenstall, Mum and I were served a fourcourse Scotland-themed meal.
After the Scottish smoked salmon and prawn starter came Scotch broth. After that came Balmoral chicken – stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon – served with clapshot, an Orkney dish of mashed swede, turnips and potatoes.
To round off we had panna cotta with Cranachan – a mix of whipped cream, whisky and oatmeal – with, of course, Scottish shortbread.
The tasty menu was beautifully thought out.
Our trip came to an end as grandly as it had started, with the Bolton Caledonia Pipe Band playing us off the train back in Bury. It was a special experience neither of us will ever forget.
We’d decided to make a break of it and stay in Lancashire for a couple of days, basing ourselves at Crow Wood Hotel and Spa Resort in Burnley. Set in 40 acres of private parkland and overlooking the dramatic Pendle Hill, this luxury independent hotel has only been open since the end of 2019 and we couldn’t fault a thing.
Our twin room had two comfy small double beds and a lovely view overlooking a lake and fountain, and the menu at the lively but laidback 2AA Rosette Bertram’s restaurant had a fun and inventive side.
My starter of garlic mushrooms and Blacksticks Blue cheese fritter on toast followed by stone bass with a seaweed cracker, lemon gel and broccoli purée was fabulous.
Mum went traditional with a mighty portion of fish and chips while a dark chocolate Bailey’s cheesecake shared between us topped it off beautifully.
The restaurant was separate from the hotel – and to save us and other guests from the rain, the concierge gave us lifts over in owner Andrew Brown’s Rolls-Royce.
My people carrier will never feel the same again.
On our doorstep lay Lancashire’s pretty towns and glorious countryside. In Rawtenstall we visited the Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery,
a former mill owner’s home that was turned into a museum after being gifted to residents.
A £2.2m refurbishment two years ago has turned it into a fresh and modern space for art from all over the world cleverly mixed in with its traditional museum pieces, including ceramics, costumes and a large taxidermy collection.
The designers have managed to keep its original charm and it feels like you’re wandering round someone’s home.
It’s a fabulous moulding together of old and new alike.
If you visit, don’t miss the bar and kitchen, one of the new additions. We swung by for a cream tea, with an enormous warm freshly baked fruit scone and delicious coffee (thewhitaker.org).
This area of Lancashire is famed for the Pendle witch trials, which saw 10 men and women hanged in 1612 for witchcraft. You can take a driving tour through some of the picturesque villages that were once home to some of the accused, starting at Barrowford’s Pendle Heritage Centre which charts Britain’s most famous witch trial. Handily we ended our tour in Downham, a tiny village that’s home to just a couple of hundred people… and the incredible Assheton Arms pub. Built in 1765 and Grade II-listed, the newly reopened pub is charming with picture postcard views over the Pendle countryside.
It’s the kind of place you long to hole up in for a long Sunday lunch. But, as we felt like we’d eaten our way around half of Lancashire already, Mum and I went for a quick pit stop – with me tucking into a delicious homemade chorizo Scotch egg and Mum going for a handsome ham and piccalilli doorstep (asshetonarms.co.uk).
It came as no surprise that Downham was used as the film set for BBC1’s Born and Bred. There are no overhead power lines, satellite dishes or aerials allowed and it really does feel like you’re stepping back in time. The perfect end to our vintage break.
All the passengers were glammed up ... I felt like I was an extra on a set of an Agatha Christie film