The Bluebell Railway’s Golden Arrow dining trains is the perfect setting for a tutored tasting of four top-quality Sussex wines, selected and presented by Hennings, the Sussex wine merchants. This unique ‘Wine & Steam’ experience on the Golden Arrow ran on Thursday 27th of October.

Sussex is the centre of the wine industry, which now enjoys an international reputation for producing some of the best wines on the planet. This unique event offers the chance to taste four distinct Sussex wines chosen and presented by experts from Hennings, the leading Sussex wine merchants. Learn about the grapes, the terroir and the production techniques that give Sussex wines their quality and distinction whilst travelling on the luxurious steam train through the High Weald area of outstanding natural beauty. You’ll even see Vineyards from the carriage windows.

The event takes place about the fabulous Golden Arrow dining train. Pullman cars ‘Christine’ and ‘Fingall’ evoke the the heady days of the 1920’s/30s with their unique wooden wall panels marquetry and plush seating. ‘Sapphire’ hails from the 1950s and provides equally comfortable surroundings, being built to convey 1st class passengers from Waterloo to board transatlantic liners from Southampton Docks in the glory days of ocean travel.

The evening will commence at Sheffield Park station with a reception featuring a fine sparkling Sussex wine served with canapes at Sheffield Park before boarding the Golden Arrow. Once on board, three more top drawer Sussex wines will be presented by expert tutors from Hennings, paired with a further two course dinner followed by coffee and mints. The reception will start at 6:30pm, with the train boarding at 7:00pm for a 7:15pm departure. Return back to Sheffield Park will be at approximately 10:30pm

A glass of each of four top quality Sussex wines, dinner, and a cup of tea or coffee at the end of your meal is included. Additional drinks may be purchased and paid before departure or on the train.

Please note: Departures times are fixed and we are unable to offer refunds if customers arrive after departure

PRICES

TABLE FOR 1- £95  TABLE FOR 2- £225.00. SHARED TABLE FOR 2-£195.00. TABLE FOR 3- £295.00 TABLE FOR 4- £395.00 PRIVATE PULLMAN FIRST COMPARTMENT FOR 4- £450

The dress code aboard the train is ‘Smart Casual’. Adherence to this code is appreciated, and guests are asked not to wear trainers, athletic wear or similar

MENUS

We are pleased to offer both traditional and a vegetarian/vegan menus on the Sussex Wine Train and these menus can be adapted to cater for gluten free and diary free requirements.

Please select the menu type required during the booking process

Sussex Wine Train Menu-Thursday 27th October

DUE TO THE NATURE OF THE EVENT, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO OFFER ANY ALTERNATIVE TO THE PUBLISHED MENU. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE MENU IF NECESSARY DUE TO SUPPLY PROBLEMS 

CUSTOMER NOTICE

Please note:

• This service will depart from and return to Sheffield Park Station
• This service is a premier service and the dress code aboard the train is ‘smart dress’. Guests adherence to this code is appreciated. Guests wearing jeans and/or trainers may not be allowed to board
• Tickets will be dispatched 2 weeks prior to event date

Discounts:

• We’re sorry but we’re unable to offer any discounts for this service

Tickets:

• The ticket for this event will be valid for the date and time specified on the ticket only

Children:

• This event is not suitable for guests under 18

Facilties:

• There are toilets at Sheffield Park Station and on the train for this service

Parking:

• There is free parking at Sheffield Park Station

Accessibility:

• Because of the age and design of the carriages used for this service, we regret we are currently unable to accommodate wheelchair-bound passengers. We will be introducing a wheelchair accessible carriage for 2023.
• If you or a member of your party have mobility issues and would like to travel during this event, please call our Customer Service Team on 01825 720800 who will be happy to discuss your requirements with you.
• Accessible toilets are available at each station, but we regret we have no “Changing Places” toilets, or accessible toilets on our trains

Seating:

• Seating is at tables and these are automatically allocated by our booking system.
• We do not allocate tables for use by more than one party.
• If you are booking for a large group, the automatic seating process may not seat you all in the same carriage. If you would like to book for a large group and be seated in the same carriage, please email our Customer Service Team at bookings@bluebell-railway.com or call on 01825 720800 (10am-3pm)

Dogs:

• We’re sorry but no dogs, other than registered assistance dogs, are allowed on this service

Photographs kindly supplied by Mike Anton and Chris Hewison