As soon as we left the car park near Grosmont station, I felt as if we had taken a step back in time and would not have been surprised if Poirot and Captain Hastings had appeared on the platform! We were warmly welcomed on board our restaurant on wheels and shown to our table. It was the Opal coupé – a private table for 4.
Many of the staff are volunteers but they were all very professional and clearly enjoyed what they were doing. We had ordered our traditional Sunday lunch in advance and this facilitated a very prompt service of our starters. I had ordered the fruit platter which was delicious.
My main course of roast beef was very nice, as was the apple pie for dessert.
The real stars of the show were the train and the Yorkshire countryside which were looking their best in the spring sunshine.
After a 20 minute stop in Pickering, time to visit the gift shop and soak up the atmosphere, we boarded the train again for coffee, mints and the return trip to Grosmont. We enjoyed wandering around the station, a reminder of a bygone era, before returning to the twenty first century and a drive home.
Our fabulous day out still had one surprise in store. On walking back to the car park we passed the excellent Geall gallery which had a thoughtful reminder of “The Two Ronnies” in the window. Unfortunately the gallery was closed but we will certainly pay it a visit next time.
To find out more about the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, click here.
