Bombay Sapphire Distillery
London Victoria → Laverstoke → London Victoria
Board the Belmond British Pullman at London Victoria and spend a glorious day journeying through the English countryside to one of Britain's most celebrated craft distilleries. The Bombay Sapphire Distillery day trip pairs the golden-age glamour of restored Art Deco Pullman carriages with an immersive gin experience at the historic Laverstoke Mill in rural Hampshire — a pairing of craftsmanship in rail travel and distilling that is utterly distinctive.
The day unfolds in three acts: a leisurely three-course brunch served in silver-service style as the train glides south-west from Victoria; an afternoon at Laverstoke exploring the award-winning Thomas Heatherwick–designed glasshouses and joining an interactive gin masterclass; and a sumptuous three-course dinner with sommelier-selected wines on the evening return. From the welcoming Bellini at the platform to the last petits fours on the homeward run, every moment is curated for pure indulgence.
With a round-trip travel time that brings you back to Victoria by early evening, this is one of the most complete single-day luxury-train experiences in Britain — perfectly suited to gin enthusiasts, special-occasion celebrations, and anyone who simply wishes to rediscover the lost art of travelling beautifully by rail.
- ✦Full-day round trip from London Victoria — no overnight stay required
- ✦Three-course silver-service brunch in restored 1920s–1930s Art Deco Pullman carriages
- ✦Guided tour of the Thomas Heatherwick–designed tropical and dry temperate glasshouses
- ✦Interactive gin masterclass creating your own cocktails at Laverstoke Mill
- ✦Three-course dinner with sommelier-selected wines on the return journey
- ✦Immersive insight into Bombay Sapphire's unique vapour infusion distillation process
- ✦Historic Grade II listed Laverstoke Mill, with over 1,000 years of recorded history
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 — London Victoria to Laverstoke (Bombay Sapphire Distillery) and Return
09:45 — Departure from London Victoria (Platform 2). Guests are welcomed aboard one of the British Pullman's beautifully restored 1920s and 1930s carriages — think inlaid marquetry panels, velvet upholstery, and ormolu fittings — with a chilled sparkling Bellini. The train pulls out of Victoria and quickly leaves the city behind, gathering pace through the Surrey Hills and the Hampshire downs.
Outward journey — Three-course brunch. As the countryside unfolds beyond the windows, white-gloved stewards serve a leisurely three-course brunch at your table for two. Each course is prepared on board from fresh, seasonally sourced ingredients and paired with your choice of drinks. The pace is unhurried; this is a journey to be savoured, not merely endured.
Mid-morning — Arrival at Newbury Station. The British Pullman arrives in Newbury, where dedicated coaches transfer guests the short distance south into the Test Valley and the village of Laverstoke. The journey through North Hampshire's rolling chalk downland — the landscape that also nurtures the River Test, one of England's most celebrated chalk streams — is a gentle prelude to the distillery visit.
Afternoon — Bombay Sapphire Distillery, Laverstoke Mill. Guests are welcomed to Laverstoke Mill, a Grade II listed site with more than a thousand years of recorded history (it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book as a corn mill). The mill was meticulously restored and reopened as the Bombay Sapphire Distillery in October 2014. The highlight of the guided tour is the pair of iconic glasshouses designed by Thomas Heatherwick Studio: a tropical house and a dry temperate house that together nurture all ten of the botanicals used in Bombay Sapphire gin — juniper, lemon peel, grains of paradise, coriander, cubeb berries, orris root, almonds, cassia bark, liquorice, and angelica. Guests learn how waste heat from the copper pot stills is recycled to maintain the warm, humid environments the plants require, and how the unique vapour infusion distillation process — rather than steeping botanicals directly in the spirit — yields the gin's famously smooth and complex character. The afternoon continues with an interactive gin masterclass in which guests create their own cocktails under expert guidance, followed by a tasting session at The Mill Bar, which overlooks the River Test.
Late afternoon — Return to Newbury Station. Coaches transfer guests back to Newbury, where the British Pullman awaits. Boarding is celebrated with a Champagne reception on the platform before the train departs for London.
Evening — Three-course dinner and return to London Victoria. As the Hampshire countryside gives way to the evening light of Surrey and Greater London, silver-service dinner is served in the dining cars. Three courses, a curated wine selection, coffee, and petits fours bring the day to a gracious close. 19:20 — Arrival at London Victoria.
Destinations & Highlights
Laverstoke Mill & the Bombay Sapphire Distillery, Hampshire
Laverstoke Mill sits in a conservation area of the Test Valley in North Hampshire, one of England's most serene chalk-stream landscapes. The mill's history stretches back to at least 903 AD; the Domesday Book of 1086 records it as a working corn mill, and for much of the 18th and 19th centuries it produced the specialist paper used for Bank of England banknotes — a heritage of precision craftsmanship that resonates with Bombay Sapphire's own exacting production standards. The site was acquired by Bacardi and transformed into a world-class distillery and visitor experience, opening to the public in October 2014 after an extensive, award-winning restoration of its Grade II listed buildings.
The Thomas Heatherwick Glasshouses
The centrepiece of the distillery is a pair of breathtaking glasshouses conceived by the celebrated London-based Thomas Heatherwick Studio. Taking inspiration from the great Victorian glasshouse tradition — think Kew Gardens and Paxton's Crystal Palace — Heatherwick's curved-glass structures are themselves engineering achievements: the curved glass acts as a structural component rather than mere cladding, and the forms flow organically from the historic mill buildings. A tropical glasshouse and a dry temperate glasshouse together cultivate living specimens of all ten Bombay Sapphire botanicals, allowing visitors to touch, smell, and taste the raw ingredients before experiencing the finished spirit. Waste heat from the nearby copper pot stills maintains the climate inside each house, making the sustainability loop tangible.
The Test Valley & the Hampshire Countryside
The British Pullman's route south-west from London passes through the chalk downlands of Surrey and Hampshire, some of southern England's most productive and picturesque agricultural country. The River Test, which flows near Laverstoke, is revered among fly-fishermen as one of the finest chalk streams in the world, its crystal-clear waters fed by the same permeable chalk aquifer that gives Hampshire's grain its character. The journey itself frames this landscape in a way no motorway can: at carriage level, rolling fields, market towns, and ancient hedgerows scroll past in an unhurried panorama.