New Year's Eve Dinner
London Victoria → Southern England → London Victoria
Few ways to welcome a new year rival the sheer glamour of stepping aboard the Belmond British Pullman on New Year's Eve. Departing London Victoria at 18:50, this legendary 1920s Art Deco train sweeps you through the Southern English countryside and into the night in a blaze of candlelight, fine cuisine, and live entertainment — returning you to Victoria just after midnight, the new year already begun.
The arc of the evening is pure theatre. You are greeted at the station by jazz musicians and 1920s-costumed dancers, welcomed aboard with champagne, and then invited to settle at tables dressed with crisp white linen, bespoke china, and gleaming cut-crystal glassware. As the train rolls out through the Kentish countryside toward Canterbury and back, the five-course silver-service dinner unfolds at a leisurely pace, accompanied by paired wines, table magicians, singers, and performers who conjure the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.
This is a single-day, evening-only journey — no overnight stay on the train, no port stops — but its roughly five-and-a-half-hour duration makes it one of the most immersive New Year's Eve celebrations available in Britain. The strict black-tie dress code, the hand-restored marquetry carriages, and the strategic midnight pause over the Thames to take in London's fireworks combine to make it an occasion that guests return to year after year.
- ✦Black-tie five-course silver-service dinner in restored 1920s Art Deco carriages
- ✦Champagne welcome with jazz musicians and 1920s dancers at Victoria Station
- ✦Magic Circle magicians and live Roaring Twenties entertainment throughout the evening
- ✦Circular evening route through the Kentish countryside toward Canterbury
- ✦Midnight pause to view London's New Year fireworks from the railway
- ✦Optional add-on hotel stay at The Clermont within Victoria Station
- ✦Twelve uniquely decorated carriages — including the Wes Anderson-designed Cygnus
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Evening — London Victoria Departure (18:50)
Guests are invited to arrive early at London Victoria Station's dedicated Belmond departure lounge, where jazz musicians and 1920s-costumed dancers set the celebratory tone from the first moment. A welcome champagne reception begins on the platform and continues as you board one of the twelve individually named, hand-restored Pullman carriages — each featuring original Art Deco marquetry, vintage lighting, and heritage upholstery. The train departs promptly at 18:50.
Dinner Service — En Route to Canterbury
As the British Pullman rolls through the winter-dark Kent countryside, liveried stewards begin the five-course silver-service dinner. Each course is timed generously to allow conversation and enjoyment: canapés and amuse-bouche give way to a refined starter, a fish course, a principal meat course, a cheese selection, and a dessert with petits fours and coffee. Half a bottle of wine per person is included, with paired selections matched to the menu; champagne is on hand throughout for toasts. Between courses, magicians from the Magic Circle perform close-up illusions at each table, while singers and entertainers bring the Roaring Twenties to life in the aisles.
Canterbury Arc and Return
The train's circular routing takes it toward Canterbury — the ancient cathedral city at the heart of Kent — before turning back toward London. Guests remain aboard throughout; the journey is designed as a moving dining room rather than a sightseeing excursion. The English countryside beyond the candlelit windows provides an atmospheric backdrop, and the pace of the rail journey means each course arrives at just the right moment in the evening.
Midnight — New Year Crossing
In a signature touch, the British Pullman is timed to be positioned on a railway bridge over or near the River Thames as Big Ben strikes midnight, allowing passengers to look out at London's famous New Year's Eve fireworks display illuminating the city skyline. The cabin lights dim, the champagne flows, and guests toast the new year surrounded by Art Deco splendour. Live countdown entertainment ensures the exact moment is celebrated in style.
Return to London Victoria (00:30)
The train glides back into London Victoria at approximately 00:30, with guests disembarking into the new year. An optional add-on hotel stay at The Clermont — located within the Victoria Station complex — is available for those who wish to extend the celebration without the need for onward travel.
Destinations & Highlights
London Victoria — The Golden Age Departure Point
London Victoria Station has been the traditional home of Britain's most celebrated Pullman trains since the early twentieth century. The British Pullman's dedicated departure lounge within the station is itself a statement: this is where the Orient Express connection once began its continental journey, and where royalty, heads of state, and the grandest of travellers have boarded Pullman carriages for over a century. Departing from Victoria on New Year's Eve places you at the symbolic heart of London's golden age of rail travel.
The Kentish Countryside — Southern England at Night
The British Pullman's New Year's Eve routing arcs through the county of Kent, England's historic 'Garden of England.' Known for its rolling chalk downlands, oast houses, hop gardens, and medieval market towns, Kent provided the railway's original commuter and leisure routes from Victorian times onward. At night, the landscape takes on a different quality: the lit carriages reflected in darkened fields, the occasional village station glimpsed through the window, and the sense of England quietly passing by while the dinner table sparkles within.
Canterbury — Ancient Cathedral City
At the far end of the New Year's Eve arc lies Canterbury, one of England's most historically significant cities. Home to Canterbury Cathedral — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury since 597 AD — the city draws pilgrims and visitors as it has since the time of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The medieval city walls, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, and the winding lanes of the old town make Canterbury a destination of deep historical resonance. Although the New Year's Eve journey does not stop in Canterbury, passing through its environs connects the evening to a thousand years of English history.
The Thames riverside, visible at or near midnight from the train, frames London's iconic skyline — the Shard, the dome of St Paul's, the Palace of Westminster and its famous Elizabeth Tower — all lit by the New Year fireworks. This fleeting panorama, seen from a 1920s railway carriage, is one of the most distinctive ways to greet a new year in Britain.