Our hosts Emma and Assam worked very hard in hot conditions to make this a memorable experience. The carriage was comfortable, despite the heat, and the food service for our champagne afternoon tea was excellent. We made our way across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk and the food and drink kept flowing and filled the time well.

This is a great experience and one we would look to do again and would recommended anyone looking to do an afternoon tea for a special occasion to look at this as it is so different from the norm.

A very special treat for us, afternoon tea on the Northern Belle. We left from Norwich and had a 5 hour trip down to Ipswich and then back through Cambridge, Ely etc. it was exceptionally hot but our carriage, Chatsworth apparently had the best air con. So we were pleased about that.

The staff worked so hard to make our trip memorable. The tables looked lovely, the food was very nice and the champagne, sparkling water and port were all very welcome. We were offered tea and coffee throughout the trip by friendly stewards and we were given small chocolates and keyrings as we left.

I am not used to spending £295 each on an afternoon out but considering all the staff, uniforms, fuel, food and drink etc that they have to provide then I guess it was a one off treat. I keep comparing it to a weeks holiday in Spain which I could get for the same money but I know I should not do this.

As someone else said the seats are incredibly tight and you have to lift your legs over the arm rest between the two seats if you want to sit near the window. Some people would find that very difficult and I also wonder what would happen to a very overweight person as they simply would not fit in between the table and seat. I do think this should be mentioned when booking. If the arm rests lifted up that might help but they are all fixed.

Thanks to all the staff for a good trip.