点评:Caught the steam train, full of anticipation, at Moor St station. The engine and coaches were shiny and the noise of the steam engine coupled with the smoke filled me with nostalgia. I’d booked a return journey to Stratford on Avon with afternoon tea and an hour to visit Stratford - just long enough to walk briskly into town and glimpse a couple of tourist spots - this was, after all, the Shakespeare Express. The on board team were smart in their uniforms, complete with yellow rose buttonholes and were cheerful and helpful. It was explained that due to heavy rain both legs of the trip, out and back, would follow the same route. Not ideal but unavoidable. Inside, the coaches were clean and comfortable with white linen tablecloths and stainless steel cutlery. The journey through the Warwickshire countryside was lovely.
As we arrived in Stratford plates of food arrived. I explained that I had booked to have afternoon tea and wanted to leave the train to see Shakespeare land. I was told rather abruptly that they had 100 teas to serve on the return journey so I had to have my food now.
So the afternoon tea consisted of a mug of tea (or coffee) and a plate with three finger sandwiches (cheese, ham and cucumber (I think), and possibly chopped chicken and salad cream (who knows?)) together with a tiny warm savoury tart, a warm sausage roll, a small cold dense scone with a pot of jam and clotted cream, a small slice of lemon cake and the tiniest brownie I’ve ever seen. I sat on the train in Stratford station eating my afternoon tea instead of steaming through the Warwickshire countryside. As I finished a glass of Prosecco was produced. With only 25 minutes until the train left to return to Birmingham there was no time to walk the 10 minutes to see Shakespeare’s birthplace other than fleetingly; so I didn’t. So very disappointing. Of course the Pullman experience at almost twice the cost might be very different and I suspect their service was prioritized causing my total lack of service. But hey, I paid good money too. I’m afraid I won’t be back.
翻译:满怀期待地在Moor St车站搭乘蒸汽火车。发动机和车厢闪闪发光,蒸汽机的噪音和烟雾让我充满怀旧之情。我预订了返回埃文河畔斯特拉特福的往返旅程,包括下午茶和一个小时的时间游览斯特拉特福——时间刚好足以轻快地步行进城并参观几个旅游景点——毕竟,这是莎士比亚快车。船上的团队穿着漂亮的制服,上面有黄玫瑰扣眼,而且很开朗,乐于助人。据解释,由于大雨,往返的两条路段将遵循相同的路线。不理想但不可避免。车内干净舒适,配有白色亚麻桌布和不锈钢餐具。穿越沃里克郡乡村的旅程非常愉快。
当我们到达斯特拉特福时,一盘盘食物就到了。我解释说我已经订了下午茶,想下车去看莎士比亚故乡。我突然被告知他们在回程时提供了 100 种茶,所以我现在必须吃东西了。
所以下午茶包括一杯茶(或咖啡)和一盘三指三明治(奶酪、火腿和黄瓜(我想),可能还有切碎的鸡肉和沙拉奶油(谁知道?)),还有一小块热的东西。美味的馅饼,一个热香肠卷,一个小冷浓烤饼,配上一锅果酱和凝脂奶油,一小片柠檬蛋糕和我见过的最小的布朗尼蛋糕。我坐在斯特拉特福车站的火车上吃下午茶,而不是穿过沃里克郡的乡村。当我喝完时,一杯普罗塞克酒就被端出来了。距离返回伯明翰的火车仅剩 25 分钟,我们没有时间步行 10 分钟去看莎士比亚的出生地,转瞬即逝;所以我没有。所以非常令人失望。当然,铂尔曼酒店的体验几乎是两倍的费用,可能会非常不同,我怀疑他们的服务被优先考虑,导致我完全缺乏服务。但是,嘿,我也付了很多钱。我恐怕不会回来了。