Murder mystery steam train adventure – ‘Whodunit’

I have always been intrigued by murder mystery’s – I had heard about them being really good and fun and the food also being delicious, so when i came across a steam train murder mystery, where you travel on a steam train whilst dining and solving a murder mystery – i just had to book it!

Luckily for me, this unique murder mystery was being held in Loughborough, the steam train itself runs from Loughborough to Leicester and back again – it stops at a few stops on the way so you can have a look at the different stations and be taken back in time. The other perk is that the ticket you get (which is a classic stub) is valid for full use of all train journeys the next day too.

The evening itself starts from 7pm and goes on until around 10:00pm.

I managed to get my family on board, including my aunty, uncle and two cousins so we had a good little group to solve this murder!!!

The cost of the whole evening was £62.00 per person, this included a  5 course meal with soft drinks, however alcoholic beverages are at a cost.

We had booked an evening called ‘A Signal to Murder’ – ‘Where has Dr Lopping, the Railway Company Representative got to? D.I. Bouts investigates with Sid Siding the Station Master and Mrs Bouffet-Carr of the station canteen. Keep on the right track to avoid the signal to murder at Loughborough Station’.

We arrived promptly to the station and were greeted by an older gentleman who was decked out in all the train master gear, pocket watch included! He welcomed us and mentioned as we were walking in that there had been a terrible accident and that Dr. Lopping the Railway Company Representative has been murdered! My mother bless her, when the guy said there had been a tragic accident gasped genuinely believing him and forgetting where she was!!!!

After letting us know and wishing us a lovely evening, we were immediately taken back in time, the first step down the stairs to the platform was amazing, you are immediately taken back with the adverts displayed, the old flower pots set everywhere and the music that is playing in the background. As we got to the platform the steam train was there, with three carriages in total, there  was a lovely red carpet set, so when you proceed to enter the train you do so by walking on the red carpet. They had it roped off, similar to the titanic posh entrance, with the gold fencing.

We had a good browse around the station and took in all the nostalgia – my parents were so impressed and kept commenting on how they remembered different adverts and the female only and male only waiting rooms, they even had the toilets set-up as if we were in the the same era. The whole atmosphere was amazing and definitely worth a visit just to browse.

 

As 7:30pm came around, we heard a woman walking around and yelling – the characters of the murder mystery were beginning to introduce themselves.

From the get-go it was all tongue in cheek innuendos and we knew this was going to be a great evening full of laughter. I have to say right away, the actors were amazing!!!!

We were instructed that we were to help with the murder investigation and figure out ‘whodunit’! … we were escorted onto the steam train by the waiters and waitresses, the interior was so old in the steam train, the carriages were classed as first class back in the day, the seats were literally sofa’s, big and cushiony with that old floral work on them. The lighting was dim and set to the side of each table and the menu was set in a lovely leather bound book. The whole decor was brilliant and definitely aded to the nostalgia of the whole evening.

 

As we were seated we were served the drinks of our choice , i stuck with a soft drink, my dad and uncle however went for the house red wine and said it was lovely.

As soon as the train started to move the actors began to go around each carriage and set out the scenes, during the whole evening they came in and out and acted out scenes giving away pieces of info, as you are eating the also came around so you could question them – all actors tried to run away from our side as my family were harassing them too much!!! Think we got a little into the evening!

The food was served very efficiently and even though the staff were young they did a very good job. All menus are set, however they do have vegetarian options for each – which you must inform them about what you would like to make sure they have the correct meal ready on the train.

For our first course we had a selection of antipasti – this consisted of cold meats, olives, tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese and bread with lashings of butter. I would not say this was amazing in any way, however, considering this was being carried on an old steam train they definitely displayed this beautifully and kept it all nicely chilled.

The next course was our main course, I opted for the veggie option as i did not fancy eating lamb, the dish was a caramelised onion goats cheese filo tart, served with fresh veg and herby potatoes – this was a lovely dish, again nothing amazing  but it was tasty with a distinct taste of a homemade tomato based sauce for the tart, the veg were lovely season veg that went perfectly with the sharpness of the goats cheese. overall a lovely dish ( images are bad as i was too pre-ocuppied eating and asking questions sorry).

Our dessert was a lemon tart with raspberry coulis and double cream, unfortunately they had no cream, but the tart was still delicious, lemon tart is one of my favourite desserts – so it had to be good and i can definitely say that it was, just a shame about the cream, but all in all still a delicious dessert.

By this point, we had gone through numerous scenes asked loads of questions and knew who the killer was, i would say don’t think too hard about it, it’s never the one you could never think it would be – I have very analytical family members, it is not that serious!!! 🙂

After the dessert we were allowed to get off the train as it pulled into a station on it’s way back to Loughborough station, this stop was brilliant as it gives you time to stretch your legs and take a nice little break :).

 

Once we were back on the train we were served our fourth course which was cheese and biscuits these were served with grapes and celery sticks. This consisted of your usual serving of cheese, stilton, mature cheddar, brie and wensleydale  – the portions they give you are great if you are a keen cheese eater and they are happy to top up :)… they were not fine cheeses or biscuits, but they were nice.

Lastly, on our final leg back to the station we were served coffee, tea and chocolate mints – this again was your usual indian restaurant mints so nothing amazing, but hey you paid for it so you end up eating it all up!!

Once we arrived back to the station, we were escorted off the train and the closing scenes took place on the platform – this for me was an awesome experience and definitely one i would highly recommend, yes the food is not amazing but it’s ok, it really is the whole event that makes this experience brilliant. The actors are amazing and the whole setting is awesome!

I would recommend anyone wanting to try a murder mystery to get booking: http://www.gcrailway.co.uk/on-train-dining-services/murder-mystery-trains/ 

I have chosen not to tell you who the murderer is as this plot is run at the station still!! Apologies for the lack of food images but take a look at the station pics – all in all awesome experience.