THE most expensive lunch of the year is coming to Warrington with diners splashing out on up to £570 each.

It is no ordinary meal. The seven-course feast will be prepared by one of the country’s ‘finest chefs’ and will be washed down with ‘arguably the world’s finest champagne’.

The lunch will be served during a trip on what has been voted Britain’s ‘swankiest’ train, the Northern Belle, which is coming to Warrington on March 18.

A red carpet will be laid across the station platform before passengers are welcomed on board and throughout the trip, those onboard will be entertained by strolling musicians in the Northern Belle’s 1930s Pullman-style carriages as well as a magician.

A spokesman for the train said: “It might sound a lot of money, but this will be an unforgettable day out that transports passengers back to the golden days of rail travel.

“Nothing is too good for our passengers from the moment they first step on board over a red carpet on the station platform and are handed their first glass of champagne.”

The Northern Belle’s individually-decorated carriages with their tapestries, mosaics and marquetry have been hauled by famous steam locomotives like Flying Scotsman, Princess Elizabeth and Tangmere in the past.

But this trip on March 18 will be operated by a vintage diesel engine.

Prices start at £280 for a champagne afternoon tea of sandwiches, cakes, pastries, scones and petit fours during the seven-hour journey.

The champagne lunch costs £375, but for an extra £195 passengers can upgrade to Krug Class which will entitle them to servings of Krug vintage and Grand Cuvée champagne as well as a seat in either Glamis carriage - named after the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, or Duart carriage, which once formed part of the Royal Train.

The Northern Belle will be back in Warrington several more times during 2023.