A Bit Of The Titanic In Alnwick

Introduction

Fiona told me that the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick contained some artefacts from the RMS Olympic which was the sister ship to the Titanic. On checking It turns out that the main dining room (Olympic Restaurant) is effectively the First Class Lounge from the ship which is identical to the one on the Titanic.

You can explore the hotel on the link below.

My Impressions and Observations

The main door to the White Swan is the original revolving door to the first-class lounge on the RMS Olympic. The Titanic did not have a revolving door so that is the only difference between the two lounges.

This is the video that I took of a walk around the Olympic Restaurant after the guests had finished their breakfast.

You could almost feel you were on a ship unless you looked out of the windows. I am considering dining here at some point, possibly not this week, but maybe next year. It is remarkably cheap to have dinner (or tea as I call it) in an evening here, to have your meal in surroundings of such opulence.

When you see certain features like the fireplace you could almost believe that you are on the Titanic. A friend wondered if this was used for the film, it would have made sense, but I am not sure when this was put in place, but I have a feeling it was before James Cameron's magnum opus.

When you look at the fireplace you know that you are there. This was just one room on a ship from over one hundred years ago.

I do marvel at the size of ships that plied the waves then, which are dwarfed by some of the amazing constructions that we see today.

I know you have me in this photograph, and I am not sure whether there was a window opposite the fireplace when it was in situ, but you cannot deny that it is an impressive piece of architecture.

The entrance to the Olympic Restaurant is flanked by many photographs of the RMS Olympic with one showing it side by side with The Titanic.

This is the sort of find that makes holidays worthwhile. It is only thirty miles north of where I live, but is so steeped in history.

At the entrance, I saw that the White Swan is approved for the solemnisation of civil marriages, so anyone who loves the whole Titanic love story could have their marriage in the equivalent of the first-class lounge on the Titanic. I can see that putting smiles on a lot of people's faces.

While you are standing in this room, you also realise that there is one of these, exactly the same at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, where it has been for over a hundred years. It is like you are in a place of ghosts, wondering who else frequented these rooms on the RMS Olympic and the Titanic, we do know that the Captains and senior officers would have been there at some point.

Conclusion

I was completely unaware of this when I woke this morning, and now I have found another absolute jewel in this wonderful town of Alnwick.

Alnwick has given a lot of inspiration and material for Vocal stories and I am wondering what other things it has still to reveal to me.

I hope you have enjoyed this, and if you ever get the chance to come to Alnwick you must visit the Olympic Restaurant and maybe even take a meal there.

It will definitely be an experience that you will never forget.

Although I haven't mentioned them the staff here are wonderful, knowledgeable and welcoming, this place is close to perfection.