Caledonian Sleeper

Sleeper Car

For those who have yet to discover it the Caledonian Sleeper provides the most interesting train journey in Britain. It's the most civilised, romantic, time-effective and environmentally-friendly way from central London to the heart of Scotland. For the English, the sleeper is the ideal travel option for a stress-free weekend in the Highlands or business meeting in Scotland, avoiding a short-haul flight and its disproportionate contribution to global warming. Every night except Saturday night, Caledonian Sleeper trains leave central London for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William, Perth, Dundee, Stirling, Gleneagles, Aviemore and many other places all over Scotland.


Class 90 Loco


Pair of Pendolinos at Euston

The train leaves London’s Euston station each evening (except Saturday) and impresses by its length alone normally comprising 16/17 carriages and a pair of Locomotives. The train contains within that length a Dining Car, Lounge Car, Couchette Car as well as First and Standard Class Sleeper cars. Each sleeping car has the same layout. They have 12 Sleeper compartments with a disabled accessible toilet at one end and a ladies and gents at the other end of the carriage. The compartment beside the disabled loo is also accessible. If you book a First Class compartment you have it to yourself and in Standard Class the upper berth is lowered so two share the same compartment. The compartments were refurbished last year and have a fresh feel with the walls on the berth side being lined in blue moquette and with a fold down table over the berth. At the foot there is a wide shelf under the window which has a blackout blind. On the berth side this provides a storage spot for your luggage and on the window side it folds up in front of the window to reveal a large sink and to the side a shaver socket. On the wall opposite the berth there are two sets of double hangers on a strap in two panels which have a moulded indentation with Velcro straps to hold your clothes in place.



If you are travelling First Class (We were!) one of these is an interconnecting door and if you have booked two adjoining cabins this can be opened. If this is done it hinges across the outside door to one compartment leaving one door to access from the train corridor but giving you an extremely roomy layout between two compartments which, as devotees of James Bond movies know, can be surprisingly convenient. One other point, the doors to the corridor are positioned so they are not at the corridor windows giving greater privacy if you open them when at a station. All in all, this is very comfortable accommodation. There are no showers on the train but if you are travelling First Class these are available free in the First Class Lounge’s at the major stations to First Class ticket holders.




First Class Lounge Euston

As you leave the sterility of Euston behind you realise this is not just a train – it is an elongated mobile village with a community of regulars and visitors who either know each other already or will soon introduce themselves in the convivial surroundings of the Lounge or Dining cars. The Caledonian Sleeper from London to Fort William, sometimes known as “The Deerstalker”, is easily the most amazing train ride in Britain. Imagine the convenience of a train that leaves rainy central London after work at 21:15 and arrives at Fort William in the glorious Scottish West Highlands at the foot of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in Britain) at 09:54 next morning. Imagine a trip where you go to bed as the train speeds through familiar London suburbs at 80mph, then wake up in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mountains, streams and woods, sunlight streaming through the window, deer bounding away from the train, a diesel locomotive struggling to haul the two sleeping-cars and lounge car up the gradients and around the sharp curves of the scenic West Highland Line at 40mph. Imagine a train that has almost “cruise train” facilities - private sleeping compartments and a plush lounge - yet on which “Bargain berth” fares start at only £19 one way.


Standard Class Berths




Train Corridor with accesible compartment


Disabled friendly toilet

Regular fares start at £107 return sharing a 2-berth room or £199 return with a room to yourself (passengers travelling alone can opt to book a berth in a 2-berth room and share with another passenger of the same sex, if they don't want to pay the 1st class single berth fare). Anyone who lives in London or the South of England but who loves the Scottish West Highlands should know about this train. If you fancy a weekend away in the heart of the Highlands, this train makes it possible..! Book online at www.firstscotrail.com.




Sleeper Compartment

We travelled up to Scotland on a Thursday night and whatever else you can say about Euston Station it never fails to disappoint! With some time to kill after work I had arranged to rendezvous at the First Class coffee lounge as my travelling companion has impaired mobility (as do 10% of the UK’s population) but this lounge on the ground floor by the ticket office closes at 20.00 hrs. So we headed for the Virgin First Class Lounge but in defiance of the provisions of the Phase 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), allegedly effective from 1st October 2006 this has no step free access or indeed any signs offering help or assistance to disabled people as indeed the lounge, the morose Britannia Bar and perversely, the Medi-Centre are up an awkward flight of stairs with 26 steps impassable to mobility impaired persons, particularly if they have luggage. If they struggle against the odds they are then presented with a heavy outward opening door as a final obstacle. Inside there is a relatively anodyne lounge with good service, loos and showers and complimentary beverages and a rudimentary “business area.” The staff have not had the disability awareness training required under the DDA and enquiries about access are met with the (untrue) assertion that the “whole station is being knocked down and rebuilt in four years time.” What do you say Richard Branson? Should the station owner, Network Rail, meet its legal and moral obligations under the DDA or should the unattractive premise of the Act “let the wobbly people sue us!” be put to the test?


Berth


Sink with shelf raised

Things improved as the train platform was announced (late as it turned out, you should be able to board a half hour before departure) and we went to platform 15 to board. A tip here, First or Standard Class, make sure you also make a reservation as this was a full train and passengers without berth or couchette reservations were being turned away. This is a very long train and the Fort William section is at the top and if you need assistance ask the helpful staff who will run you up to your carriage on an electric buggy. You need to check in with the attendant for your section and there is one just for the two First Class Sleepers in each of the three sections (Fort William, Aberdeen, and Inverness). Ours was the lovely Eileen who was getting married in Egypt the following Wednesday so congratulations, hope it went well! She shows you to your compartment(s), opens the connecting doors if you wish for adjoining compartments and takes your breakfast order and the time you want it served at in the morning. Additionally, First Class passengers can order meals in their compartments all of which have a call button for the attendant.


Interconnecting door with hangers


Slowly around the bend!

The lounge car, with the only real leather sofas on any scheduled British train. Pull up a chair & enjoy a light supper of 'haggis, tatties and neeps' (£4.50), a half bottle of red (£5.50) and a night cap of Glenfiddich whisky (£4) before retiring to your sleeper. We opted to have a bite in the Dining Car as we have heard reports of the atmosphere so the thought of the traditional Sleeper supper of Haggis, Tatties and Neaps and a nightcap of a wee dram beckoned us down the train. The first thing you notice in the Dining Car is the friendly ambience as people make room and move seats for you. We found ourselves in eclectic company with one of London’s leading Osteopaths who “comes down” each Monday night and “goes up” each Thursday to the small town in the Highlands where his wife and children lead the good life, a naval officer going home after a 9 month posting, a university lecturer and a business man, amongst others, all happy to mix in the club-like atmosphere of the Caledonian Sleeper. The Haggis (£4.50) etc; were not to materialise as the Dining Car ovens had gone down (!) but the friendly Lithuanian waitress fed us Salmon Pate and brown bread and some excellent Shiraz at £9.50 a bottle and somehow the absence of hot food didn’t seem to interfere with the good company and the flow of conversation helped by more wine and wee drams.








Lounge Car

As we wended our way to our sleepers some time later after much animated conversation and banter it is pertinent to mention another feature of the Caledonian Sleepers. It wends its way slowly through the night going through Crewe and Preston until this long snake like train comes to a halt at Haymarket just south of Edinburgh Waverley. Here it is broken apart with some terminating in Edinburgh and three sections going to Fort William (via Glasgow) Aberdeen and Inverness. Along the way to these three points each train stops at about 10 halts and towns so the chances of seeing your company from the night before are slim. This no doubt greatly contributes to the reckless nature of the jolly conversations the night before!


Haggis - The Chieftan of the Pudding Race!


Dining Car

So the really important question is how do you sleep on the sleeper? Well the answer is surprisingly well. The berths are comfortable and the compartments are roomy and private when you settle down for the night and whilst the centrifugal motion is noticeable at times as you go around bends the whole effect is soporohipic and soon you are in a deep sleep unconscious of the motion and the background click clack of the train. Indeed we slept though the break up south of Edinburgh so here’s to you Shiraz! As Omar Khayyam never said so much pleasure from a grape from the town of Shiraz in Persia! In the morning there is plenty of hot water and ScotRail give you a very natty toilet bag containing not just lotions and potions but also bed socks and a visor! The beds have fluffy white duvets, fresh clean sheets & plump pillows. On the bed are the complimentary ScotRail magazine, the room service drinks list (first class only) & complimentary toiletries pack (soap, flannel, razor, toothbrush & toothpaste). The sleeper compartments are compact but cosy, with hangars for your clothes. There are controls for the main light (dim/bright), blue night light, individual berth reading lights, an attendant call button & an air-conditioning temperature control.




Breakfast!

At 7.30 on the dot as ordered Eileen knocked on our compartment with Breakfast, the morning paper and a cheerful good morning. In Standard Class you get tea / coffee and a continental breakfast pack. In First you get a choice and for instance I had an orange juice, bacon roll, fresh fruit salad, yogurt and a pot of fresh coffee with biscuits. Next morning, there's a knock on your door as the steward brings your breakfast (included in the fare). You'll be asked when you board whether you'd like tea or coffee. The first class breakfast (shown here) includes a hot bacon or egg and cheese roll. First class passengers also get a morning newspaper. But the best was yet to come for next comes the magic. On opening your window blind you are entranced at the complete contrast with the surroundings of the night before. Before you passes the superb tableaux of the West Highland Line, wild angry mountains reflected in sparkling calm mirror lakes, shaggy horned Highland cattle staring at your train with total indifference, stops at small stations long ago turned into hostels for the walkers and nature lovers attracted to this pristine wilderness. Truly this is magic and you observe it with an increasing sense of awe as at each torturous corner of this dinky single track line negotiated slowly by your improbably heavy locomotive with its improbably small train of (now) four carriages your eyes and senses are assailed by the raw beauty of the highlands. This is why “The Deerstalker” sleeper train to Fort William is one of the Great Railway Journeys.


No caption required!

The West Highland Line (Scottish Gaelic: Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean - "Iron Road to the Isles") is one of the most scenic railway lines in Britain, linking the fishing port of Mallaig on the west coast to Glasgow. Passenger services on the line are operated by First ScotRail, primarily between Glasgow and Mallaig with the daily Caledonian Sleeper overnight service between Fort William and London Euston. The sleeper train terminates at Fort William, but the true glory of the West Highland Line is yet to come. The section between Fort William and Mallaig passes over a magnificent viaduct at Glenfinnan, through Arisaig with its fine views of the Small Isles of Rùm, Eigg, Muck and Canna, and the sparkling white sands of Morar before coming to Mallaig itself.


Highland Station

To complete the experience, you should take the connecting train from Fort William to the end of the line at Mallaig, a small fishing port and ferry terminal for Skye. This is one of the most scenic sections of line anywhere in the UK and features the famous curved Glenfinnan viaduct which is now immortalised to a whole generation of school children as the “Harry Potter viaduct” which carried the “Hogwarts Express”. Or you could climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain - the main track up "the Ben" starts just 15 minutes walk from Fort William station. But this Friday morning as we pulled into Fort William we did so with an increasing sense of anticipation for on the platform opposite was our next transport, the hissing, steaming “Jacobite Express” the steam locomotive-hauled train which operates over this section in summer and which in less than a half an hour would take us on our next adventure the 41 miles to Mallaig.


Fort William, end of the line for the sleeper

Onwards on the West Higland line to Mallaig and the isle of Skye!

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/07/jacobite-express.html

travel