March 18, 2025 • 28 mins
The Caledonian Sleeper offers a unique overnight train experience connecting London with Scotland, providing travelers both transportation and accommodation in one seamless journey. We share our recent experiences on both the Lowlander service (London to Edinburgh/Glasgow) and the Highlander service (London to Inverness/Fort William), comparing accommodations from standard seats to club rooms with en-suite facilities.
• Detailed explanation of the two services: Highlander (London to Inverness/Fort William) and Lowlander (London to Edinburgh/Glasgow/Aberdeen)
• Comprehensive overview of accommodation options from seats to classic rooms and club rooms with en-suite facilities
• Insights from our multiple recent journeys, including solo and couple experiences
• Discussion of the onboard experience including the lounge car, dining options, and pre-departure lounges
• Practical advice about sleeping quality, journey timing, and making the most of your trip
• Expert tip: The northbound Highlander service offers the most magical experience, especially when you have breakfast in the dining car watching the Highland scenery
• Important packing strategies to maximise comfort in the compact sleeping compartments
• Information about BritRail Pass coverage (seats only, with supplements required for berths)
If you're considering booking the Caledonian Sleeper, you can find our affiliate link in the show notes at uktravelplanning.com/episode141, along with photos and videos of our experiences.
📝 Show Notes - Episode 141
🎧 Listen to next
- Episode #5 - An Introduction to the Caledonian Sleeper
- Episode #26 - How to travel from London to Edinburgh by train
- Episode #80 - How to plan a UK train trip
- Episode #43 - Top 15 FAQs about UK Train Travel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you thinking about taking the Caledonian
Sleeper?
In this episode, we break downeverything you need to know how
it works, the difference betweenthe Highlander and Lowlander
services, our recent experiencesand top tips for a smooth
journey.
If you're wondering whetherthis iconic overnight train is
the right choice for your trip,tune in to find out.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
Your host is the founder of theUK Travel Planning website,
tracy Collins.
In this podcast, tracy sharesdestination guides, travel tips
and itinerary ideas, as well asinterviews with a variety of
guests who share their knowledgeand experience of UK travel to
help you plan your perfect UKvacation.
(00:40):
Join us as we explore the UKfrom cosmopolitan cities to
quaint villages, from historiccastles to beautiful islands,
and from the picturesquecountryside to seaside towns.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Hi and welcome to episode 141 of the UK Travel
Planet podcast.
This week, doug and I are bothhere to chat about the
Caledonian Sleeper Train.
Now this is an updated podcastfrom episode 5, which we
recorded right at the beginningof our podcast journey.
But we felt it was about timethat we actually gave you a bit
(01:21):
of an update, mainly becausewe've recently both been on the
Caledonian Sleeper both togetherand on two separate solo
journeys so we thought thiswould be a good chance to talk
about it, give you some tips,give you some ideas and thoughts
, or reflect our ideas andthoughts about taking the
Caledonian Sleeper.
So the first thing I think thatwe should do is and I'll get
(01:42):
Doug to answer this is to tellus what is the Caledonian
Sleeper and why is it such aunique way to travel.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Well, the Caledonian Sleeper is one of two sleeper
services or sleeper trainservices running in the UK.
One is the Night Riviera thatruns from London Paddington down
to Penzance.
This is the one that runs onthe West Coast main line, from
london euston and it runs intoscotland.
So you've got two services.
(02:09):
You have what we call thelowlander and the highlander
services.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
The lowlander is says uh, glasgow, edinburgh and a
few more stops but, and thehighlander is inverness and fort
william so basically you canchoose to go on the lowlander
service from London Euston toeither Edinburgh or Glasgow and
obviously back.
So you could go from EdinburghGlasgow back to London Euston or
you can do the Highlanderservice which basically will
(02:34):
take you from London Euston toInverness and or Fort William
and obviously you can do thereturn journey.
You could do it back fromInverness or Fort William back
to London.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, to some rise.
You've got a northbound and asouthbound service.
You've also got Aberdeenincluded in the lowlander
service.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Okay, so let's kind of recap about what our recent
experiences have been.
So in September 2024, doug andI did a trip kind of a round
trip, which you can actuallylisten to We've got a podcast
about it where we went fromEngland through Wales to the
Republic of Ireland, northernIreland and then across to
(03:13):
Scotland and from there, afterwe stayed in Skye, we actually
took the Highlander train fromInverness down to London the
southbound yeah.
So that was a train that weboth took the Caledonian Sleeper
together to.
London okay, and then after thatyou did another journey on the
Caledonian Sleeper.
What was that?
I did the Lowlander Southboundservice from Edinburgh Waverley
(03:36):
station down to London Eustonand then finally I did the
opposite way around from whichwe've done in September is that
I caught the Highlander serviceCaledonian sleeper Highlander
service from London, euston toInverness in I think was the end
of January, beginning ofFebruary that I did that trip.
Yeah, so basically we have inthe last few months taken both
(03:58):
the lowlander and the HighlanderCaledonian sleeper, so it's a
perfect chance to talk to youabout those trips now let's talk
about the different types ofaccommodation available on the
actual caledonian sleeper, andthen we can talk about our
experiences of what we took,because we did slightly
different, didn't we?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
we did indeed, yeah, so, um, to start with, you have
a chair, a seat, which isslightly upgraded from the usual
day coaches.
You've got more luggage spaceand you've got more seat comfort
, really, but that is just stillwhat it is a seat, a standard
(04:38):
coach seat.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Then you have the classic rooms, which is the
berths only, which is a singlebunk on the bottom and a single
bunk on the top that has no ensuite facilities, so there's no
toilet in that room.
And then you have the club room, which is the same beds wise,
but you have a little toilet anda shower within that room.
(05:02):
And then you have the double,which is a double bed, but that
one gets booked up very, veryfast.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, we've never managed to be able to book that
one have we?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
No, it's never once been available.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
No.
So if you're listening to thisepisode, caledonian Sleeper
People, we would love to be ableto try the double uh experience
and then we can feed back in afurther podcast all about that
to our listeners now let's justtalk about when we, when we did
that initial the highlanderexperience together from
inverness down to london, we hadthe classic room we had the
classic room and it was verygood.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
There's nothing wrong with it.
But being on the highlander youhave a little bit more time in
the evening, so it leaves nineish, depending whichever route
that you're doing.
So you have a little bit moretime to sort of soak up the, the
restaurant car and thefacilities and the meals and the
drinks in the old atmosphereright, and that's different from
the lowlander which you took in.
(05:57):
I did, I took that one, butquite honestly, because that one
departs around close tomidnight, I did go down to the
refreshment car and have a lookin there, but nobody was eating.
Basically, people get onto thatone and, by and large, you just
head straight into the berthand ready to sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Really, and you also did the classic, didn't you?
On the lowlander.
I did just a classic room.
Yeah, Okay, so now I treatedmyself when I went from london
in vanessa.
I've been in london doing somework for three days and I wanted
I had to get back up toscotland and I wanted an entire
the last day.
I wanted to have the entire dayin london.
So it made sense for me to bookthe caledonian steeper.
(06:38):
So I did treat myself and Ibooked the club room now the
club.
The difference of the club roomand the plastic is that it has
an en suite.
So I had a toilet and I had ashower.
Now, hands up, I didn't use ashower, but it was very useful
having the toilet, Let me put itthat way.
So I didn't eat.
We have in the past eaten inthe lounge car of the Colour
(06:58):
Donor Street, but this time Ididn't.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I was on my own and decided not to.
Yeah, I mean the drinks as wellas food on there, but it's sort
of locally, um, mainly scottish, uh, food I've seen on there
really, but there's choices offood on there and, yes, nice
food is nice, well presented.
Um, the prices are.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They're not cheap, this food you're gonna have, but
it's a whole atmosphere, it's awhole part of the journey and I
know when we did the highlanderfrom inverness down to london
end of september we did have afew drinks in in the uh the
lounge card and a few snacks.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Didn't?
Yeah, we did.
Yeah, so that was nice.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Now, one thing as well, when you're on the club
room is that you do get accessto the lounge before you
actually board the train.
So I did in london, houston.
I did sit in the lounge andthere was there are.
There were drinks,complimentary drinks that you
can have.
There is a menu so you canorder yourself some food and
that's the new lounge onplatform one at london houston
yeah, and it's really nice.
(07:55):
Actually, I've got some photosand videos of that which I'll
put into the show note uh worthbearing in mind.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
At the different locations of the caledonian
sleeper and the station stops at, some have their own caledonian
sleeper lounges, but they alsoshare some lounges, like
edinburgh waverley station.
They share a lounge with uhlner and so they, after the last
lner service is gone, they dotake over from the Caledonian
(08:22):
Sleeper In Inverness.
There's one just across theroad, only a small place but it
is nice to go sit and have adrink and some snacks and things
in there as well.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, a couple of drinks, some complimentary
snacks, and there's a showerthat you can use as well.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So, if you want, to freshen up.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
You can do that.
So that's a nice little uhaddition if you have got the
club or double room.
Yeah, so now I'll just talk alittle bit about booking it.
I just went through, um, the Ibooked on the caledonian sleeper
site.
We do have an affiliate link,so if you're considering booking
it, I will put that in the shownotes and really we'd
appreciate that if you, if youare considering booking the
(08:57):
caledonian sleeper, that youbook through our affiliate link,
which is of no extra cost toyou, but it does help support us
to produce all our resources,such as this podcast as well.
Um, so, yeah, so I booked.
I found it very easy.
I just went on book my own very, very easy to do and I know
you've never had a problembooking no, I haven't.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's worth noting that the california super does
not run on the saturday night,but it's six nights a week, but
but not Saturdays.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, the one thing I will say that I didn't book a
huge amount of time in advancein January, but it is January.
It was January, I should say,and it's quite a quiet season,
but if you are planning totravel during busy times, yeah,
it's worth getting ahead of you.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Or you want the double room, or you want the
double room which we've nevermanaged to be able to book.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Honestly, it doesn't matter how far ahead that always
seems to be booked up.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So we've never managed to get that.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So let's talk about what it was like on board.
So let's talk about theInverness to London trip that we
both took in September.
So, again, really comfortable.
We were in the lounge car.
Now, in terms of the actualclassic room itself, what did we
(10:03):
get in there?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Because you get a little amenity pack, don't you?
Yeah, you get a little packthat's got a mask in, you've got
some earplugs in there andyou've got a bottle of water.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And now you can fill a menu card in, stick it on your
door.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But in the classic room that's not included in the
price but it is in the club roomand the double yeah, in the
club room you fill that in assoon as you get on board, so you
choose what you want forbreakfast and what time that you
want that delivered.
So that was brought to yourroom in the morning before you
depart the train.
Um, I think, actually, fromwhat I remember, it was only a
few months ago, or even thatprobably six weeks ago.
(10:35):
We, when I we actually got intoinverness slightly earlier than
expected.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Um, but I was up early because the views are
spectacular well, we'll come tothe views in a moment, but when
I took the lowlander when wearrived into houston probably
close to an hour before umscheduled time arrival, so it
caught a few people unawares um,I'd arranged my breakfast, uh,
(11:01):
about 40 minutes before Iarrived into houston, so I ended
up having my breakfast at theat the station sitting looking
at the station.
So well on the train yeah, onthe, on the train, so some
people were ready to get off andgot there early if they got
business, because that's thebeauty of the sleeper is you're
arriving in a different place,so you can save a lot of time on
your plans for that followingday.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I was just going to.
I'm thinking about if you'relistening to this episode and
you have never taken a carduring a sleepover before you do
get, obviously, a birth numberkey or actually got a key card
to get in, and there are peoplethere that wait to kind of get
your treatment.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
When you arrive at the station you are met by a
carriage attendant the birthattendant for each coach or each
carriage and they will directyou to your room.
They'll check with your nameand make sure you you know what
time your arrival is, make sureyou can know what to do to order
your breakfast, where thelounge car is.
They basically answer all yourquestions.
(12:02):
But the single little key cardis very straightforward.
You just tap it and you walkinto your room and hold on to
that and when you actually checkout I saw a few people asking
well, what do I do with a keywhen I'm leaving the room?
You leave it on your berth onthe bed as you leave yeah,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Now, another question that we get asked all the time
is how did we sleep?
Because, um, you know, is itcomfortable, smooth?
So now I'm going to be reallyupfront that I've had different
experiences on the caledoniansleeper so I slept very well on
the trip down from invernessdown to london that we took in
september.
(12:40):
I struggled to sleep on theLondon to Inverness sleeper
train that I took at the end ofJanuary, beginning of February.
It was a little bit noisy.
I don't find so much therocking of the carriage a
problem, but it was a bit noisy.
So they do give you earplugsand I found once I put the
earplugs in I went to sleep noproblem whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yes, I as a rule do sleep quite well on those Not
last time before I had sort ofpatchy sleep.
But I think it makes adifference If you're on the bunk
beds.
I think the top bunk you cansway a little bit more than you
can on the bottom bunk.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So if you are prone to motion sickness which
truthfully I am, but very rarelyon the train but other modes of
transport, yes I am um, I dosleep better on the bottom than
I do on the top yeah, I think Imean there's.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
We've taken the caledonia super quite a few
times now.
Now what about?
I know I've done the highlanderand I've not done the lowlander
.
Yet you have done the lowlander.
That, my, I think my concern orworry would be.
The lowlander is that leavesquite late from edinburgh
waverley's train station so youhave to stay up quite late yeah
um, so you either have to occupyyourself or I guess you can go
(13:59):
in the lounge for the last houror so before yeah most people I
saw close to you know waiting toboard the train, they go in the
lounge for the last hour or sobefore.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, most people I saw close to you know waiting to
board the train, they were inthe lounge as well.
Not all, obviously, because noteverybody has those tickets.
But I did notice as I wasboarding the train, a few people
in front of me.
They were going straight intotheir berths and presumably more
or less straight into bed.
Yeah, because you really, evenif you get straight into bed,
(14:28):
you're not going to get morethan sort of six or seven hours
before you really need to begetting off.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So to me that was one of the drawbacks of the
lowlander service.
The actual journey time isquite short, but bear in mind
you can board up to an hour moreor less before the train
departs.
So you can board or get intoyour berth quite a bit of time
before that actual train departs.
(14:53):
But, as you said, there'svoices and the doors banging.
It depends how much of a lightsleeper you are or not now.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I mean, we have had a lot of people who have booked
the caledonian sleeper becausewe we enjoy it.
We've enjoyed doing it.
But I think one thing we didwant to say in this podcast was
really to I mean, our favoriteway of doing it and I think this
is what we're trying to getacross in this podcast as well
is that it may work for youtaking the lowlander from
(15:26):
edinburgh, glasgow, down tolondon.
That is an option, um, but,like doug says, it does leave
quite late.
It's not as long a journey, um.
You're leaving scotland,arriving back to london.
Now we did a previous podcastwith a couple who did this
because they didn't they wantthis.
They actually went up toedinburgh for the days they went
on this the sunday I think andthen the Sunday night they
(15:46):
traveled back down to London.
So it meant that they could doEdinburgh basically in a day.
So that's one way where youcould do it.
I have to say that for me and Iknow for Doug Doug's probably
going to reflect this in asecond that our favorite way to
take the Caledonian sleeper andto save your time as well, if
you want to do it this way iswe've taken it numerous times
(16:07):
from london, euston, up toeither fort william or inverness
.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
And that is what we love the fact that you wake up,
you leave london and then youwake up with the beautiful
scenery in scotland yeah,definitely so, and what we
generally do, we, when we arriveinto Fort William or Inverness,
we've got up early and we'vegone and had breakfast in the
dining car, haven't we?
And that's something wethoroughly enjoy doing.
(16:35):
So if we had to sort of expressa preference, we probably would
say the Highland and Northbound.
Oh, 100%, would say.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
For me it's 100%, it's not even.
I mean it was very useful forus doing Inverness to London
when we did it in September.
That worked out very well forus because it meant we could
drive from the Isle of Skye toInverness.
We had some time in Invernessand then it meant we got into
London, euston, fairly early thenext morning and we were
(17:03):
actually taking a tour that nextday.
So it worked out really well.
Now, obviously, obviously, ifyou sleep, it makes things a lot
easier.
If you don't sleep, you'regoing to be tired, so you do
need to consider that.
Um, so we don't want you tokind of go into this and think,
oh, tracing dog said it's themost amazing thing ever, and
then take the train and then beso tired that you don't have a
fantastic day.
So you need to think about howto prepare for that.
(17:25):
So what would you recommend,doug?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
choose the journey that best suits you and what
suits your itinerary.
Um, it depends what sort oftraveler you are.
If you embrace the journey aspart of your holiday experience,
you're probably going to gowith it and enjoy it.
But if you are prone to motionsickness, you're probably going
to go with it and enjoy it.
But if you are prone to motionsickness, you're prone to not
sleeping unless it's very, veryquiet.
(17:49):
Maybe the journey is not themost ideal for you.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I agree.
Now there are other ways thatyou can get from London,
scotland and vice versa.
So I know we have got a podcastabout taking the East Coast
main line.
Obviously there's a number ofways of getting down from
Edinburgh to London, but theEast Coast main line.
Obviously there's a number ofways of getting down from
Edinburgh to London, but theEast Coast main line is the
fastest route.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So we have got a podcast about that.
We also have an article abouttravelling on that route down
from Edinburgh to London, sothat takes around four hours.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah, the fastest time is about four hours, but
consider, there is other routesdown as well.
Yeah, with the new timetablechanges, there's going to be
additional services put on aswell, so you do have choices
there.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
And we'd always say take the train rather than take
the plane, because by the timeyou get yourself to Heathrow
Airport or Gatwick Airport orwhichever airport flying up to
Edinburgh, and then you've gotto get into Edinburgh itself,
that's already quite a lot oftime when you could have
actually got yourself to King'sCross and got a direct train
straight up.
The Caledonian sleeper is abouthaving a different experience.
(18:51):
For me, it's about it's abouthaving a different experience.
It's about trying to sleep atrain.
If you, if you live in acountry that doesn't have
sleeper trains or you haven'thad a chance to experience it,
well, this is a great you knowgreat thing to do, and I know
we've done previous podcastepisodes with um, the families
who take caledonian sleeper,just for the kids to have that
experience, and they've beenreally excited about it same as
(19:12):
I do.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I've become a kid every single time I step on a
train, but especially thesleeper um.
It's a great opportunity tomeet people as well.
You know, we found yeahparticularly when we're taking
the highland.
You've got more time in thedining room um dining car that
people do engage.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
The journey I took on the lowlander.
I know it was late, but I wasby myself talking to people and
it was fascinating.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
People take the videos.
You walk down the corridor.
Oh, yes, yes, so we'll sharethose.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
But it is.
It's all about the wholeexperience because it's
different.
The sleeper service is uniquein the fact that it is so
different to taking a dayservice yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And I think for me, the favorite thing, the reason I
enjoy doing it, I find itreally relaxing.
Uh, once you're on the trainit's, you know you get yourself
settled down.
But for me it's it's theability to wake up and just see
the scenery in Scotland, which Iabsolutely love, whether that's
going to Fort William orwhether that's going to
Inverness.
For me, in terms of that, it'sjust the sheer difference of
(20:17):
leaving the capital, london, andthen arriving in the Scottish
Highlands.
It's just fantastic.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
It is, and we've helped how many people when
we're doing the artilleryconsults.
They haven't even considered it.
So we've sort of sown the seedand they go.
Oh, we didn't know anythingabout that.
So thank you for raising theirawareness and it gives them
additional time.
Whichever way they're doing,They've given them more time to
fit in other activities.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, that's it.
And I mean, that's what workedfor me.
It had been in London andgetting up to Edinburgh at the
end of January because I meant Ihad an entire day in London.
I didn't have to worry abouthopping on a train, so it gave
me the full day.
Now let's think about some keytips for if you're a first-time
traveler considering travelingon the Caledonian Sleeper.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So packing-wise- yeah , there's not a lot of room in
the, in the burst, in the, inthe classic and the um club, so
you are pushed for space.
So ideally you've got to travelas light as you possibly can.
So, but if you have multiplebags, multiple suitcases, it's
(21:24):
better to try, if possible, isto only have the things you need
for one night in one bag.
We have found that anyway,absolutely it saves you trying
to open up multiple bags whenyou haven't got the space.
So everything you need for thatone night is in one bag, and
small bags fit better into theberth because you can fit them
(21:47):
underneath the bottom bunk.
There's a bit of all the spacesas well, but it needs to be
almost a military operation inthe fact that you've got to plan
exactly what you're taking withyou, what you'll be taking out
of the bags.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I think that's true, because you don't want to be
just opening a suitcase andtaking things out It'd just be
crazy really.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Things that you do get included in the room.
You get water, um, there's alsosockets so you can charge your
electronic devices, socketsmainly on there, but we've got
an adapter for the, the c's,which makes it easier.
Uh, you've got temperaturecontrol.
You've got, uh, obviously,lights on operations on both the
upper and lower bed, so, buteverything's sort of small and
in miniature.
You know, if you're in a, in aclassic room, just bearing in
(22:35):
mind, you might need to go outto your birth, down to the, down
to the toilets.
So, just bearing in mind whatyou want on your feet, if you
you know something to easy toput on yourself to wear, it does
make life a little bit easier.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yeah, so I'd say, putting a little bag together is
really useful.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, you'll find that you'll maximise your
experience if you plan for that.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
So would we take the Caledonian sleeper again?
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Always, in fact, to be truthful, every single time
time we visit the uk, we look totry and fit it in, if possible
we don't always succeed, but wedo look where possible, don't we
?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
we, we do and I have to say, um, it's.
It worked particularly wellthis last trip and so we did
three journeys one trip togetherand two solo trips on the
californonian sleeper workedreally well for us.
So I always end the podcastwith the same question what
would be the one tip that wouldshare with someone planning the
Caledonian sleeper for the firsttime?
(23:35):
Now, my tip, my tip, is goingto be before Doug gives his tip,
my tip is going to be really,if you're going to do it,
consider taking the Highlanderand taking yourself from London
up to Inverness or Fort William.
Consider taking the Highlanderand taking yourself from London
up to Inverness or Fort William.
That would be my tip to reallymaximise your experience of the
Caledonian sleeper.
That's the journey that I wouldtake, doug, what would be your
one tip.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Oh, obviously I'm going to follow on from that.
I would definitely recommend,if possible, is, yes, the
northbound Highlander Sleeper.
But also try and have yourbreakfast in the dining car,
because you've got moreobviously space, you can see
(24:15):
both sides of the train andyou've got lovely, beautiful
scenery there, particularly sortof summer months where it's
light in the morning when youget there and you'll have the
most wonderful breakfast withthe most fantastic scenery.
So, yes, you can have yourbreakfast in your room, but get
yourself up all ready and getdown to that dining car and have
(24:36):
your breakfast there.
Then come back with the trainarrives, you can grab your bags
and go perfect.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Well, I think that covers most of what we want to
say about the Caledonian Sleeperfor this episode.
Is there anything else you canthink of, doug?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I would definitely consider doing this, but one
little tip I would alsorecommend is, if you're planning
on taking the sleeperCaledonian Sleeper and you are
flying out the following day, doit the day before, just on the
off chance that the train doesnot make it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, we've had that quite often.
People plan to do it the daythey fly out, and we would
highly recommend that you don't.
And just one thing that I'vethought about is about if you
have a brick rail pass.
Is the Caledonian Steeperincluded in the brick rail pass?
Well, just what I think aboutthat question.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
That's a very good question.
That does come up often.
Your brick rail pass well, justwhat I think about that
question.
That's a very good question.
That does come up often.
Your brick rail pass does coverthe seat option only.
Um, on the caledonian sleeper,but you have to book that in
advance.
Don't just turn up.
You've got to book that inadvance.
And if you wish to have a berth, whether the classic club or
the double, you need to pay asupplement.
(25:44):
So pretty clear on theCaledonian Sleeper website.
You just click on there.
Supplement only.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Perfect, okay, so now this is definitely the end of
this episode.
So, I just want to say that wewill put a link, if you want to
book Caledonian Sleeper, in theshow notes, which are at
uktravelplanningcom, forwardslash episode 141.
And also, as I said, there'llbe our affiliate link in there.
But there's also somephotographs that we have taken
when we've taken some of thesejourneys with the Caledonian
(26:12):
sleeper, and Doug is puttingtogether a YouTube video.
So hopefully by the time thisepisode is out, we will have at
least one YouTube video showingthe Caledonian sleeper so you
can go and check that out Again.
I'll put that in the show notes.
(26:33):
But I think that's it for thisweek, dog.
I think so, yes.
So as usual, we end episodewith our saying happy uk travel
planning.
Thank you for tuning in to thisweek's episode of the uk travel
planning podcast.
As always, show notes can befound at uktravelplanningcom.
If you've enjoyed the show, whynot leave us feedback via text
or a review on your favouritepodcast app?
We love to hear from you andyou never know, you may receive
(26:53):
a shout out in a future episode.
But, as always, that justleaves me to say until next week
, happy UK travel planning.
Are you thinking about taking the Caledonian
Sleeper?
In this episode, we break downeverything you need to know how
it works, the difference betweenthe Highlander and Lowlander
services, our recent experiencesand top tips for a smooth
journey.
If you're wondering whetherthis iconic overnight train is
the right choice for your trip,tune in to find out.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
Your host is the founder of theUK Travel Planning website,
tracy Collins.
In this podcast, tracy sharesdestination guides, travel tips
and itinerary ideas, as well asinterviews with a variety of
guests who share their knowledgeand experience of UK travel to
help you plan your perfect UKvacation.
(00:40):
Join us as we explore the UKfrom cosmopolitan cities to
quaint villages, from historiccastles to beautiful islands,
and from the picturesquecountryside to seaside towns.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Hi and welcome to episode 141 of the UK Travel
Planet podcast.
This week, doug and I are bothhere to chat about the
Caledonian Sleeper Train.
Now this is an updated podcastfrom episode 5, which we
recorded right at the beginningof our podcast journey.
But we felt it was about timethat we actually gave you a bit
(01:21):
of an update, mainly becausewe've recently both been on the
Caledonian Sleeper both togetherand on two separate solo
journeys so we thought thiswould be a good chance to talk
about it, give you some tips,give you some ideas and thoughts
, or reflect our ideas andthoughts about taking the
Caledonian Sleeper.
So the first thing I think thatwe should do is and I'll get
(01:42):
Doug to answer this is to tellus what is the Caledonian
Sleeper and why is it such aunique way to travel.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Well, the Caledonian Sleeper is one of two sleeper
services or sleeper trainservices running in the UK.
One is the Night Riviera thatruns from London Paddington down
to Penzance.
This is the one that runs onthe West Coast main line, from
london euston and it runs intoscotland.
So you've got two services.
(02:09):
You have what we call thelowlander and the highlander
services.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
The lowlander is says uh, glasgow, edinburgh and a
few more stops but, and thehighlander is inverness and fort
william so basically you canchoose to go on the lowlander
service from London Euston toeither Edinburgh or Glasgow and
obviously back.
So you could go from EdinburghGlasgow back to London Euston or
you can do the Highlanderservice which basically will
(02:34):
take you from London Euston toInverness and or Fort William
and obviously you can do thereturn journey.
You could do it back fromInverness or Fort William back
to London.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
Yeah, to some rise.
You've got a northbound and asouthbound service.
You've also got Aberdeenincluded in the lowlander
service.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Okay, so let's kind of recap about what our recent
experiences have been.
So in September 2024, doug andI did a trip kind of a round
trip, which you can actuallylisten to We've got a podcast
about it where we went fromEngland through Wales to the
Republic of Ireland, northernIreland and then across to
(03:13):
Scotland and from there, afterwe stayed in Skye, we actually
took the Highlander train fromInverness down to London the
southbound yeah.
So that was a train that weboth took the Caledonian Sleeper
together to.
London okay, and then after thatyou did another journey on the
Caledonian Sleeper.
What was that?
I did the Lowlander Southboundservice from Edinburgh Waverley
(03:36):
station down to London Eustonand then finally I did the
opposite way around from whichwe've done in September is that
I caught the Highlander serviceCaledonian sleeper Highlander
service from London, euston toInverness in I think was the end
of January, beginning ofFebruary that I did that trip.
Yeah, so basically we have inthe last few months taken both
(03:58):
the lowlander and the HighlanderCaledonian sleeper, so it's a
perfect chance to talk to youabout those trips now let's talk
about the different types ofaccommodation available on the
actual caledonian sleeper, andthen we can talk about our
experiences of what we took,because we did slightly
different, didn't we?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
we did indeed, yeah, so, um, to start with, you have
a chair, a seat, which isslightly upgraded from the usual
day coaches.
You've got more luggage spaceand you've got more seat comfort
, really, but that is just stillwhat it is a seat, a standard
(04:38):
coach seat.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Then you have the classic rooms, which is the
berths only, which is a singlebunk on the bottom and a single
bunk on the top that has no ensuite facilities, so there's no
toilet in that room.
And then you have the club room, which is the same beds wise,
but you have a little toilet anda shower within that room.
(05:02):
And then you have the double,which is a double bed, but that
one gets booked up very, veryfast.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Yeah, we've never managed to be able to book that
one have we?
Speaker 3 (05:10):
No, it's never once been available.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
No.
So if you're listening to thisepisode, caledonian Sleeper
People, we would love to be ableto try the double uh experience
and then we can feed back in afurther podcast all about that
to our listeners now let's justtalk about when we, when we did
that initial the highlanderexperience together from
inverness down to london, we hadthe classic room we had the
classic room and it was verygood.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
There's nothing wrong with it.
But being on the highlander youhave a little bit more time in
the evening, so it leaves nineish, depending whichever route
that you're doing.
So you have a little bit moretime to sort of soak up the, the
restaurant car and thefacilities and the meals and the
drinks in the old atmosphereright, and that's different from
the lowlander which you took in.
(05:57):
I did, I took that one, butquite honestly, because that one
departs around close tomidnight, I did go down to the
refreshment car and have a lookin there, but nobody was eating.
Basically, people get onto thatone and, by and large, you just
head straight into the berthand ready to sleep.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Really, and you also did the classic, didn't you?
On the lowlander.
I did just a classic room.
Yeah, Okay, so now I treatedmyself when I went from london
in vanessa.
I've been in london doing somework for three days and I wanted
I had to get back up toscotland and I wanted an entire
the last day.
I wanted to have the entire dayin london.
So it made sense for me to bookthe caledonian steeper.
(06:38):
So I did treat myself and Ibooked the club room now the
club.
The difference of the club roomand the plastic is that it has
an en suite.
So I had a toilet and I had ashower.
Now, hands up, I didn't use ashower, but it was very useful
having the toilet, Let me put itthat way.
So I didn't eat.
We have in the past eaten inthe lounge car of the Colour
(06:58):
Donor Street, but this time Ididn't.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I was on my own and decided not to.
Yeah, I mean the drinks as wellas food on there, but it's sort
of locally, um, mainly scottish, uh, food I've seen on there
really, but there's choices offood on there and, yes, nice
food is nice, well presented.
Um, the prices are.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They're not cheap, this food you're gonna have, but
it's a whole atmosphere, it's awhole part of the journey and I
know when we did the highlanderfrom inverness down to london
end of september we did have afew drinks in in the uh the
lounge card and a few snacks.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Didn't?
Yeah, we did.
Yeah, so that was nice.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Now, one thing as well, when you're on the club
room is that you do get accessto the lounge before you
actually board the train.
So I did in london, houston.
I did sit in the lounge andthere was there are.
There were drinks,complimentary drinks that you
can have.
There is a menu so you canorder yourself some food and
that's the new lounge onplatform one at london houston
yeah, and it's really nice.
(07:55):
Actually, I've got some photosand videos of that which I'll
put into the show note uh worthbearing in mind.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
At the different locations of the caledonian
sleeper and the station stops at, some have their own caledonian
sleeper lounges, but they alsoshare some lounges, like
edinburgh waverley station.
They share a lounge with uhlner and so they, after the last
lner service is gone, they dotake over from the Caledonian
(08:22):
Sleeper In Inverness.
There's one just across theroad, only a small place but it
is nice to go sit and have adrink and some snacks and things
in there as well.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Yeah, a couple of drinks, some complimentary
snacks, and there's a showerthat you can use as well.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
So, if you want, to freshen up.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
You can do that.
So that's a nice little uhaddition if you have got the
club or double room.
Yeah, so now I'll just talk alittle bit about booking it.
I just went through, um, the Ibooked on the caledonian sleeper
site.
We do have an affiliate link,so if you're considering booking
it, I will put that in the shownotes and really we'd
appreciate that if you, if youare considering booking the
(08:57):
caledonian sleeper, that youbook through our affiliate link,
which is of no extra cost toyou, but it does help support us
to produce all our resources,such as this podcast as well.
Um, so, yeah, so I booked.
I found it very easy.
I just went on book my own very, very easy to do and I know
you've never had a problembooking no, I haven't.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
It's worth noting that the california super does
not run on the saturday night,but it's six nights a week, but
but not Saturdays.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Yeah, the one thing I will say that I didn't book a
huge amount of time in advancein January, but it is January.
It was January, I should say,and it's quite a quiet season,
but if you are planning totravel during busy times, yeah,
it's worth getting ahead of you.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Or you want the double room, or you want the
double room which we've nevermanaged to be able to book.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Honestly, it doesn't matter how far ahead that always
seems to be booked up.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So we've never managed to get that.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So let's talk about what it was like on board.
So let's talk about theInverness to London trip that we
both took in September.
So, again, really comfortable.
We were in the lounge car.
Now, in terms of the actualclassic room itself, what did we
(10:03):
get in there?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
Because you get a little amenity pack, don't you?
Yeah, you get a little packthat's got a mask in, you've got
some earplugs in there andyou've got a bottle of water.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
And now you can fill a menu card in, stick it on your
door.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
But in the classic room that's not included in the
price but it is in the club roomand the double yeah, in the
club room you fill that in assoon as you get on board, so you
choose what you want forbreakfast and what time that you
want that delivered.
So that was brought to yourroom in the morning before you
depart the train.
Um, I think, actually, fromwhat I remember, it was only a
few months ago, or even thatprobably six weeks ago.
(10:35):
We, when I we actually got intoinverness slightly earlier than
expected.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
Um, but I was up early because the views are
spectacular well, we'll come tothe views in a moment, but when
I took the lowlander when wearrived into houston probably
close to an hour before umscheduled time arrival, so it
caught a few people unawares um,I'd arranged my breakfast, uh,
(11:01):
about 40 minutes before Iarrived into houston, so I ended
up having my breakfast at theat the station sitting looking
at the station.
So well on the train yeah, onthe, on the train, so some
people were ready to get off andgot there early if they got
business, because that's thebeauty of the sleeper is you're
arriving in a different place,so you can save a lot of time on
your plans for that followingday.
Speaker 1 (11:23):
I was just going to.
I'm thinking about if you'relistening to this episode and
you have never taken a carduring a sleepover before you do
get, obviously, a birth numberkey or actually got a key card
to get in, and there are peoplethere that wait to kind of get
your treatment.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
When you arrive at the station you are met by a
carriage attendant the birthattendant for each coach or each
carriage and they will directyou to your room.
They'll check with your nameand make sure you you know what
time your arrival is, make sureyou can know what to do to order
your breakfast, where thelounge car is.
They basically answer all yourquestions.
(12:02):
But the single little key cardis very straightforward.
You just tap it and you walkinto your room and hold on to
that and when you actually checkout I saw a few people asking
well, what do I do with a keywhen I'm leaving the room?
You leave it on your berth onthe bed as you leave yeah,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Now, another question that we get asked all the time
is how did we sleep?
Because, um, you know, is itcomfortable, smooth?
So now I'm going to be reallyupfront that I've had different
experiences on the caledoniansleeper so I slept very well on
the trip down from invernessdown to london that we took in
september.
(12:40):
I struggled to sleep on theLondon to Inverness sleeper
train that I took at the end ofJanuary, beginning of February.
It was a little bit noisy.
I don't find so much therocking of the carriage a
problem, but it was a bit noisy.
So they do give you earplugsand I found once I put the
earplugs in I went to sleep noproblem whatsoever.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Yes, I as a rule do sleep quite well on those Not
last time before I had sort ofpatchy sleep.
But I think it makes adifference If you're on the bunk
beds.
I think the top bunk you cansway a little bit more than you
can on the bottom bunk.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Right, yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
So if you are prone to motion sickness which
truthfully I am, but very rarelyon the train but other modes of
transport, yes I am um, I dosleep better on the bottom than
I do on the top yeah, I think Imean there's.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
We've taken the caledonia super quite a few
times now.
Now what about?
I know I've done the highlanderand I've not done the lowlander
.
Yet you have done the lowlander.
That, my, I think my concern orworry would be.
The lowlander is that leavesquite late from edinburgh
waverley's train station so youhave to stay up quite late yeah
um, so you either have to occupyyourself or I guess you can go
(13:59):
in the lounge for the last houror so before yeah most people I
saw close to you know waiting toboard the train, they go in the
lounge for the last hour or sobefore.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Yeah, most people I saw close to you know waiting to
board the train, they were inthe lounge as well.
Not all, obviously, because noteverybody has those tickets.
But I did notice as I wasboarding the train, a few people
in front of me.
They were going straight intotheir berths and presumably more
or less straight into bed.
Yeah, because you really, evenif you get straight into bed,
(14:28):
you're not going to get morethan sort of six or seven hours
before you really need to begetting off.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:33):
So to me that was one of the drawbacks of the
lowlander service.
The actual journey time isquite short, but bear in mind
you can board up to an hour moreor less before the train
departs.
So you can board or get intoyour berth quite a bit of time
before that actual train departs.
(14:53):
But, as you said, there'svoices and the doors banging.
It depends how much of a lightsleeper you are or not now.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
I mean, we have had a lot of people who have booked
the caledonian sleeper becausewe we enjoy it.
We've enjoyed doing it.
But I think one thing we didwant to say in this podcast was
really to I mean, our favoriteway of doing it and I think this
is what we're trying to getacross in this podcast as well
is that it may work for youtaking the lowlander from
(15:26):
edinburgh, glasgow, down tolondon.
That is an option, um, but,like doug says, it does leave
quite late.
It's not as long a journey, um.
You're leaving scotland,arriving back to london.
Now we did a previous podcastwith a couple who did this
because they didn't they wantthis.
They actually went up toedinburgh for the days they went
on this the sunday I think andthen the Sunday night they
(15:46):
traveled back down to London.
So it meant that they could doEdinburgh basically in a day.
So that's one way where youcould do it.
I have to say that for me and Iknow for Doug Doug's probably
going to reflect this in asecond that our favorite way to
take the Caledonian sleeper andto save your time as well, if
you want to do it this way iswe've taken it numerous times
(16:07):
from london, euston, up toeither fort william or inverness
.
Speaker 3 (16:11):
And that is what we love the fact that you wake up,
you leave london and then youwake up with the beautiful
scenery in scotland yeah,definitely so, and what we
generally do, we, when we arriveinto Fort William or Inverness,
we've got up early and we'vegone and had breakfast in the
dining car, haven't we?
And that's something wethoroughly enjoy doing.
(16:35):
So if we had to sort of expressa preference, we probably would
say the Highland and Northbound.
Oh, 100%, would say.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
For me it's 100%, it's not even.
I mean it was very useful forus doing Inverness to London
when we did it in September.
That worked out very well forus because it meant we could
drive from the Isle of Skye toInverness.
We had some time in Invernessand then it meant we got into
London, euston, fairly early thenext morning and we were
(17:03):
actually taking a tour that nextday.
So it worked out really well.
Now, obviously, obviously, ifyou sleep, it makes things a lot
easier.
If you don't sleep, you'regoing to be tired, so you do
need to consider that.
Um, so we don't want you tokind of go into this and think,
oh, tracing dog said it's themost amazing thing ever, and
then take the train and then beso tired that you don't have a
fantastic day.
So you need to think about howto prepare for that.
(17:25):
So what would you recommend,doug?
Speaker 3 (17:28):
choose the journey that best suits you and what
suits your itinerary.
Um, it depends what sort oftraveler you are.
If you embrace the journey aspart of your holiday experience,
you're probably going to gowith it and enjoy it.
But if you are prone to motionsickness, you're probably going
to go with it and enjoy it.
But if you are prone to motionsickness, you're prone to not
sleeping unless it's very, veryquiet.
(17:49):
Maybe the journey is not themost ideal for you.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I agree.
Now there are other ways thatyou can get from London,
scotland and vice versa.
So I know we have got a podcastabout taking the East Coast
main line.
Obviously there's a number ofways of getting down from
Edinburgh to London, but theEast Coast main line.
Obviously there's a number ofways of getting down from
Edinburgh to London, but theEast Coast main line is the
fastest route.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
So we have got a podcast about that.
We also have an article abouttravelling on that route down
from Edinburgh to London, sothat takes around four hours.
Speaker 3 (18:17):
Yeah, the fastest time is about four hours, but
consider, there is other routesdown as well.
Yeah, with the new timetablechanges, there's going to be
additional services put on aswell, so you do have choices
there.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
And we'd always say take the train rather than take
the plane, because by the timeyou get yourself to Heathrow
Airport or Gatwick Airport orwhichever airport flying up to
Edinburgh, and then you've gotto get into Edinburgh itself,
that's already quite a lot oftime when you could have
actually got yourself to King'sCross and got a direct train
straight up.
The Caledonian sleeper is abouthaving a different experience.
(18:51):
For me, it's about it's abouthaving a different experience.
It's about trying to sleep atrain.
If you, if you live in acountry that doesn't have
sleeper trains or you haven'thad a chance to experience it,
well, this is a great you knowgreat thing to do, and I know
we've done previous podcastepisodes with um, the families
who take caledonian sleeper,just for the kids to have that
experience, and they've beenreally excited about it same as
(19:12):
I do.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
I've become a kid every single time I step on a
train, but especially thesleeper um.
It's a great opportunity tomeet people as well.
You know, we found yeahparticularly when we're taking
the highland.
You've got more time in thedining room um dining car that
people do engage.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
The journey I took on the lowlander.
I know it was late, but I wasby myself talking to people and
it was fascinating.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
People take the videos.
You walk down the corridor.
Oh, yes, yes, so we'll sharethose.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
But it is.
It's all about the wholeexperience because it's
different.
The sleeper service is uniquein the fact that it is so
different to taking a dayservice yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And I think for me, the favorite thing, the reason I
enjoy doing it, I find itreally relaxing.
Uh, once you're on the trainit's, you know you get yourself
settled down.
But for me it's it's theability to wake up and just see
the scenery in Scotland, which Iabsolutely love, whether that's
going to Fort William orwhether that's going to
Inverness.
For me, in terms of that, it'sjust the sheer difference of
(20:17):
leaving the capital, london, andthen arriving in the Scottish
Highlands.
It's just fantastic.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
It is, and we've helped how many people when
we're doing the artilleryconsults.
They haven't even considered it.
So we've sort of sown the seedand they go.
Oh, we didn't know anythingabout that.
So thank you for raising theirawareness and it gives them
additional time.
Whichever way they're doing,They've given them more time to
fit in other activities.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Yeah, that's it.
And I mean, that's what workedfor me.
It had been in London andgetting up to Edinburgh at the
end of January because I meant Ihad an entire day in London.
I didn't have to worry abouthopping on a train, so it gave
me the full day.
Now let's think about some keytips for if you're a first-time
traveler considering travelingon the Caledonian Sleeper.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
So packing-wise- yeah , there's not a lot of room in
the, in the burst, in the, inthe classic and the um club, so
you are pushed for space.
So ideally you've got to travelas light as you possibly can.
So, but if you have multiplebags, multiple suitcases, it's
(21:24):
better to try, if possible, isto only have the things you need
for one night in one bag.
We have found that anyway,absolutely it saves you trying
to open up multiple bags whenyou haven't got the space.
So everything you need for thatone night is in one bag, and
small bags fit better into theberth because you can fit them
(21:47):
underneath the bottom bunk.
There's a bit of all the spacesas well, but it needs to be
almost a military operation inthe fact that you've got to plan
exactly what you're taking withyou, what you'll be taking out
of the bags.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
I think that's true, because you don't want to be
just opening a suitcase andtaking things out It'd just be
crazy really.
Speaker 3 (22:13):
Things that you do get included in the room.
You get water, um, there's alsosockets so you can charge your
electronic devices, socketsmainly on there, but we've got
an adapter for the, the c's,which makes it easier.
Uh, you've got temperaturecontrol.
You've got, uh, obviously,lights on operations on both the
upper and lower bed, so, buteverything's sort of small and
in miniature.
You know, if you're in a, in aclassic room, just bearing in
(22:35):
mind, you might need to go outto your birth, down to the, down
to the toilets.
So, just bearing in mind whatyou want on your feet, if you
you know something to easy toput on yourself to wear, it does
make life a little bit easier.
Speaker 1 (22:51):
Yeah, so I'd say, putting a little bag together is
really useful.
Speaker 3 (22:54):
Yeah, you'll find that you'll maximise your
experience if you plan for that.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
So would we take the Caledonian sleeper again?
Speaker 3 (23:02):
Always, in fact, to be truthful, every single time
time we visit the uk, we look totry and fit it in, if possible
we don't always succeed, but wedo look where possible, don't we
?
Speaker 1 (23:14):
we, we do and I have to say, um, it's.
It worked particularly wellthis last trip and so we did
three journeys one trip togetherand two solo trips on the
californonian sleeper workedreally well for us.
So I always end the podcastwith the same question what
would be the one tip that wouldshare with someone planning the
Caledonian sleeper for the firsttime?
(23:35):
Now, my tip, my tip, is goingto be before Doug gives his tip,
my tip is going to be really,if you're going to do it,
consider taking the Highlanderand taking yourself from London
up to Inverness or Fort William.
Consider taking the Highlanderand taking yourself from London
up to Inverness or Fort William.
That would be my tip to reallymaximise your experience of the
Caledonian sleeper.
That's the journey that I wouldtake, doug, what would be your
one tip.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Oh, obviously I'm going to follow on from that.
I would definitely recommend,if possible, is, yes, the
northbound Highlander Sleeper.
But also try and have yourbreakfast in the dining car,
because you've got moreobviously space, you can see
(24:15):
both sides of the train andyou've got lovely, beautiful
scenery there, particularly sortof summer months where it's
light in the morning when youget there and you'll have the
most wonderful breakfast withthe most fantastic scenery.
So, yes, you can have yourbreakfast in your room, but get
yourself up all ready and getdown to that dining car and have
(24:36):
your breakfast there.
Then come back with the trainarrives, you can grab your bags
and go perfect.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
Well, I think that covers most of what we want to
say about the Caledonian Sleeperfor this episode.
Is there anything else you canthink of, doug?
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I would definitely consider doing this, but one
little tip I would alsorecommend is, if you're planning
on taking the sleeperCaledonian Sleeper and you are
flying out the following day, doit the day before, just on the
off chance that the train doesnot make it.
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Yeah, we've had that quite often.
People plan to do it the daythey fly out, and we would
highly recommend that you don't.
And just one thing that I'vethought about is about if you
have a brick rail pass.
Is the Caledonian Steeperincluded in the brick rail pass?
Well, just what I think aboutthat question.
Speaker 3 (25:23):
That's a very good question.
That does come up often.
Your brick rail pass well, justwhat I think about that
question.
That's a very good question.
That does come up often.
Your brick rail pass does coverthe seat option only.
Um, on the caledonian sleeper,but you have to book that in
advance.
Don't just turn up.
You've got to book that inadvance.
And if you wish to have a berth, whether the classic club or
the double, you need to pay asupplement.
(25:44):
So pretty clear on theCaledonian Sleeper website.
You just click on there.
Supplement only.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Perfect, okay, so now this is definitely the end of
this episode.
So, I just want to say that wewill put a link, if you want to
book Caledonian Sleeper, in theshow notes, which are at
uktravelplanningcom, forwardslash episode 141.
And also, as I said, there'llbe our affiliate link in there.
But there's also somephotographs that we have taken
when we've taken some of thesejourneys with the Caledonian
(26:12):
sleeper, and Doug is puttingtogether a YouTube video.
So hopefully by the time thisepisode is out, we will have at
least one YouTube video showingthe Caledonian sleeper so you
can go and check that out Again.
I'll put that in the show notes.
(26:33):
But I think that's it for thisweek, dog.
I think so, yes.
So as usual, we end episodewith our saying happy uk travel
planning.
Thank you for tuning in to thisweek's episode of the uk travel
planning podcast.
As always, show notes can befound at uktravelplanningcom.
If you've enjoyed the show, whynot leave us feedback via text
or a review on your favouritepodcast app?
We love to hear from you andyou never know, you may receive
(26:53):
a shout out in a future episode.
But, as always, that justleaves me to say until next week
, happy UK travel planning.
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