UK Travel Planning

UK Train Travel - Caledonian Sleeper Update [+ Route Choices and Travel Tips]

• Tracy Collins • Episode 141

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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

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Speaker 1:

Are you thinking about taking the Caledonian Sleeper? In this episode, we break down everything you need to know how it works, the difference between the Highlander and Lowlander services, our recent experiences and top tips for a smooth journey. If you're wondering whether this iconic overnight train is the right choice for your trip, tune in to find out.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is the founder of the UK Travel Planning website, tracy Collins. In this podcast, tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation. Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, and from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.

Speaker 1:

Hi and welcome to episode 141 of the UK Travel Planet podcast. This week, doug and I are both here to chat about the Caledonian Sleeper Train. Now this is an updated podcast from episode 5, which we recorded right at the beginning of our podcast journey. But we felt it was about time that we actually gave you a bit of an update, mainly because we've recently both been on the Caledonian Sleeper both together and on two separate solo journeys so we thought this would be a good chance to talk about it, give you some tips, give you some ideas and thoughts, or reflect our ideas and thoughts about taking the Caledonian Sleeper. So the first thing I think that we should do is and I'll get Doug to answer this is to tell us what is the Caledonian Sleeper and why is it such a unique way to travel.

Speaker 3:

Well, the Caledonian Sleeper is one of two sleeper services or sleeper train services running in the UK. One is the Night Riviera that runs from London Paddington down to Penzance. This is the one that runs on the West Coast main line, from london euston and it runs into scotland. So you've got two services. You have what we call the lowlander and the highlander services.

Speaker 1:

The lowlander is says uh, glasgow, edinburgh and a few more stops but, and the highlander is inverness and fort william so basically you can choose to go on the lowlander service from London Euston to either Edinburgh or Glasgow and obviously back. So you could go from Edinburgh Glasgow back to London Euston or you can do the Highlander service which basically will take you from London Euston to Inverness and or Fort William and obviously you can do the return journey. You could do it back from Inverness or Fort William back to London.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, to some rise. You've got a northbound and a southbound service. You've also got Aberdeen included in the lowlander service.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so let's kind of recap about what our recent experiences have been. So in September 2024, doug and I did a trip kind of a round trip, which you can actually listen to We've got a podcast about it where we went from England through Wales to the Republic of Ireland, northern Ireland and then across to Scotland and from there, after we stayed in Skye, we actually took the Highlander train from Inverness down to London the southbound yeah. So that was a train that we both took the Caledonian Sleeper together to.

Speaker 1:

London okay, and then after that you did another journey on the Caledonian Sleeper. What was that? I did the Lowlander Southbound service from Edinburgh Waverley station down to London Euston and then finally I did the opposite way around from which we've done in September is that I caught the Highlander service Caledonian sleeper Highlander service from London, euston to Inverness in I think was the end of January, beginning of February that I did that trip.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so basically we have in the last few months taken both the lowlander and the Highlander Caledonian sleeper, so it's a perfect chance to talk to you about those trips now let's talk about the different types of accommodation available on the actual caledonian sleeper, and then we can talk about our experiences of what we took, because we did slightly different, didn't we?

Speaker 3:

we did indeed, yeah, so, um, to start with, you have a chair, a seat, which is slightly upgraded from the usual day coaches. You've got more luggage space and you've got more seat comfort, really, but that is just still what it is a seat, a standard coach seat.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

Then you have the classic rooms, which is the berths only, which is a single bunk on the bottom and a single bunk on the top that has no en suite 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 and a shower within that room. And then you have the double, which is a double bed, but that one gets booked up very, very fast.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we've never managed to be able to book that one have we?

Speaker 3:

No, it's never once been available.

Speaker 1:

No. So if you're listening to this episode, caledonian Sleeper People, we would love to be able to try the double uh experience and then we can feed back in a further podcast all about that to our listeners now let's just talk about when we, when we did that initial the highlander experience together from inverness down to london, we had the classic room we had the classic room and it was very good.

Speaker 3:

There's nothing wrong with it. But being on the highlander you have a little bit more time in the evening, so it leaves nine ish, depending whichever route that you're doing. So you have a little bit more time to sort of soak up the, the restaurant car and the facilities and the meals and the drinks in the old atmosphere right, and that's different from the lowlander which you took in.

Speaker 3:

I did, I took that one, but quite honestly, because that one departs around close to midnight, I did go down to the refreshment car and have a look in there, but nobody was eating. Basically, people get onto that one and, by and large, you just head straight into the berth and ready to sleep.

Speaker 1:

Really, and you also did the classic, didn't you? On the lowlander. I did just a classic room. Yeah, Okay, so now I treated myself when I went from london in vanessa.

Speaker 1:

I've been in london doing some work for three days and I wanted I had to get back up to scotland and I wanted an entire the last day. I wanted to have the entire day in london. So it made sense for me to book the caledonian steeper. So I did treat myself and I booked the club room now the club. The difference of the club room and the plastic is that it has an en suite. So I had a toilet and I had a shower. Now, hands up, I didn't use a shower, but it was very useful having the toilet, Let me put it that way. So I didn't eat. We have in the past eaten in the lounge car of the Colour Donor Street, but this time I didn't.

Speaker 3:

I was on my own and decided not to. Yeah, I mean the drinks as well as food on there, but it's sort of locally, um, mainly scottish, uh, food I've seen on there really, but there's choices of food on there and, yes, nice food is nice, well presented. Um, the prices are.

Speaker 1:

They're not cheap, this food you're gonna have, but it's a whole atmosphere, it's a whole part of the journey and I know when we did the highlander from inverness down to london end of september we did have a few drinks in in the uh the lounge card and a few snacks.

Speaker 3:

Didn't? Yeah, we did. Yeah, so that was nice.

Speaker 1:

Now, one thing as well, when you're on the club room is that you do get access to the lounge before you actually board the train. So I did in london, houston. I did sit in the lounge and there was there are. There were drinks, complimentary drinks that you can have. There is a menu so you can order yourself some food and that's the new lounge on platform one at london houston yeah, and it's really nice. Actually, I've got some photos and videos of that which I'll put into the show note uh worth bearing in mind.

Speaker 3:

At the different locations of the caledonian sleeper and the station stops at, some have their own caledonian sleeper lounges, but they also share some lounges, like edinburgh waverley station. They share a lounge with uh lner and so they, after the last lner service is gone, they do take over from the Caledonian Sleeper In Inverness. There's one just across the road, only a small place but it is nice to go sit and have a drink and some snacks and things in there as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, a couple of drinks, some complimentary snacks, and there's a shower that you can use as well.

Speaker 3:

So, if you want, to freshen up.

Speaker 1:

You can do that. So that's a nice little uh addition if you have got the club or double room. Yeah, so now I'll just talk a little bit about booking it. I just went through, um, the I booked on the caledonian sleeper site. We do have an affiliate link, so if you're considering booking it, I will put that in the show notes and really we'd appreciate that if you, if you are considering booking the caledonian sleeper, that you book through our affiliate link, which is of no extra cost to you, 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 problem booking no, I haven't.

Speaker 3:

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:

Yeah, the one thing I will say that I didn't book a huge amount of time in advance in January, but it is January. It was January, I should say, and it's quite a quiet season, but if you are planning to travel during busy times, yeah, it's worth getting ahead of you.

Speaker 2:

Or you want the double room, or you want the double room which we've never managed to be able to book.

Speaker 1:

Honestly, it doesn't matter how far ahead that always seems to be booked up.

Speaker 2:

So we've never managed to get that.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about what it was like on board. So let's talk about the Inverness to London trip that we both took in September. So, again, really comfortable. We were in the lounge car. Now, in terms of the actual classic room itself, what did we get in there?

Speaker 3:

Because you get a little amenity pack, don't you? Yeah, you get a little pack that's got a mask in, you've got some earplugs in there and you've got a bottle of water.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

And now you can fill a menu card in, stick it on your door.

Speaker 1:

But in the classic room that's not included in the price but it is in the club room and the double yeah, in the club room you fill that in as soon as you get on board, so you choose what you want for breakfast and what time that you want that delivered. So that was brought to your room in the morning before you depart the train. Um, I think, actually, from what I remember, it was only a few months ago, or even that probably six weeks ago. We, when I we actually got into inverness slightly earlier than expected.

Speaker 3:

Um, but I was up early because the views are spectacular well, we'll come to the views in a moment, but when I took the lowlander when we arrived into houston probably close to an hour before um scheduled time arrival, so it caught a few people unawares um, I'd arranged my breakfast, uh, about 40 minutes before I arrived into houston, so I ended up having my breakfast at the at the station sitting looking at the station.

Speaker 3:

So well on the train yeah, on the, on the train, so some people were ready to get off and got there early if they got business, because that's the beauty of the sleeper is you're arriving in a different place, so you can save a lot of time on your plans for that following day.

Speaker 1:

I was just going to. I'm thinking about if you're listening to this episode and you have never taken a car during a sleepover before you do get, obviously, a birth number key or actually got a key card to get in, and there are people there that wait to kind of get your treatment.

Speaker 3:

When you arrive at the station you are met by a carriage attendant the birth attendant for each coach or each carriage and they will direct you to your room. They'll check with your name and make sure you you know what time your arrival is, make sure you can know what to do to order your breakfast, where the lounge car is. They basically answer all your questions. But the single little key card is very straightforward. You just tap it and you walk into your room and hold on to that and when you actually check out I saw a few people asking well, what do I do with a key when I'm leaving the room? You leave it on your berth on the bed as you leave yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

Now, another question that we get asked all the time is how did we sleep? Because, um, you know, is it comfortable, smooth? So now I'm going to be really upfront that I've had different experiences on the caledonian sleeper so I slept very well on the trip down from inverness down to london that we took in september.

Speaker 1:

I struggled to sleep on the London to Inverness sleeper train that I took at the end of January, beginning of February. It was a little bit noisy. I don't find so much the rocking of the carriage a problem, but it was a bit noisy. So they do give you earplugs and I found once I put the earplugs in I went to sleep no problem whatsoever.

Speaker 3:

Yes, I as a rule do sleep quite well on those Not last time before I had sort of patchy sleep. But I think it makes a difference If you're on the bunk beds. I think the top bunk you can sway a little bit more than you can on the bottom bunk.

Speaker 1:

Right, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So if you are prone to motion sickness which truthfully I am, but very rarely on the train but other modes of transport, yes I am um, I do sleep better on the bottom than I do on the top yeah, I think I mean there's.

Speaker 1:

We've taken the caledonia super quite a few times now. Now what about? I know I've done the highlander and I've not done the lowlander. Yet you have done the lowlander. That, my, I think my concern or worry would be.

Speaker 1:

The lowlander is that leaves quite late from edinburgh waverley's train station so you have to stay up quite late yeah um, so you either have to occupy yourself or I guess you can go in the lounge for the last hour or so before yeah most people I saw close to you know waiting to board the train, they go in the lounge for the last hour or so before.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, most people I saw close to you know waiting to board the train, they were in the lounge as well. Not all, obviously, because not everybody has those tickets. But I did notice as I was boarding the train, a few people in front of me. They were going straight into their berths and presumably more or less straight into bed. Yeah, because you really, even if you get straight into bed, you're not going to get more than sort of six or seven hours before you really need to be getting off.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 3:

So to me that was one of the drawbacks of the lowlander service. The actual journey time is quite short, but bear in mind you can board up to an hour more or less before the train departs. So you can board or get into your berth quite a bit of time before that actual train departs. But, as you said, there's voices and the doors banging. It depends how much of a light sleeper you are or not now.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we have had a lot of people who have booked the caledonian sleeper because we we enjoy it. We've enjoyed doing it. But I think one thing we did want to say in this podcast was really to I mean, our favorite way of doing it and I think this is what we're trying to get across in this podcast as well is that it may work for you taking the lowlander from edinburgh, glasgow, down to london. 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.

Speaker 1:

Now we did a previous podcast with a couple who did this because they didn't they want this. They actually went up to edinburgh for the days they went on this the sunday I think and then the Sunday night they traveled back down to London. So it meant that they could do Edinburgh basically in a day. So that's one way where you could do it. I have to say that for me and I know for Doug Doug's probably going to reflect this in a second that our favorite way to take the Caledonian sleeper and to save your time as well, if you want to do it this way is we've taken it numerous times from london, euston, up to either fort william or inverness.

Speaker 3:

And that is what we love the fact that you wake up, you leave london and then you wake up with the beautiful scenery in scotland yeah, definitely so, and what we generally do, we, when we arrive into Fort William or Inverness, we've got up early and we've gone and had breakfast in the dining car, haven't we? And that's something we thoroughly enjoy doing. So if we had to sort of express a preference, we probably would say the Highland and Northbound. Oh, 100%, would say.

Speaker 1:

For me it's 100%, it's not even. I mean it was very useful for us doing Inverness to London when we did it in September. That worked out very well for us because it meant we could drive from the Isle of Skye to Inverness. We had some time in Inverness and then it meant we got into London, euston, fairly early the next morning and we were actually taking a tour that next day.

Speaker 1:

So it worked out really well. Now, obviously, obviously, if you sleep, it makes things a lot easier. If you don't sleep, you're going to be tired, so you do need to consider that. Um, so we don't want you to kind of go into this and think, oh, tracing dog said it's the most amazing thing ever, and then take the train and then be so tired that you don't have a fantastic day. So you need to think about how to prepare for that. So what would you recommend, doug?

Speaker 3:

choose the journey that best suits you and what suits your itinerary. Um, it depends what sort of traveler you are. If you embrace the journey as part of your holiday experience, you're probably going to go with it and enjoy it. But if you are prone to motion sickness, you're probably going to go with it and enjoy it. But if you are prone to motion sickness, you're prone to not sleeping unless it's very, very quiet. Maybe the journey is not the most ideal for you.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. Yeah, I agree. Now there are other ways that you can get from London, scotland and vice versa. So I know we have got a podcast about taking the East Coast main line. Obviously there's a number of ways of getting down from Edinburgh to London, but the East Coast main line. Obviously there's a number of ways of getting down from Edinburgh to London, but the East Coast main line is the fastest route.

Speaker 3:

That's right.

Speaker 1:

So we have got a podcast about that. We also have an article about travelling on that route down from Edinburgh to London, so that takes around four hours.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, the fastest time is about four hours, but consider, there is other routes down as well. Yeah, with the new timetable changes, there's going to be additional services put on as well, so you do have choices there.

Speaker 1:

And we'd always say take the train rather than take the plane, because by the time you get yourself to Heathrow Airport or Gatwick Airport or whichever airport flying up to Edinburgh, and then you've got to get into Edinburgh itself, that's already quite a lot of time when you could have actually got yourself to King's Cross and got a direct train straight up. The Caledonian sleeper is about having a different experience. For me, it's about it's about having a different experience. It's about trying to sleep a train. If you, if you live in a country that doesn't have sleeper trains or you haven't had a chance to experience it, well, this is a great you know great thing to do, and I know we've done previous podcast episodes with um, the families who take caledonian sleeper, just for the kids to have that experience, and they've been really excited about it same as I do.

Speaker 3:

I've become a kid every single time I step on a train, but especially the sleeper um. It's a great opportunity to meet people as well. You know, we found yeah particularly when we're taking the highland. You've got more time in the dining room um dining car that people do engage.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 3:

The journey I took on the lowlander. I know it was late, but I was by myself talking to people and it was fascinating.

Speaker 1:

People take the videos. You walk down the corridor. Oh, yes, yes, so we'll share those.

Speaker 3:

But it is. It's all about the whole experience because it's different. The sleeper service is unique in the fact that it is so different to taking a day service yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

And I think for me, the favorite thing, the reason I enjoy doing it, I find it really relaxing. Uh, once you're on the train it's, you know you get yourself settled down. But for me it's it's the ability to wake up and just see the scenery in Scotland, which I absolutely love, whether that's going to Fort William or whether that's going to Inverness. For me, in terms of that, it's just the sheer difference of leaving the capital, london, and then arriving in the Scottish Highlands. It's just fantastic.

Speaker 3:

It is, and we've helped how many people when we're doing the artillery consults. They haven't even considered it. So we've sort of sown the seed and they go. Oh, we didn't know anything about that. So thank you for raising their awareness and it gives them additional time. Whichever way they're doing, They've given them more time to fit in other activities.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's it. And I mean, that's what worked for me. It had been in London and getting up to Edinburgh at the end of January because I meant I had an entire day in London. I didn't have to worry about hopping on a train, so it gave me the full day. Now let's think about some key tips for if you're a first-time traveler considering traveling on the Caledonian Sleeper.

Speaker 3:

So packing-wise- yeah, there's not a lot of room in the, in the burst, in the, in the classic and the um club, so you are pushed for space. So ideally you've got to travel as light as you possibly can. So, but if you have multiple bags, multiple suitcases, it's better to try, if possible, is to only have the things you need for one night in one bag.

Speaker 3:

We have found that anyway, absolutely it saves you trying to open up multiple bags when you haven't got the space. So everything you need for that one night is in one bag, and small bags fit better into the berth because you can fit them underneath the bottom bunk. There's a bit of all the spaces as well, but it needs to be almost a military operation in the fact that you've got to plan exactly what you're taking with you, what you'll be taking out of the bags.

Speaker 1:

I think that's true, because you don't want to be just opening a suitcase and taking things out It'd just be crazy really.

Speaker 3:

Things that you do get included in the room. You get water, um, there's also sockets so you can charge your electronic devices, sockets mainly on there, but we've got an adapter for the, the c's, which makes it easier. Uh, you've got temperature control. You've got, uh, obviously, lights on operations on both the upper and lower bed, so, but everything's sort of small and in miniature. You know, if you're in a, in a classic room, just bearing in mind, you might need to go out to your birth, down to the, down to the toilets. So, just bearing in mind what you want on your feet, if you you know something to easy to put on yourself to wear, it does make life a little bit easier.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I'd say, putting a little bag together is really useful.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you'll find that you'll maximise your experience if you plan for that.

Speaker 1:

So would we take the Caledonian sleeper again?

Speaker 3:

Always, in fact, to be truthful, every single time time we visit the uk, we look to try and fit it in, if possible we don't always succeed, but we do look where possible, don't we?

Speaker 1:

we, we do and I have to say, um, it's. It worked particularly well this last trip and so we did three journeys one trip together and two solo trips on the californonian sleeper worked really well for us. So I always end the podcast with the same question what would be the one tip that would share with someone planning the Caledonian sleeper for the first time? Now, my tip, my tip, is going to be before Doug gives his tip, my tip is going to be really, if you're going to do it, consider taking the Highlander and taking yourself from London up to Inverness or Fort William. Consider taking the Highlander and taking yourself from London up to Inverness or Fort William. That would be my tip to really maximise your experience of the Caledonian sleeper. That's the journey that I would take, doug, what would be your one tip.

Speaker 3:

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 your breakfast in the dining car, because you've got more obviously space, you can see both sides of the train and you've got lovely, beautiful scenery there, particularly sort of summer months where it's light in the morning when you get there and you'll have the most wonderful breakfast with the most fantastic scenery. So, yes, you can have your breakfast in your room, but get yourself up all ready and get down to that dining car and have your breakfast there. Then come back with the train arrives, you can grab your bags and go perfect.

Speaker 1:

Well, I think that covers most of what we want to say about the Caledonian Sleeper for this episode. Is there anything else you can think of, doug?

Speaker 3:

I would definitely consider doing this, but one little tip I would also recommend is, if you're planning on taking the sleeper Caledonian Sleeper and you are flying out the following day, do it the day before, just on the off chance that the train does not make it.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we've had that quite often. People plan to do it the day they fly out, and we would highly recommend that you don't. And just one thing that I've thought about is about if you have a brick rail pass. Is the Caledonian Steeper included in the brick rail pass? Well, just what I think about that question.

Speaker 3:

That's a very good question. That does come up often. Your brick rail pass well, just what I think about that question. That's a very good question. That does come up often. Your brick rail pass does cover the 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 in advance. And if you wish to have a berth, whether the classic club or the double, you need to pay a supplement. So pretty clear on the Caledonian Sleeper website. You just click on there. Supplement only.

Speaker 1:

Perfect, okay, so now this is definitely the end of this episode.

Speaker 1:

So, I just want to say that we will put a link, if you want to book Caledonian Sleeper, in the show notes, which are at uktravelplanningcom, forward slash episode 141. And also, as I said, there'll be our affiliate link in there. But there's also some photographs that we have taken when we've taken some of these journeys with the Caledonian sleeper, and Doug is putting together a YouTube video. So hopefully by the time this episode is out, we will have at least one YouTube video showing the Caledonian sleeper so you can go and check that out Again. I'll put that in the show notes.

Speaker 1:

But I think that's it for this week, dog. I think so, yes. So as usual, we end episode with our saying happy uk travel planning. Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the uk travel planning podcast. As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanningcom. If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app? We love to hear from you and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode. But, as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.