Tuesday, April 05, 2016

A night on the Caledonian Sleeper...

Ros is away for a week on business and, rather than join her and (to be honest) get in the way, I thought that I'd go for a train ride. And so, on Sunday evening, I reported at Euston Station to catch the 20.57 departure to Inverness (as you do).

It has been a very long time since I rode a sleeper train, so I was intrigued to find out what the experience is like. So, here are some thoughts...

The first class lounge at Euston is alright, no more, no less, although I'm sure that the cookies are very nice. It's simply somewhere to sit whilst you wait for your train, with free soft drinks and a bar (which isn't free, or even particularly cheap). But, as your berth isn't available until about half an hour before departure, it's better than hanging around the concourse, especially whilst Euston is being redeveloped.

You head for the train as soon as the berths are available and, as you've booked in advance, you know where to head for. There will probably be someone to check you in, take down your choice of breakfast if you haven't pre-booked it and explain the various bits and pieces.

The sleeping berth itself is a bit austere (although they tell me that the new rolling stock, due to be introduced in two or three years will be rather less spartan). Your bed is already made up and if, like me, you've booked a first class ticket, you get a nice bag of Arran Aromatics goodies, including a pillow spray for those of you who like that sort of thing.

You may also have pre-booked dinner, which you can eat in your cabin or, if you're not anti-social, you can join your fellow passengers in the lounge car. The notion of sitting on sofas, drinking single malt whisky and making conversation is obviously quite attractive, so it's usually quite crowded at first but, again, your first class ticket is your friend, as you get priority if it's full.

Dinner is microwaved - none of this 'having a proper chef' like they do on Hungarian operated Eurocity trains - but they've chosen well, picking options that survive the process well, and using Scottish ingredients to make the meal an introduction to Scotland.

The prime attraction though is the whisky list, with an impressive range of blended whiskies (for the love of God, why?) but, more importantly, some outstanding single malts. I went for the Balblair 2003 Vintage from Edderton, described as "full bodied, with notes of oranges, lemon, honey and spice". Don't ask me to confirm that, but it slipped down the throat like a song.

Do make sure that your mobile phone and other electrical stuff is as fully charged as possible. The only available charging points are in the lounge car and, on this journey at least, they didn't work anyway. Bring one of those gadgets that will charge your phone if you have one.

Sleep is surprisingly easy. Admittedly, I can sleep just about anywhere, but the background noise isn't too bad at all, and with no announcements to disturb you, and the train pretty steady, most people should be fine. The train was decoupled at Edinburgh Waverley at about 5 a.m. (it's broken up into three parts - Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness - and extra carriages attached) and I never noticed.

I woke up at about 6.30 a.m. - we'd just left Blair Atholl - to a rather more bleak landscape than the mid-Suffolk one that I'm used to. It was also raining out of a sullen grey sky.

Breakfast is, in truth, a bit of a disappointment. Microwaved pork and egg isn't going to float the boat of this carnivore but, perhaps one day, they might solve that problem.

But, at just after 8.30 a.m., the Caledonian Sleeper pulled into Inverness. It was still raining and I went off on search of the final first class perk, the Caledonian Sleeper lounge with its free coffee and, most important, showers. What isn't made clear is that the lounge is outside the station, which means crossing the street. It isn't signposted in the station at all, and the sleeper host didn't seem to know where it was either.

It's very nice, with good hot showers and very drinkable coffee. And, as it doesn't close until 10.30 a.m., it makes a good resting point for your onward connection. I had one of those, at 10.38 a.m., so it worked out rather well. I was able to recharge my iPhone and iPad too.

So, all in all, a pretty good experience. £180 for a first class ticket sounds like an awful lot, but given that you get a 500 mile rail journey and a bed for the night, I actually think that it represents pretty good value. And yes, I'd probably do it again if the opportunity arose.

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