A night on the Caledonian Sleeper train

Sometimes it’s hard to summon much enthusiasm for travelling by train in your own country.  The association with a frustrating and deadening commuting routine can be hard to shake, and plus if you’re a Brit then complaining about your local train service is almost as obligatory a custom as crumpets with Marmite and a nice cuppa Earl Grey tea for breakfast.  But at the same time, it’s often all too easy to overlook what’s on your doorstep.

Leaving Preston on the Caledonian Sleeper / Flickr photo by Danny McL

So earlier this year I gave the Caledonian Sleeper a whirl, zipping me from my from my hometown of Edinburgh to my old stamping ground, London. This goes shuttles between the two cities with just a few unobtrusive stops en route (Carstairs, Carlisle and Watford Junction) and we were fortunate to bag a bargain mid-week single for around £30 a piece. Admittedly it was just the first leg of an amazing journey on the Orient Express, but more of that later…

Getting on board

The train sets off from Waverley at 11.30pm, but we were hopelessly early as usual and had plenty of time to stock up on vending machine provisions for the long night ahead.  Our steward didn’t exactly greet us with open arms, but we were boarded efficiently enough with plenty of time to settle into our cabin.  Maybe capsule is a better word. Space in our 2 person bunk was tight indeed, but it’s fine once you’re decanted and our cases fitted neatly in the overhead slot.

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