Activity Review: Caledonian Sleeper
As described in our planning post, I’ve been wanting to ride a sleeper train ever since we came to England. Now, Mary Frances finally let us ride the famous Caledonian Sleeper train from Inverness to London Euston.
Read about how we planned our Highlands trip, or our time in the Isle of Skye, or our lovely time in Gairloch!
Ahead of the Train
After we dropped off the rental car, we went into Inverness for the only time during the day! Usually, we arrive at night so we only have a few hours for dinner or breakfast. As this is likely the last time we are here for a long time, we wanted to take advantage of the day! Unfortunately, as it was after 4-5pm on a Monday, most of the city was shutdown!
Instead, we went for the classic English or Scottish pastime, a good old pub meal! We did not know what food the train would have or serve so we wanted to be safe!
Boarding the Caledonian
While we were exploring the town, we stored our bags at the Inverness train station! The lockers did not cost much and located right in the middle of the train hall. Once we arrived at the train hall after our pub meal, we collected our bags and waited for the train to be ready!
Safe to say, I was way too excited for this overnight sleeper train. While I viewed it as a great adventure, MF saw the reality of sleeping in a small moving room and reluctantly said yes. Either way, boarding was incredibly easy and we made our way to the very small room.
Our Room
Unfortunately, our room was very dated and incredibly dated. While I certainly expected an older train, the room decor and furnishings were definitely a little old (while being clean, don’t worry!). For all the pictures online, it took us until the following morning to find the sink. When I went to explore the entire train, we were cut off at the back of the train. I was very sad as I wanted to see the dining car!
Once we were finally tired, we climbed into our bunk beds and tried to fall asleep with the smooth tunes of the railroads. Quickly, I found my headphones and put some white noise on! Before we knew it, it was 5-6am with the sun shining through the window! Although I did not recognize the passing scenery, it was peaceful and pleasant!
The Verdict
For a bucket list item, the overnight Caledonian Sleeper train did not reach reach my absurdly high expectations. However, once I toned down expectations, the experience was as advertised and a great way to transit between London and the Highlands!
- Shortly after our train ride, the Caledonian Sleeper updated all their train carriages and there are now new rooms. Of course, this happened literally the next weekend so I did not tell MF about this update until I wrote this post...
- While we did not have the best night’s sleep, I still cannot decide if we had enough sleep to function properly in the morning or I had a really boring Monday. Thus, I would say the best way to take the train might be when you’re on holiday and can have exciting activities!
- Despite the slight letdown in our experience from my mile high expectations, I thoroughly enjoyed our time aboard the Caledonian Sleeper. It felt great to experience another form of travel especially in our country!