Sleeper-trains are, in the parlance of the internet, an EPIC WIN on all
fronts. Blah blah blah saving the planet, of course. By removing yourself
from both the road and the sky, you have opted for the most ecologically
sound method of travel possible. Aside from walking, of course, which, while
bracing in small measures, does confine the boundaries of a mini-break to
“around the block and back”.
But really - and God bless the Earth - sleeper-trains are ultimately all about
YOU. Having decided, last year, after a nightmare easyJet flight - two-hour
security tail-backs, flight delayed twice, toilet out of order - never to go
by air again, we have now replaced planes with sleeper-trains.
A trip to Switzerland last summer was done by Eurostar, then sleeper- train to
Geneva. I can't tell you how civilised it all was. The Eurostar to Paris
meant late check-in, minimal security hassle and no passport queues. We then
had a whole day in Paris - a holiday-within-a-holiday - before whizzing over
to Switzerland, through the night, on the peerlessly comfortable berths of
the sleeper train. The kids thought it was magic - a BED! On a TRAIN! - and
we started the morning in the middle of Geneva, refreshed and ready for
breakfast at the café in the Globus department store on the Rue du Rhone.
Nonetheless, however great that sleeper-train is - and it is good - there is
another, far mightier and far closer. The London-Fort William sleeper is,
without doubt, one of the greatest things about this country: in the same
category as Stephen Fry, the Beatles and a lovely cup of tea. My husband
uses it for business at least twice a month. Eschewing two flights and a
night in a hotel, he goes to Edinburgh or Glasgow and back in a day,
returning home in the morning in time for the school run. It's a total
win/win result.
I still find it baffling that this gigantic advantage in both time and expense
isn't heavily marketed by Scotrail. Instead, it keeps the whole thing
semi-hidden, and at a mind-bogglingly reasonable £68.
But it's for a holiday that the London-Fort William sleeper-train really comes
into its own. Boarding the train at 9pm, in the middle of the dirty city, is
a never-palling thrill: the carriages with their crescent-moon logos, the
porter with a clipboard greeting you by name. Once you have dumped your bags
in your berth, you can toodle over to the diner-car, where the children can
eat pudding and custard, and you can knock back a few whiskies.
The sleep in your berth is, I must be honest, not the best you will ever have
- the rumbling, shunting and stopping means that you should, in advance,
expect more of a sporadic doze than a clear eight hours of shut-eye. But any
nugatory vexation will be nixed with the dawn - on opening your blind, you
will see that the view of Euston's monotonous concourse has been replaced by
honey heather on Rannoch Moor and a selection of dreadlocked sheep.
Pulling into Fort William, your hire-car keys will be handed over by a
cheerful woman as you stare up at Ben Nevis and get your first, possibly
over-dramatic, taste of Highland air. Ullapool, langoustines and the CalMac
ferries to the Western Isles wait, farther northward. And all without having
gone anywhere near Stansted, thank God.
Argh, don't tell people about it. Then more efficient people will investigate, book all the bargain berths and I'll end up having to go by coach. In an attempt to put off the hoards now thinking of visiting the west coast, can I just say: "midges."
marnie, amsterdam,
Great if you are going end to end it is less desirable if you are traveling between other stations. Crewe to Aviemore means hanging around the platform at midnight and the return requires getting woken at 4am because if you miss the stop you end up in Euston. Not so relaxing as 9pm to 9am
Chris, Macclesfield, England