London to Fort William by Caledonian Sleeper: The train they call the Deerstalker

[@peterscandlyn]

Always a great day when the Man in Seat 61 drops another video in. Thank you!

[@Mike-Stevens]

Very nice train journey! The corridor in the sleeper car looked very narrow, but a very nice Train! Thank´s for sharing!

[@kyloluma]

correct, but it works

[@SimonLiddo]

Life enhancing post. Thank you soooo much for sharing

[@jamesnbd57]

Second only to the shower scene in Psycho 😂😂

[@SimonLiddo]

Brilliant video! Thanks for sharing 😊

[@rosemarywalker924]

I'm happy to see you back on the rails. Fantastic video is even better to see all the best bits in daylight. Many thanks for the video. Here's to next time. 😊👍.

[@AnnabelSmyth]

I was just thinking of a bucket list trip - perhaps next year: Sleeper to Fort William, The Jacobite to Mallaig; ferry to Skye, bus or something to Kyle of Localsh; train to Inverness and sleeper back to London!

[@jennyhouse6748]

I prefer the Scot Rail service to Mallaig, a lot cheaper and bigger windows.

[@drdoolittle5724]

What fabulous memories, thank you for 'the show'!

[@danielconrad399]

Great new video of this train, the other direction. The old video is also one of the best. Thanks!

[@jolewis-brown6608]

Excellent video. Thank you. As ever, the comments are very amusing.

[@egpx]

I did the same journey just before lockdown. My conclusion was that it was a fantastic rail trip on a rather disappointing train. Despite being upgraded to the Caledonian Double, the new rolling stock isn't really up to the task. It's noisy, everything rattles and you can feel every bump in the track as the suspension fails smooth the ride out. The double bed was comfy enough, certainly better than the single bunks, I found it very difficult to sleep thanks to all the other stuff happening. Also, the shower dispensed water that was tepid at best. Having said that, there's nothing quite like waking up (after a couple of hours sleep at best) with Loch Lomond going by and then enjoying a breakfast on a snow covered Rannoch Moor. The West Highland Line is magnificent. I also got half my money back due to a 50 minute late arrival so I shouldn't really complain too much!

[@titanbengal]

Absolutely lovely video. Many thanks for sharing 👍

[@theedoreM]

Very nice. It’s a pleasure to get a new video from you. I absolutely love your website - it is the single-most helpful site on the internet for travelling Europe and elsewhere, in particular for Americans such as me. My wish list for this video, you ask? Basic preview of the journey, including maps (Where is Euston Station? Where is Fort William?), overall distance to travel, published schedule, typical sleep and meal routines, maybe a layout of the carriages. Thank you for all your efforts.

[@LynneFarr]

What a lovely trip! Thanks

[@Andrewjg_89]

I have been on the Caledonian Sleeper and it is very nice and the staff are so friendly and I like the Mk5 carriages that were built by CAF.

[@diannewi]

Hmm,your drink - shaken, not stirred... WHAT an enormous improvement over my Ft. William to London trip in 2019, before the new carriages were in service. My outbound trip Edinburgh to Ft. William was daytime and what beautiful scenery.

[@amtrakharry]

I did the trip up to FT. William in early May and I had some worries about it as I had heard a lot of bad things about the train. The train and crew were wonderful !!! The breakfast was excellent !!! The room was great !!! The shower was excellent !!! I'm 6'6" tall and 299 lbs. and fit in there !!! :):):) The only thing I did wrong was having supper at Euston and not having on the train :(:(:( I would do it again in a heart beat... The weather sucked, but its Scotland... 😁😁😁

[@Mat-eq8mk]

Thanks for this! I'm taking this route in a couple of days.

[@fuzzylon]

I love your videos!

[@StitchyBee]

Wonderful 😊

[@louisajones3535]

That was great…thanks a lot!

[@michaelbruchas6663]

Nice to see you posting again! Beautiful and/or desolate scenery. Am used to seeing train videos come in from the other direction at Corrour.

[@thomascook578]

A wee correction, the train you passed at Rannoch is the 0603 from Mallaig

[@samtrak1204]

A big window through which you can see passing scenery from the bed or chair would be nice. I know part of the journey of the journey is after dark but I still like to see the lights of towns and hamlets flashing by.

[@Mat-eq8mk]

Fantastic. Thank you.

[@thetallguy182]

Beautiful journey, great video! I have never been to Fort William, but have done the other branches on the sleeper (before the new coaches!) Would love to do this trip one day!

[@antohosm43]

Lovely video! Just watch the stunning scenery glide by 😀

[@keithbartlett4909]

My wife & I used the sleeper service to Inverness September 2023. Having used the 'old' service previously & found it very difficult to sleep - so much noise & juddering - We thought we'd try this new service. What a difference - smooth & much quieter - However, as in the video, we had the club car with the separate bunk beds. Trying to access the top bunk was impossible for me - I was 78 at the time - but quite fit. Try as I might, I had to give up in the end. There was nothing to hold on to to pull yourself into the bunk also the train doing 60 mph doesn't help. I notice the video he only used the lower bunk. Do the same journey using the top bunk & come back & tell us about it. If you look at the rungs on the ladder you need to keep your shoes on to climb, impossible in bare feet it absolutely kills your feet. So, what did my wife & I do? Took the top bunk mattress off & laid it on the floor. But, because of the space our case took up, one end of the mattress had to be jammed under the hand basin cupboard. My wife is shorter than me & managed. There is so much more to this story than I can put down in a comment. When I told friends the whole story they were rocking with laughter. We thought we'd try the double bed accommodation this year -2024 - but, found it booked solid for months in advance. So we are slumming it in the reclinable seats. I'll let you know.

[@DavidPaton-s4i]

😂. Eagerly await the 2024 experience ...cheers 🍻

[@keithbartlett4909]

@@DavidPaton-s4i Hi David. The "eagerly awaited 2024 experience" is here. My wife & I have just returned from our annual holiday in the highlands. As said, we travelled up to Inverness in the seating coach. We always return using the day service, except this year it was cancelled & we had to travel, using coaches supplied by LNER, to Edinburgh to catch a service to Kings Cross, London. There's never a dull moment! The seating on our outward journey was reasonably comfortable. The seats are a little wider, so give a little more room. Also the leg space, I found, was ok. A packet containing an eye covering & ear plugs was found on each seat. I kept mine as a souvenir. The carriage was fully occupied, but surprisingly not too noisy. Trying to sleep was, for us, hopeless. Although, others, somewhat younger, seemed to manage it. The lights are dimmed to help. I passed the time by reading or playing "patience' with a deck of cards I'd brought with me. The only real issue was the toilets. When we left Euston, one toilet was 'out of action' - the nearest one to the seating carriage. As the journey continued, the other toilets, one by one, also became 'out of action' - it may have been a water issue - The last one on the train, thankfully, hanging on until we arrived at Inverness. The walk forward, towards the front of the train for the toilet, was good though, as it provided some much needed exercise & also gave opportunity to meet others & chat in the slowly forming queue. All in all, I think our days of travelling by train are done. Which I regret. My wife & I have reached an age where we will go to our beloved highlands by air. As the London City airport is very local to us, it seems the logical choice. Trust my comment was worth the wait. All the best.

[@narayanmallapur9734]

So beautiful

[@travelandlivinginfrance5165]

I have done the London Glasgow sleeper. Always hoped we would get stuck behind a freight train so the compensation kicked in. Really enjoyable video

[@MercSLRFan]

Sure it was a bit rattly but that looked superb, both in and out!

[@DavidPaton-s4i]

Definitely on the to so list ...❤

[@thomascook578]

If you look at the deers antlers in the logo, one side has 3 spurs, for the Highlander portion (Aberdeen, Inverness and Ft William), the other has 2, for the Lowlander portion (Glasgow and Edinburgh). Also (Saddo alert), the Ft William portion is the only one that has a timed departure from Edinburgh at 0450.

[@rezaalan3991]

Great trip

[@richardmccarthy9580]

Great scenery…..why always best to go northbound. Who want to see Milton Keynes/Watford compared to Rannoch Moor ?! Plus Caledonian Sleeper followers by Jacobite (unfortunately no sailing to Skye to catch last train from Kyle to Inverness which would be immense 24hr travel !

[@ADAMEDWARDS17]

Good to see the Highland Explorer (extra space for cycles) 153 car on the rear of the train passed at Rannoch.

[@allanegleston4931]

nice . thanks for sharing and yet people complain on how expensive amtrak first class is .

[@edmundcarew7235]

Excellent video, but when I did 'C" last year, a strike meant it terminated at Edinburgh so unable to proceed to Inverness and 'do' Strathspey Railway. Table design in the club/dining car very good, facilitating The Man's filming. 8:50: terrific view. The MK5 cars don't seem to ride as smoothly as the much older rollingstock used on GWR's 'Night Riviera'. They are also noisier. The Spanish CAF doesn't seem to have a great record in building its modern rollingstock. But after days of walking distances with a suitcase in tow, I was tired, so slept well. Amazing in an underrated rail network, it took IIRC UK until 2019 to have sleeping compartments with included toilet and shower. In Oz, 'The Overland', 'Southern Aurora' and 'Brisbane Limited Express' plus 'Gold Coast Motorail Express' had same (for twinettes: roomettes only had a toilet and handbasin, with showers at end of the car) from varying dates as early as the 1950s. Probably USA beat that. An Australian friend has just spent multiple nights in the accommodation at Corrour station. He said it was most enjoyable. Room rate seems to be c.GBP180/night.

[@craig.bryant]

Great video!

[@Andrewjg_89]

The Caledonian Sleeper is very and so modern. I do remember going on it to Edinburgh Waverley.

[@PlaneandTrainWindowSeat]

The route through the Highlands between Glasgow and Fort William in my opinion is the most picturesque in the UK. Unfortunately every time I have travelled it the windows on Scotrail trains were incredibly filthy so it was very difficult to enjoy the views. I’m hoping to travel on Caledonian Sleeper one day.

[@samtrak1204]

That's a damn shame. I hate dirty train windows.

[@alangordon3283]

Impressive

[@sjc14031974]

I did this trip in May 2022. I went to bed about 10pm with the intention of waking up at 6am to try and catch some spectacular scenery which I did. One of the staff who was on the Sleeper recognised me at breakfast as he saw me on the London Underground travelling to Euston prior to travelling on the Sleeper. The Jacobite steam train was my main reason for my trip to Fort William, although I didn’t get the 10.15 departure on the day of my trip. I travelled on the later trip

[@PluckyUnderdog]

Nice video. I'd love to do it but the rate at which they cancel services puts me off, as it's expensive, and I wouldn't want to travel all the way to Euston to find it's been cancelled for a predictably silly reason.

[@terrortower666]

As a whisky enthusiast what amazed me the most is that the gave you a miniature bottle of Glen Garioch (which is really good stuff imo) and not some johnnie walker, glenfiddich or jura 😂

[@samtrak1204]

Why is everything rattling and the train so noisy? Is it the track or suspension system?

[@seat61]

It’s the iPhone microphone. Hardly notice it when you’re actually there!

[@devroombagchus7460]

Nice images, but I would have preferred some information about comfort, noise, etc. After all, it is your hotel for one night and you can’t get out. 😢

[@ticreut2913]

9:07 fact this place is where the deatheater stop hogwarts Express in Harry potter and the deathly hallows part 1.

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

Why does a half day trip train require sleeper cars? Is the idea a motel room that wakes up somewhere else thus combining travel and sleep saving time?

[@andyr0ck]

Yes, basically. Also, there's less traffic.

[@s125ish]

First time seeing a sleeper car?

[@AnyoneSeenMikeHunt]

@@s125ish Huh?

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

@@andyr0ck Not to mention you don't have to schlep your bags from car to room. Or pay taxi fare,

[@The_Robert.Fletcher]

Very nice, but missed the commentary.

[@revol148]

1:53 as of December 2024 that will cost you £455 per guest for that room !

[@dackesjulag]

The corridor and beds look very narrow..

[@ADAMEDWARDS17]

Welcome to the UK loading guage!

[@TomHoffman-uw7pf]

@@ADAMEDWARDS17 How different is it from standard gauge in N America? (4'8.5")

[@ADAMEDWARDS17]

@@TomHoffman-uw7pf Track gauge is the same, its the loading gauge which is much smaller. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loading_gauge for all the detail. Basically British main line trains are narrower and lower than anywere else in the world. The usable space in a british passenger carriage is approximately 9 foot wide by 10 foor high. I believe these dimensions are not much more than those for a train on the Japanese 3'6 tracks. HS1 (the link to the Channel Tunnel) and HS2 (London-Birmingham-Manchester/East Midlands) are built to European loading gauage and so could take double deck trains if required. Double deck passenger trains and double stack container trains of the sort used in the USA are impossible in Great Britain. (Note Northern Ireland, part of the UK, has railways with the same track gauge as the Irish Republic, so have different dimensions.)

[@goawayimsleeping509]

What a view! Beats the hell out of the dull English fields you see on the train from London to Manchester.

[@MatthewBester]

Those toilets/shower rooms looked incredibly claustrophobic. Are you supposed to close the door and use as wet room?

[@egpx]

Yes. The toilet lid is a bit of a beast and prevents the bog roll from becoming a horrible soggy mess.

[@cliffwoodbury5319]

what they got blunt wraps on the pillow

[@SimonLiddo]

Euston Station… as depressing as can be!

[@charliebrady9649]

I would have preferred a bit of vocal commentary to make the video more personable. White font isn't that friendly on the eye! Other than spectacular scenery, the video doesn't paint a holistic view of the travelling experience.

[@juddhill6648]

Is it just me or are the ensuites look like a pain in the ass to use ? I don't see how you shut the door

[@seat61]

Well, you can.

[@Garysmith-yz9el]

I wonder if the engine driver can't believe he gets paid to do this job !

[@aussiejohn5835]

Amazing scenery but what a pity it can't be enjoyed from your cabin due to the ridiculously small window which is directly over the sink. The shower is also a danger by having to hold the shower head in one hand and the soap in the other while trying to stay upright in a moving train. I can't see anything enjoyable with this train except the scenery which can only be seen from the cafe, lounge or coach seats. Too bad if anyone needed to eat a meal in the cafe car.

[@TomCro73]

One of my favourite journeys. However, I shan't comment further - you already blocked me from your twitter feed after I constructively disagreed with a political point you made; don't want to risk innocently invoking your wrath on YT.

[@DavidPaton-s4i]

😂

[@mikeymutual5489]

Another Silent Sam video. Do you really expect people to watch a video with no narration whatsoever? Snooze...

[@seat61]

Do you really need someone rabbiting on to know what you're looking at? Oh, and don't you watch KZbin with the sound off anyway as it always disturbs everyone else on the train?

[@mikeymutual5489]

@@seat61 The best vloggers know that there is a happy medium between not saying a word, and having your face on camera for most of the video. Saying nothing out loud shows a lack of enthusiasm for the subject *and* your audience, even if that is not the intention. And no, I don't watch KZbin on trains in the first place. Come on.

[@skysmashify_]

@@seat61 Don't mind them, people love to nit-pick. I'm planning on doing this exact journey next April and I found your video both informative and enjoyable to watch!

[@chrisdaniel6095]

@@seat61 I much prefer your style to "influencers" who just go on and on with a lot of words that don't convey much of anything.

[@revol148]

@@seat61 headphones ?

[@Garysmith-yz9el]

I wonder if the engine driver can't believe he gets paid to do this job !