The UK's LONGEST TRAIN JOURNEY! Aberdeen to Penzance DIRECT on CrossCountry's HATED Voyager Trains!

In this video, I will be attempting one of my craziest and longest journeys yet - the UK's longest direct train journey on board Crosscountry's Class 221 Voyager train between Aberdeen in North East Scotland and Penzance in Cornwall! The journey takes over 13 hours and covers almost 800 miles, all done in standard class... so join me as I travel through the country in one day on board just one train service!
Journey details:
Date of travel - July 2022
Operator - Crosscountry
Train type - Class 221 "Super Voyager"
Class of travel - Standard/2nd
Origin - Aberdeen
Destination - Penzance
Price - £86.45 (includes 16-25 Railcard discount of a third)]
Distance - 778 miles
Thanks for watching and hope you enjoyed the video!
Music from Epidemic Sound and is used under license.
Follow me on social media: / midland__london
#class221 #Voyager #crosscountry #aberdeen #penzance #tripreport #vlog

[@fowlmanchester]

The only thing I like about the voyagers is that they are finally reaching the end of their service life.

[@afinecity1830]

Horrid trains from day 1 of their introduction. Far too cramped for the number of passengers and their luggage.

[@railfreightdrivergallagherGBRf]

They aren't though,only with Avanti. XC will gain the 221's from them to add to their current fleet. Here for many years yet!

[@highpath4776]

@@afinecity1830 Short Formation Ones as additional for TPE would be useful Hull-Doncaster-Sheffield-Stockport Shuttles. (no need to fill up manchester esp if Tram can get to Stockport)

[@z00h]

@@railfreightdrivergallagherGBRf "Here for many years yet!" Hopefully not, these rattly POS need to go now.

[@Sophiebryson510]

47+mk3 was better

[@adamwalpole1180]

You deserve a knighthood for doing this. 13 hours on a voyager with those seats. 👏🏽 👏🏽

[@fayesouthall6604]

I can barely travel 2 hours

[@laffey6546]

Glad I’m not the only one who think cross country trains are rough but it’s the only train that goes from Bristol too leeds

[@abakedslayermcgiles2703]

To be honest, I would rather travel 13 hours on one off these seats than on a GWR IET, LNER Azuma or TL 700.

[@mall231]

@@laffey6546 how is that journey iam thinking of doing that this summer?

[@laffey6546]

@@mall231 not bad just get used to the weird smell them trains have when I went down to Bristol for Xmas in December I got the mega bus was £40 return it may be longer but it’s comfy and cheaper

[@N330AA]

The cool thing about his route is you get the ECML, MML, a sprinkle of the WCML and the GWR, all in one trip.

[@andrewhowe555]

Epic trip, quite a journey. Deserves many likes and comments, just for spending 13 and a half hours on a Voyager!! Fantastic work, well done, great channel 🚂😊

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

You need Pile Ointment after that long in one of those DMUs.

[@bilalsplanesandtrains8273]

What an outstanding video and a great commentary! Getting all those facts and information in at the right places must have been no easy undertaking and I really appreciate the effort. I aspire to take this trip one day in 2023. Thank you and safe travels!🚅

[@suzatlarge]

Wow, that was indeed an epic trip. Thanks for the video. I'm in the US, and wish we had more and better passenger train service here. I've traveled around the UK with a BritRail pass, and want to do that again. My longest UK train journey was from York to Penzance - in first class, about six years ago. It was comfortable - and memorable thanks to the guy across the aisle who drank too many bottles of wine along the way, and kept getting more impaired with each one. Fortunately for him he was traveling with his very well-behaved dog. I enjoyed interacting with the dog. 😂

[@mall231]

Oh cool what was the dog called ?

[@craigix]

Ha, he missed a trick, I put those bottles of wine and beer in my bag, my record is 13!

[@EILEENZ0122]

Detailed and clear expression🙏 Thx for ur devotion😘 I tried the TRIP mentioned by comments section, amazingly it is 💥super save🤩

[@Rick2009h]

Great trip report! I wouldn’t fancy 13.5 hours with that seating. I traveled 14 hours on Amtrak but they have big seats and you could kick your legs out and not touch the seat in front!

[@hdng1984]

I love how Americans complain about Amtrak till they're blue in the face, but they're so much more comfy than our trains!

[@brianhall8585]

But North American passenger trains never go faster than a crawl.

[@abakedslayermcgiles2703]

To be honest, I would rather travel 13 hours on one off these seats than on a GWR IET, LNER Azuma or TL 700.

[@jamesweatherley9215]

I used to take a previous incarnation of this route back in the early 90s. In my teens the family lived in Aberdeenshire. Parents still do. They have a holiday cottage in SW Cornwall, and I took the train rather than the back of the car crammed full of luggage, dog and sister. It was an HST running to Edinburgh, then across to the west coast line through Carlisle and on to Birmingham where it was much the same to Penzance. Not to expensive with a young person's railcard, and ridiculously cheap once you claimed your refund for the inevitable delays.

[@peterskegness3204]

Fascinating, and well done for enduring such a long trip on a Voyager! My first trip on this Cross Country journey was back in 1989 when, at that point in its history, it ran only between Penzance and Edinburgh. I did the reverse to your trip. Getting to Penzance was a feat in itself from the Lincolnshire Coast, meant I set out the previous evening via Grantham and the ECML, and a hair raising ride in a black cab from King's Cross to Paddington. Here I took the Night Riviera, although in seated accomodation, to Penzance. "The Cornishman", as it was then called, was ex Penzance at 0923. I was lucky as this was an HST set at this time. Even so, very busy throughout. A few fun and games as a passenger beside me had something in the luggage rack leaking vinegar which proceeded to drip on the table until I managed to get a member of staff to sort it. Also got diverted at Newcastle via Carlisle. Outskirts of Edinburgh, one of the local Ned's in the outskirts decided to take pot shots with an air rifle, shattering the window where I had recently moved from. Very late into Edinburgh and a sprint up the stairs to get to St Andrew Sq bus station just managing to get the last coach to Perth! Years later I would also do the longest National Express route 336 from Edinburgh to Penzance, an epic overnight trip that didn't reach Penzance until teatime the following day. Think even a Voyager would be better 🤣 Did you stop at the Station Hotel in Aberdeen? I did this on another trip years later. Although it had bad reviews, I really enjoyed it, even though some of the furnishings in the room looked almost antiques!

[@grahamhunt6132]

An outstanding video and informative commentary, so thank you! I have been on CrossRail from Derby to Truro, and the 4-coach train was overcrowded for most of the journey. Still the best way to get to Devon and Cornwall!

[@amanda_wm_3261]

That was epic! Bravo great trip.

[@ChoobChoob]

You absolute madman. You did the whole thing!

[@OMtheRails]

Been on the bucket list for a very long time, glad to have got it done! 😂

[@amenerstugard1894]

It is SUCH A HUGE SHAME that the UK railways are SO INSANELY EXPENSIVE to use - any class anywhere. My entire family just loves trains, but we are only using buses OR OUR OWN CARS! Such a shame. 😒 But thank you for the excellent video! 😃 Really appreciated. 🙂🙂🙂 I so wish our family could one day use trains in the UK as we always used in Finland, my country of origin, where the train ticket prices are a tiny fraction of the UK ones. Thanks again for the great video about what our family would like to use but can never afford. 😒

[@BevMattocks]

I've always wondered where the crew changes take place so your commentary is really helpful. Thanks for this. Epic train journey. Also, very interesting facts along the way, thanks. I'll be crossing this line in a few places on a bike ride tomorrow 😊 PS as a very small child on the annual summer holiday journey from Leeds to my grandparents at Weston-Super-Mare, and then back again, I have vague memories of the bankers on the Lickey pushing our steam hauled train up the incline - my train-mad dad used to love it!!!

[@valerianocuomo996]

Uk failed ,lose all national industry, also bae sistem ...italy has acquisided all.from helicopter s,eurotunnel, missilistic sistem MBDA ITALY acquisided other 10% MBDA UK, 650 km of high speed acquisided from FS GROUP, ITALIAN RAILS GROUP. Also in france,Greece, in spain italy has colonizaded: high way, high speed rails with frecciarossa ETR 1000,all the european countrys want the GREAT TRAIN..Lady and Gentilmente: THE FRECCIAROSSA 1000. RAIL FS TRENITALIA COMPANY HAS 30BILIONS THE GROUP MOST RICH. ALSO OF THE FRENCH, EVER WITH PUBLIC GROUP...THE EUROPEAN CHIna is the france, also automotive ,france has fear of lose

[@sirsergio89]

Interesting! I had no idea you've grown up in Sheffield, I live in there for nearly 8 years, great city and very important for the UK railway network! nice video and thank you for going into a 13+ hrs train for us! cheers!

[@johnmason7289]

An excellent, well-presented video. That was quite a journey!

[@Titus_Phook]

I am so glad i have youtube premium or i be watching so many adverts, great video and you are a natural travel guide, you know your stuff.

[@roseogrady8785]

So scenic and interesting...Many Thanks... I look forward to other Video's.

[@absolutelyamanda2942]

Lovey little nod to Chesterfield, thank you. I'm Chesterfield born but now live in Dumfries so I always appreciate a glimpse of home and that good old spire

[@dragonofthewest8305]

I go on this line all the time but not all the way from Scotland to Penzance just from Birmingham to Nottingham it’s amazing we can see it all through your channel

[@dragonofthewest8305]

And the best thing is we can see this journey multiple time

[@alexcrawford6162]

Crossing the Forth you see my old (and favourite) ship. A lot of good friends would still have been there. Brings back happy memories.

[@davidharris4062]

Cracking video, the short ride from St Erth to St Ives is a beautiful line

[@mttshw]

Really enjoyed this video. thanks!

[@jasonl4411.]

Thoroughly enjoyable, great video

[@dbrailways]

Great video, Cadburys at Bournville is actually an operational factory, they make dairy milk and some of the other ‘block’ type chocolate there. As you walk round the factory you can smell the molten chocolate in production, sometimes depending on the wind you can smell it from the station. Cadbury world is on the back of the factory and part of the ‘tour’ goes through some of the production facility.

[@mjc8281]

Worked as a driver for British Rail back in the early 90s and I'm pretty sure it was this service that used to run up through Manchester/Bolton/Preston at the time and I ran this train a number of times(as memory serves from Stockport to Preston)... it was crazy how many times it was re crewed en-route(I was based out of Manchester Victoria and the train didn't even go there!).

[@jacobporrett]

Great video mate. Plenty seen on the long journey which was good. Looks like you enjoyed yourself.

[@martinlaver007]

I’m a member at the Starcross Yacht Club you pass at 31:22, one of the great joys of being out on the water is when the steam train thunders down the same track. If you’re very lucky you can sometimes also have the twin seat Spitfire taking passengers out and around in the area.

[@thecubingguy7333]

Hol up’ a spitfire taking passengers out?

[@martinlaver007]

@@thecubingguy7333 yup. There are infact two twin seat trainers so you and a friend can have a dogfight if you like….

[@Travelwow7]

Wonderful Trip.. Love to take this Train ride.

[@robnewman6101]

Enjoy the ride.

[@brian402]

I travelled by train around most of the UK back in 1986 / 87 & 1991, i believe back then i was travelling on British Rail., and i was on the Intercity125. Before leaving my homeland of New Zealand, i purchased from my travel agent what was known as a Britrail pass., for a month's use on any British Rail Train. I enjoyedf watching this video you made, you've done a awesome job in presenting this video., and this video brought back a lot of memories for me!.

[@ingridaneimane5051]

Love to travel by train; we used the Cross Country services twice last summer, from Penzance to Birmingham. Such good memories.

[@jamessmith6402]

brilliant video I really enjoyed the trip 😀 Thanks

[@arthurvasey]

I do a generous stretch of that journey a couple of times a year between Taunton and Darlington or sometimes York and back - ultimately to Middlesbrough! Teign the river and Teignmouth are pronounced Tin and Tinmuth and the Tamar bridge - which some Cornish folk believe links Cornwall to England - is pronounced Taymar!

[@jelofts]

Very interesting and informative, Well done!

[@paulhill1665]

Some 48 years ago I used to catch what I think was a similar service, the 1240 from Plymouth to Aberdeen, on a Friday, But only as far as Exeter St Davids, it was always standing room only.

[@Marius85]

Great video because i've been there and i can say i realy miss these trains. I don't understand why people hate these trains.

[@lewissnell1946]

Great video, very informative

[@SouthWalesTrainSpotter]

I’ve seen one going to Aberdeen from Penzance before when I went down to Dawlish I saw it pass the start of this month so I think there is one both ways but still great video and very brave 😂 but looked like a lovely journey

[@stuartroyle1402]

thanks for posting,really enjoyed it.

[@stuartroyle1402]

and at about 11p a mile!!

[@Pik871229]

I remember that was a daily service when I studying in Aberdeen over 10 yrs ago....time flies...

[@villageorganist]

On a recent trip from Inverness to Aberdeen I was delighted to find an HST rostered for the journey. Quite an improvement on the 158s.

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

Yes, HST & Mk3s are a proper train (well almost); as opposed to the 158s being buses on rails.

[@muk8804]

They don't have the supercomfy British Rail armchair-style seats though - Operating companies took them out and replaced them with very similar seats to the Avanti/,cross country Standard class. Horrible . At least you can open the window on the slam-doors in the vestibules.

[@declangaming24]

@@prof.hectorholbrook4692 158s aren't buses on rails Pacer is

[@xotan]

Some beautiful things to see, some not so beautiful. But that's life. The commentary had a slightly laconic tone at times, bu that's perfectly understandable given the 13+ hours it took. You are quite the hero! There was a time when I would have welcomed such a challenge, but as I am now 20 (x4) years old I'll pass on this. Being a foreigner I had no idea how beautiful southwestern England is. Some of the branch lines in this area must be more beautiful still. any chance you could explore them? I still think of Flanders' & Swan's son about them. It's quite wistful. Well done and thanks!

[@dylanthevillain9060]

That would be an amazing route for sleeper trains

[@princessdaisy6]

I loved your commentary❤️

[@juliebell8072]

You certainly could do with a polarising filter in front of the lens to minimise window reflections. Most enjoyable video all the same, thank you! 🥰

[@OMtheRails]

Many thanks for your comments! This tends to be an issue with the Voyager trains due to the type of glazing they have, fortunately this isn’t much of an issue with many other trains in the UK!

[@_the_train_guy]

Good one... Enjoyed watching the ride

[@charlo90952]

Nicely done. Thanks. I hope you get more subscribers so you can travel in first class. That makes a more enjoyable trip for the viewers. Eating and drinking on the train is always interesting.

[@saintuk70]

Excellent

[@dragonofthewest8305]

Thank you allowed us to see the country with you

[@markdesmond6274]

Good grief! An hour and a half to Manchester on a voyager is bad enough. Awful trains. Will be glad to eventually see the back of them!

[@ThemeParksAndAttractions]

Nice video midland London

[@garystanley6097]

Just found and subscribed. Nice video. Full of little tidbits of info. I await more from your channel.

[@TherymasterWidnes]

Jeez mate, you're a braver man than me to do that trip!

[@desbrine]

Worth mentioning that the white ship at Penzance is the ferry to the Isles of Scilly MV Scillonian.

[@stamfordmeetup]

Lol, he was very lucky to have nice weather in Scotland.

[@prof.hectorholbrook4692]

Madness these days to do ANY InterCity journey in a suburban train like this - even for 20 miles. For Penzance - Aberdeen I would demand NOTHING LESS than the comfort and charisma of 10 Mk1s, including a Restaurant Car with full Kitchen. Privatised railway is taking us ALL for a scam ride with these crap "trains". On this journey in these units, I would have got piles by the time I arrived at Bristol Parkway.

[@TrenyCwm]

10 mk1s that'll disintegrate if you're unfortunate enough to have a crash and with a max speed of 100 mph. I'll stick with the Voyager thanks.

[@duncanbhaltaireanraigwilso9627]

I'll take a Voyager over MK1'S any day. And Voyagers are not suburban trains, they are specially designed intercity trains designed for cruising effortlessly at 125mph. There're only 3 issues with them. 1: That the Air Con intake is right next to the vent for the toilet retention tank, hence the smell. 2: There're not enough tables. 3: Lack of luggage space. BTW, I'm old enough to remember travelling with British Rail, and give me the privatised system, and modern trains any day.

[@mariadelmarjimenezarroyo2656]

Very good video

[@brianharley6452]

That’s some journey. Might use this as it did stop at kirkcaudy the nearest major station in my old town to go to my new home in Sheffield.

[@agnesmcfarlane5452]

I live in Aberdeen and I use to take the train to see my sister in Ilfracombe I would take the train to London change at London to go to St. David's Exeter then on to Barnstaple where her husband would pick me up on to Ilfracombe it would take me all day to get there but I loved it taking the train.

[@jamesbradshaw4675]

Great video . Very interesting goes near me in Sheffield 👍

[@Skyrimz_]

32:44 That's just an old archway located on the walk that goes around the grounds of Saltram (one of the many old estates run by the National Trust).

[@GrumpyOldGamer9221]

Good job with the video, that's some trip. I've lived at both ends of that journey. Btw upon leaving Plymouth, it's pronounced "Tay-mar" for the River and Bridge 😉

[@truthfulremedy_aka_lennybee]

Tyneside Mail Centre has a rail platform and a spur, that will explain the RM train stabled in the sidings.

[@JoJo-yt1ys]

Great video

[@clnre]

Over 13 hours of torture! Before the Voyager trains were introduced I enjoyed train travel from Bristol to the north, but now I always fly to Scotland (it's usually cheaper!). Even when Virgin operated Cross Country one of their managers admitted to me that many of their long distance passengers had been lost to planes.

[@ispivideos]

Did this in 2019, when it ran on weekdays. Took an advance first class ticket, still wasn't cheap.

[@alanshelly7068]

Awesome video buddy from Alan Shelley in Lowestoft

[@D.music85]

Cool! I noticed that you mentioned the fact about Stonehaven signal box. I edited Wikipedia to say that after I visited the box for real!

[@future057]

despite all the hate towards voyagers, I don’t mind them that much. yes, they may be a little uncomfortable, but it’s nothing compared to an IET

[@hhuodod2209]

I really like the trains x

[@SeanMidlandstransporthub]

Great video mate! I'm doing this end of this month however It's 35 stops for me

[@ybot1]

Always doing the section from York to Birmingham going to and from uni and it's always packed with nowhere to put luggage especially if boarding at Birmingham, normally a bit less busy at York but that changes at Leeds or Sheffield normally.

[@berniethekiwidragon4382]

The rumbling the train makes sounds like my washing machine!

[@manomaylr]

Maybe a comment worth making is that Avanti class 221s tilt, but XC ones don't - the tilt mechanism was removed to save maintenance costs

[@u.k.trainandbusvids]

Berwick Newcastle Durham and Darlington are all my north east bread next time I’ll be travelling to York will be a few weeks time in order to commence my trip to Hull

[@patrickl2195]

The structure you see across the River Plym is an 18th century grotto carved into rock above the Saltram Amphitheatre, in the grounds of Saltram House, which is a National Trust property. I think there are worries about the safety of the surrounding rock, so am not sure how close you can get to it these days.

[@walkietalkietraveller2932]

thanks for that interesting piece of information, Patrick :)

[@simmybear31]

Great Video As a photographer may I suggest you try a polarising filter as this will remove most of the window reflections when shooting from inside the carriage.

[@lapamful]

Was just going to write the same thing. There are still some things phones can't do I guess!

[@deepwoodguy2]

@@lapamful good idea....the glare was quite strong

[@ametrinemoon]

My local main station Aberdeen. I have to pull you up on when you were leaving Dundee! It is the Tay bridge for dundee. We have the dee and the don. And on the other side of the train leaving dundee before you go over the tay bridge, you can see Dundee airport. On the dundee-glasgow line you pass dundee airport.

[@bloxstudios9742]

I’ve done this trip many times because I live in Penzance and my family live in Aberdeen

[@ianlacey6588]

I have done Aberdeen to Plymouth/Truro, and back more times than I can remember.

[@francisnliba9025]

I am usually very quiet on social networks because of some reactions from some surfers and the quality of the content of the videos but this one certainly makes me come out of my reserve. Thanks for perseverance, especially when you think of the perfectible sound insulation and the intrusive growling of the Cummins engines underneath the cars. Great Job! So edifying!

[@OMtheRails]

No worries, glad to hear you enjoyed! 😁

[@davidhull1481]

I used to drive across the Tamar bridge, and it was quite difficult to not stare at the rail bridge whilst driving!

[@timturner1372]

I've travelled with kids and grandkids by train between Reading and St Erth for many years. Always cheered to see so much traffic travelling slowly on the adjacent motorway and trunk roads. Last year, I drove down instead and took the Plymouth road. At the Tamar Bridge, I was delighted to see an 800 crossing the Royal Albert Bridge in the UP direction. An HST would have been better, but I felt something got ticked off that day...

[@spitfire1962]

Great video. Thanks for making such a long journey so short for us viewers. Have traveled from Paddington to Liskard, then on to Looe many years ago.

[@rayconabeer6920]

Great video In 2019 what for Exeter to Aberdeen and only 15 minutes late in Aberdeen because of a signal just south of Aberdeen

[@PinkuMonsuta]

I regularly end up using this service for travelling between Bristol and Cornwall, and only once has it not been a stressful, cramped, overcrowded experience. If I can use GWR, I will always opt for them instead, even if it sometimes means an extra hour on the train! After looking through the comments, I am glad to see that I am not the only one with the same opinion of Cross Country trains. 😅

[@nathanieltyghe4526]

GWR is the worst train company!

[@plymrock5685]

I like the Class 220 and 221. Apart from the seats but on a short journey like to Taunton they alright.

[@edwardcullen1739]

Did quite a few journeys on Voyagers between 2003 and 2010. Fond memories. Never really had any comfort complaints... They are a little noisy, but that's what you get for a D(E)MU.

[@robhaley5136]

Lol, I remember Aberdeen being the greyest place ever when I visited... well, memory serves.. so much grey! Can't always help the clouds I guess though.

[@Theresabrown1805]

I did this journey about 20 years ago and I remember it wasn't an unpleasant journey I did the journey from edinburgh to Penzance.

[@ForburyLion]

I've done the Bristol to Newton Abbot stage of this journey sat on the floor of a ram packed train, overcrowding was a big problem

[@fayesouthall6604]

Bristol to Penzance. Always quieter after Exeter

[@code-on-Trip-app]

If you are taking a train recently, you can use the discounts mentioned in my channel description.

[@islanddweller3674]

Manyyears ago now I did London up to I Ithink Inverness when moving house. My car travlled in style! There was a couple l who do this trip often just for the trip. A bar on the train etc. I booked s eleeper which helped.

[@Micke120872]

9 minutes late on a Voyager is not bad when you consider the mileage covered. I took a trip from Bristol to Doncaster on one of these and we ended up running on just one power car and we were 98 minutes late. Crappy 158 Super Sprinter from Weymouth to Bristol arriving 3 minutes early at Temple Meads then it all went to pot on Cross Country. Worst trains other than the Pacers up north. Thanks for the trip though. Really enjoyed the scenery.

[@mariemccann5895]

Cool.

[@lloydenergyninja]

cheltenham spa is where a train broke down coming home from holiday down in devon it was raining and the windsheild was broken so we all waited for a train to go paddington and took like 30 mins - 1 hour

[@stevem-h3562]

Bloody hell. ABZ station has changed a bit from when I was last there in the late 1980s/1990's. Did the run from ABZ to Plymouth and back once to join a ship at Devonport in 1987, which was a Class 47/Mk2 rake; and then came back from Culdrose, breaking the journey from Redruth to Bristol, then to Newcastle, Edinburgh and back to Aberdeen. A bloody long way. Not sure I'd have made it on one of those rattly voyagers....

[@arnoldspottingvideos5269]

20:21 Also Neville Hill keep CrossCountry HSTs as well

[@craigdonald6603]

I like voyagers. I've been on voyagers from Bristol Parkway to Bristol Temple Meads and I've also been on voyagers from Bristol Temple Meads to Paignton

[@Arghans]

Two hours is already enough on those seats! Even going ten minutes to next town I skip these for the GWR trains.