Sleeper Train Questions
 

Hi- Has anyone booked the overnight train from London Euston to Edinburgh using Scotrail.com? They seem to have 1 way fares for berth cabins from L19 in their bargain fares section. Since they are only booking thru December I wonder if this is always available.

Also, if you have to check out of your London hotel at 11am, what do you do with your luggage until the train leaves at 2300h?

Cheap fares like this are offered to fill berths that would otherwise be empty. They will not always be available and, even when they're offered, may sell out quickly.
Luggage can be left at Euston station for around £4 per item per day (www.excess-baggage.com). It would be cheaper to leave it at your hotel - even cheap hotels will look after luggage after you check out of your room - but it may be more convenient to pay to leave it at the station.

Hi,

>...what do you do with your luggage until the train leaves at 2300h?<

Your hotel should let you leave it with them.

It is a pretty ride during the day. I have done it on coach and on a train (long time ago). Coach I remember it being very lovely.

I would say though if you can spring for the airfare it will leave you more refreshed.PS Unless you are staying and absolute dive most hotels and even hostels will hold onto your luggage for you. Come to think of it I don't recall lodging in London that would not do this unless things have changed post 911.

The train is ready for boarding at London Euston station at 2300, but draws out at 2340. Similarly, it reaches Edinburgh at 0717, but you can ask the steward to leave you strictly alone until 0740, as you may stay on board until 0800.

You need to find somewhere pleasant for your London evening, theatre or music perhaps. If you like curries you will find on Drummond Street, just west of Euston station, is streetful of good Bengali restaurants, open till midnight.

As Mr Hammer says, these sleeper fares are special offers, so they cease for the Christmas break, mid December to early January.

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I did the sleeper from London to Edinburgh this past August, and I'd definitely recommend the sleeper. I paid around 90 pounds for a bed, so I would guess that the 19 pounds deal won't last long. I admit that you do miss a lot of great scenery by doing it in the dark, but there's a lot to compensate for that. Not only do you save on the cost of a hotel for one night, but you also get more sightseeing time in both cities. The beds were small, but very comfy (then again, I'd come from a hostel with no AC during the heat wave, so I might be biased on that). They give you a small breakfast (cookies, an apple and tea) and there is a very laid-back all-night dining car/bar. We had a great time talking to other travelers we met in the dining car and got some good recommendations for the rest of our trip. Not quite as glam as the sleeper train in North by Northwest, but still a fun experience.

For as glam as North by Northwest may I recommend these ? Paris to Italy (each night train has among other things a compartment with a double bed), a hotel train involving Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan or Basel (with a dining car, and your own shower en suite), the Kashtan Express from Berlin to Kyiv (Kiev), with a non stop samovar and a Ukrainian restaurant car full of smoke and Russian spy types, or the Dogu Express from Istanbul to Mount Ararat for about 50 dollars, useful for a trip to Iran.

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