Meeting down south – two nights on the sleeper

Posted on 3rd Sep 2026 by insightndes

Cheapest, most time effective and least stressful way to attend a meeting near Manchester in the south is using the Caledonian Sleeper. Travel while you sleep and no hotel needed.

I go to sleep in the Highlands.

And I wake up near Birmingham.

I get off the sleeper at 0620 at Birmingham International.

The only time a train was late on the trip was the train from Birmingham International to Birmingham New Street. I did not miss my next connection so no harm done. I eat my sleeper breakfast while waiting.

Glad I had the bike with me.

On to my destination.

After a day of work I catch the train to Manchester, with a stop for food.

The train that I am on takes me down to Birmingham International where I wait for the sleeper which comes in at 2240. Then to bed and sleep.

I grab breakfast in Inverness.

Then it’s back to the north.

I chose to get off and on to the sleeper at Birmingham international rather than Crewe as I got an hours more sleep in both directions. I did have to travel further but this was preferable to getting off the sleeper really early and getting on really late.

Why is this cheaper than other methods of travel? I saved two hotel nights, no airport parking no miles in the car, no flights. Easy win.

My carbon footprint was far lower than if I had taken a flight.

And I was relaxed. I had an Ok sleep on the way down and a really good sleep on the way back.

Tourism, Travel

Far North – Manchester – Aberdeen

Posted on 24th Jul 2026 by insightndes

A trip to the south, or the northwest of England as it is known, and then to the northeast of Scotland. This got off to a bad start when the ScotRail app told me at nine in the evening, before I was due to go, that the 0650 train was cancelled as it had broken down. Good that I was informed, bad that it was late in the day. The ScotRail app works well.

Could I catch the later train, and arrive late in Manchester or find an alternative? I went for the alternative, booking the Ember electric bus, meaning an earlier start, arriving an hour earlier in Inverness. The Ember bus is easy to book onto via the web.

The ride experience in the Ember bus was good, but still prefer the train. Early start meant packing a breakfast sandwich for the journey.

The elevation of the bus meant I could see far more than what I normally see from a car.

A wait in Inverness and then on to the next leg, back on track.

It is on to Edinburgh, where I changed trains. The temperature is far higher than further north.

Changed trains at Carlisle. The forecast temperature here is 24 degrees but the temperature in the glass roofed station is more like the mid 30s. It’s a greenhouse.

It was a twelve hour journey.

I am staying at the Premier Inn near the station, which is extremely close and convenient. I am on the ninth floor, a room with a view.

There are lots of canals in the centre of Manchester.

Manchester is an interesting city.

It is off to Crewe to catch the sleeper.

The Caledonian Sleeper is due at 2345, but as ever it arrives late at Crewe. I get to bed just after midnight and I wake up in Scotland.

Travel

Bristol to the far north

Posted on 26th Jun 2026 by insightndes

The longest leg of the journey.

The trains became a bit chaotic as demonstrated by this notice.

The 2006 to Milton Keynes , which I had planned to take, was eventually cancelled. I caught the slower, local train to Birmingham International, but not before its platform was changed.

The Birmingham International station is clean and modern. I had an extended wait due to delays caused by a lorry damaging a bridge near Bedford. This is probably why the Milton Keynes train had been delayed. This was the first time that I caught the sleeper service from Birmingham International.

The notice boards showed the chaos caused by lorry.

I went down to the platform and worked out that my carriage was near the front of the train, so I moved to the correct end, having found out the direction of travel.

The arrival of the sleeper.

When I boarded, I was asked by a trainee Caledonian Sleeper host how I knew to be in the right place.

Straight to bed.

Waked up to breakfast in the Highlands.

I had to wait for the rail replacement bus north. No trains due to work on the far north line. I took some photos from the bus.

Travel

Chester to the far north

Posted on 8th May 2026 by insightndes

Good luggage on the transport for Wales train.

First train, a transport for Wales train, which shuttles between Chester and Crewe, entirely in England.

Then onto the Caledonian Sleeper, due in at 2345 at Crewe, but arrives late. So make it to bed after midnight.

I wake up in the Highlands.

After a stop in the Sleeper lounge, it’s onto the far north line.

Travel

North to south

Posted on 15th Apr 2026 by insightndes

Another trip south by train, this time with bike. Arrived at the station to meet the train to Inverness. It was windy.

And sunny.

Big blue sky with turbines in the distance.

Getting on to the sleeper.

The sleeper was not taking its normal route meaning it arrived 40minutes later than normal. Much of the extra time was spent manoeuvring through London.

A ride through London taking 19 minutes to get from Euston to Paddington, five minutes of which was spent stationary at traffic lights.

Oh dear, the English and Union Jack Flags being inappropriately displayed in Didcot. Very disrespectful! What can be more disrespectful than cheap Chinese made flags looking scrawny and scruffy.

From bright sunshine and blue skies in the far north to cloud in the south.

Travel

Hamburg-Far North Scotland via Cologne, Brussels, London and Inverness.

Posted on 28th Feb 202626th Feb 2026 by insightndes

I was fit to travel the next day. Decided to reduce the odds of missing connections by catching an early train than planned.

I was traveling to Cologne, we were told there had been a problem with the staff arriving from a previous train. The train departed 40 minutes late. Following the announcements was interesting, as one train to München leapfrogged the other. They were going different routes.

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Had time to stroll to the cathedral.

And watch aircraft flying by.

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Back to the next delayed train, again 40 minutes and a platform change. Now heading towards Brussels.

The lateness of the train meant that the comfortable cushion to get through border control was disappearing.

I discovered another issue. Somehow the Interrail app had booked the wrong date for the Eurostar, and I had not spotted this, so no seat on the train. Thankfully the very helpful Eurostar employee got me on with a ticket, which strangely had no meal guarantee written on it. I was not sure what this meant.

Then another delay, by possibly an hour, dueto problems in the Netherlands. This would make my next connection in London very tight.

We left 44 minutes late.

I pointed out my non guarantee of meal when I received this meal.

Not very large portion but ideal as my appetite was not back.

It was now dark so no pictures.

The reduction in delay from an hour to 45 minutes meant I made the Caledonian Sleeper well on time. A quick walk from St Pancras to Euston.

And next morning in the Highlands…

Then heading further north.

Almost home.

Travel

The Far North, London, Moreton-in-Marsh, Oxford

Posted on 7th Feb 20267th Feb 2026 by insightndes

A February far flung journey, starting in the north,

The downside to travelling this time of year is that it is dark for most of the journey, so not many views.

I had a really good nights sleep, waking up for breakfast in the buffet car.

Caledonian sleeper have added a new stop at Birmingham International. This looks potentially very useful. I saw the airport just after sitting down for breakfast.

No bike with me this time. I had an appointment in London within walking distance. The time to get there was pretty similar either by foot or public transport, so off I walked.

Then it was off to Marylebone Station, for my first ever visit. Also by foot.

Also first time I had seen the BBC buildings.

Things went a bit awry at this point. A goods train had broken down so the route was blocked.

The notice board with the delays.

Take a picture or filming shows how much the boards must flicker.

The intention is to get to Oxford to change trains. Eventually a train is provided with loads of carriages to enable taking all the passengers from the cancelled trains. The route to avoid the blockage involved travelling to Princess Risborough, the train then reversed heading to Bicester Village, where again it reversed, eventually arriving in Oxford.

At Oxford some of the tracks are sectioned off. There are no trains to Didcot, only rail replacement buses. This is why I went via Marylebone rather than Paddington.

The train arrives

Smooth onward journey to Moreton-in-Marsh.

After my appointment in Moreton-in-Marsh it’s back to Oxford in the dark.

The Thames at Osney Bridge is fast flowing.

Travel

Northwards in the sun

Posted on 12th Nov 2025 by insightndes

Travel

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Posted on 6th Nov 2025 by insightndes

The problem with catching the late afternoon train in autumn is that it’s dark. No views.

The ride from Euston to Paddington was less affected by the traffic lights than normal. As a result I managed to catch an earlier train to Reading.

Then on to Mortimer.

What a smooth journey, all the trains on time. No overcrowding. I had slept very well on the sleeper. A good journey.

And then……

On to the train at Reading to Manchester Piccadilly. It was rammed. Totally overcrowded.

Things started going really wrong and confusing as we went to Oxford. Announced that we would have to change trains. Then announced we would not have to change trains but we needed to go past Oxford into a siding and then come back. A long wait in the siding then back to the station. Then it was announced we would have to change trains after all.

There was a signal failure near Banbury.

We crossed Oxford Station and caught a train towards Hereford, changed at Worcester, heading to Birmingham. This was bad as now I was due to be in Manchester two hours late.

Change at Birmingham New Street. This is a very badly designed station. The signage is poor. Very confusing, The ugly side of architecture.

More delay due to trespassers on the track. The train had to go slow as a precaution.

Manchester Piccadilly two and a half hours late

The Premier Inn is a quarter mile from the station.

Environment, Travel

South by train – with a non-folding bicycle

Posted on 10th Sep 2025 by insightndes

First time traveling in a long while with a non-folding bike. The chief difference is that I had to book the bike on most of the trains, including the far north line and the sleeper.

A stunning train ride to Inverness.

The bike went into a room on a carriage for bikes and large luggage. Not sure about the way the bike is hung up.

Interesting ride, an impressive number of cyclists on route to work, some with no road sense. One, who was on my right, turned left across my path without looking or signalling.