Sleeper trains UK: the Caledonian Sleeper and Night Riviera

There are two sleeper trains in the UK: the Caledonian Sleeper, which runs overnight between London Euston and Scotland, and the Night Riviera, which runs between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall. Both normally run Sunday to Friday nights, with no service on Saturday nights. You book a bed in a cabin (or a reclining seat), board in the late evening, and wake up at the other end of the country, in Edinburgh, the Highlands or the far west of Cornwall.

They're one of the nicer ways to travel in Britain. You can have dinner in the lounge car, then open the blind in the morning on somewhere else entirely.

What sleeper trains are there in the UK?

Every train runs in both directions, so you can go north or west in the evening and come back the same way later in the week.

What is the Caledonian Sleeper like?

The Caledonian Sleeper is two trains each night out of Euston. The Lowlander goes to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The Highlander runs to Edinburgh and splits there into three parts, which carry on to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William.

New carriages came into service in 2019. There's a choice of room types, from reclining seats through to rooms with a double bed and their own shower and toilet. The names the operator uses (Classic, Club, Caledonian Double and Comfort Seat) tell you roughly what you get, and there are accessible rooms as well. A lounge car, the Club Car, serves food and drink, which is half the fun.

If we had to pick one, it would be the Fort William portion. You nod off in London and wake up crossing Rannoch Moor, with the West Highland Line still to come. Our guide to scenic train journeys in the UK covers that line and its extension to Mallaig.

What is the Night Riviera like?

The Night Riviera is GWR's sleeper between London Paddington and Penzance. It runs through Devon and Cornwall, calling at stations along the way, so it suits plenty of places in the far south west besides Penzance.

There are cabins with beds, single or shared, plus reclining seats for a cheaper overnight trip, and a lounge car for a drink before bed. It's smaller and simpler than the Caledonian Sleeper, and it gets you to Cornwall for breakfast.

How do you book a sleeper train?

Book directly through each operator's website: the Caledonian Sleeper for Scotland, GWR for the Night Riviera. A few tips:

• Book early for summer, bank holidays and weekends. There are only so many rooms on each train, and prices tend to rise as they fill.
• Check the night. Saturday nights normally have no service, and engineering works can change things, especially around Christmas and New Year.
• Plan the morning. Sleepers arrive early, so it's worth knowing where you'll get breakfast or which connection you're catching.

If you're new to the big London termini, our guide to London's main line stations explains which station serves which part of the country. Euston and Paddington are some way apart, so don't mix them up on the night.

What should you take on a sleeper train?

Less than you'd think. Cabins are compact, so a soft bag is far easier to stow than a big hard suitcase, and anything you need overnight is best kept in a small bag on top.

Earplugs help if you're a light sleeper. Trains stop at stations along the way, and the Highlander splits into its three parts at Edinburgh in the early hours, which involves a bit of bumping and clanking. Bring a phone charger and a warm layer for the morning too, because Fort William or Penzance at dawn can feel a lot colder than London did the night before.

Is a sleeper train a good gift?

For a train lover, it's hard to beat. It's an experience they'll talk about, it gets them somewhere special, and it can be built into a bigger trip: the Highlander to Fort William followed by the line to Mallaig, or the Night Riviera to Penzance and a ride along the St Ives Bay Line.

Because rooms sell out on popular dates, it's best to book the journey and give the details in a card with a little itinerary. For more ideas in the same spirit, see our guide to train experience gifts in the UK.

Can you see sleeper trains on a departure board?

Yes. Sleepers are ordinary National Rail services, so they appear on the departure boards at Euston and Paddington and at the stations they call at, with platforms and any delays.

That means a home departure board shows them too. TrainTicker shows the next trains from any National Rail station in Great Britain, live from Darwin, National Rail's train information system, with calling points scrolling along underneath. Set it to Euston late in the evening and the sleepers turn up among the last departures of the day, calling points and all. To see it without buying anything, try the free live demo and pick Euston or Paddington.