Caledonian Sleeper

[robgul]

Has anyone used the overnight bike courier service on the Caledonian Sleeper? If so what are the bike bags like & does the bike need breaking down fully?

Some friends used the sleeper to get from Scotland to London - my understanding was that the train people have the option to put the bikes on the train OR send them by road (presumably it depends on space on the train??) - anyway - they got on the sleeper and then collected the bikes from the truck transport round the corner from Euston station the next morning - AFAIK they just removed the panniers, no boxing or bagging.

Rob

[fittedtjk]

Excellent thankyou for the info

[SimonCelsa]

I will be using this service shortly to return to Inverness from Weymouth.

Without any real advance booking or internet delving I managed to obtain tickets for myself and bike from Weymouth to Waterloo for £14 followed by a seat on the Euston to Inverness Sleeper for £55. I think this is pretty outstanding value really. They will still road courier your bike if all bike reservations are booked. Hopefully mine will be on the train with me. I'll let you know how it all pans out in due course.......

All the best, Simon

[PH]

Without any real advance booking or internet delving I managed to obtain tickets for myself and bike from Weymouth to Waterloo for £14 followed by a seat on the Euston to Inverness Sleeper for £55. I think this is pretty outstanding value really.

That's a good price, I haven't used it for a while and I'm glad to see bargains are still available. I've only used the seated option once, although it didn't have the novelty of a berth I still managed to get a fair bit of sleep and it was surprisingly comfortable.

[Paulatic]

You'll come past my house about 0550 I'm rarely up to give you a wave though.

[skicat]

Without any real advance booking or internet delving I managed to obtain tickets for myself and bike from Weymouth to Waterloo for £14 followed by a seat on the Euston to Inverness Sleeper for £55.

Which website did you use (I'm assuming website - perhaps it wasn't online) ? I haven't seen any discounted prices on the CE since it was taken over. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place

[SimonCelsa]

Hello skicat, I just googled 'caledonian sleeper' and did it through their site. I got the impression it wasn't a special deal, just the usual price. Knowing my current luck I'll get to the train and the guard will say, "OK mate, you've paid for your bike, now show us your ticket"!!!

All the best, Simon

[PH]

Without any real advance booking or internet delving I managed to obtain tickets for myself and bike from Weymouth to Waterloo for £14 followed by a seat on the Euston to Inverness Sleeper for £55.

Which website did you use (I'm assuming website - perhaps it wasn't online) ? I haven't seen any discounted prices on the CE since it was taken over. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place

I've just been looking on the Caladonian Sleeper website, fixed ticket (No refunds) to Fort William on the couple of dates I've tried is £40 for a seat, berths from £95 (Shared) or £150 (Single) You can also book up to a year in advance which is useful and bike booking looks simple.
https://www.sleeper.scot/

[SimonCelsa]

Yes, that's the site. I just tried a quote for weds 30th November and a similar price of £55 was returned. Perhaps it's the usual winter rate?

All the best, Simon

[robgul]

The rock-bottom prices quoted are just a SEAT . . . . it's a long and slow journey to be sitting in a none too comfortable train seat for that length of time. The early booking deals usually have the option of a bed at not a lot more . . . and certainly worth it if you're intending to cycle for any length of time on the day you arrive.

Rob

[skicat]

The early booking deals usually have the option of a bed at not a lot more . . . and certainly worth it if you're intending to cycle for any length of time on the day you arrive.

Oh yes, I wouldn't contemplate the seat option. I got a bed when I went to Aberdeen a couple of years ago, but that was an early bird deal. It's those deals that I haven't been able to find on the website lately. Perhaps there will be more of them now we're out of season.

[SimonCelsa]

What on Earth is wrong with a reclining seat for an overnight trip?? I've recently spent 8 days sat on a pretty firm SPA leather saddle cycling down from Inverness over the best of our Great Country's roads and do not anticipate much bum-ache in the next few hours.

I have now just boarded the Caledonian Sleeper, bike is safely (?) secured in the guards van vertical bike rack and we're nearly set to go. Impressed so far!

Analogous in many ways to flying economy class. Luckily the company I work for stump up for business class but I probably wouldn't pay that myself. I still think it's well worth the £55.....see how I feel tomorrow,

All the best, Simon

[PH]

Enjoy the trip, I've had no problem traveling in the seat, as I said earlier I get as much sleep as I do in a berth. It's more like a decent aircraft seat than a tain one, I've slept in plenty of those. I'm trying to think how far I've ridden afterwards? Ft William to lochaline and onto Mull. 60ish miles?
I've only ever had a berth when you could get the Bargain Berths, one at £29 and another at £39, I don't think the new operator does those, if they do I've not seen them on the website and no mention on Seat 61.
http://www.seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm

[SimonCelsa]

The only bugbear with the service is that there is no WiFi.....

After pulling out of Euston (availing the Euston WiFi Service) it all went a bit quiet!!

Good job I had a good book. Seat was nice and comfy & plenty of space.

All the best, Simon

[maxlatimer]

I recently used the Caledonian Sleeper at the end of my LEJOG to get from Inverness to London and had a brilliant experience. I booked a normal seat for £34 (assuming I would be so tired after LEJOG that I wouldn't care where I slept - I was right!). Possibly because I booked during the switchover from ScotRail, they somehow overbooked bike spaces on the train however, they arranged for a courier service to drive my bike all the way to London for me! Cannot fault their customer service, super friendly and would definitely use again!

Good afternoon all!
I've just booked in on the Caledonian Sleeper to do the NC500.... Can anyone send some more light on the courier service? Do you have to break your bike down at all?

I'd really appreciate your help on this

Best,

Max