Train routes

[Tiggertoo]

In 2020 I booked a trip from Inverness to Kings Cross with GWR. Now GWR says it no longer serves Inverness, can anyone direct me to information showing train routes/stations and companies serving them in the UK?
I have no doubt this info is probably tucked away in the annals of this forum, but new info would be nice.

[Paulatic]

https://www.lner.co.uk/our-destinations ... ss-trains/

[Will]

I believe the only direct service to London from Inverness (apart from the Caledonian Sleeper) is the 07:55 LNER service.

Will

[axel_knutt]

I believe the only direct service to London from Inverness (apart from the Caledonian Sleeper) is the 07:55 LNER service.

Will

It was when I used it in 2008.

[Tiggertoo]

I believe the only direct service to London from Inverness (apart from the Caledonian Sleeper) is the 07:55 LNER service.

Will

Thanks for being so prompt, Will, I have now made my reservation with LNER and have a bike reservation as well.
One less thing to have to worry about.

[bobsmith26]

Has anyone taken the Caledonia Sleeper from Inverness to London with their bike after they have finished the LEJoG? Any thoughts whether this is a good option or not?

I confirmed with the train's website on live chat that I can check my bike in a bike case on the train. Does anybody have experience with checking their bike case on the train?

[AlanInBangor]

We took the Caledonia Sleeper from Inverness as far as Crewe in 2021. Worked out well, no need to change stations in Glasgow and we got home nice and early. It's a bumpy ride though so I didn't get much sleep and there's not much room for luggage in the cabin. I seem to recall we had to hang our bikes by hooks. I've no idea how a bike box would work, surprised you'd have one with you after completing the ride.

[Jdsk]

My notes on bikes on the Sleeper from last year:
viewtopic.php?p=1691639#p1691639

Jonathan

[Toffee]

Has anyone taken the Caledonia Sleeper from Inverness to London with their bike after they have finished the LEJoG? Any thoughts whether this is a good option or not?

I confirmed with the train's website on live chat that I can check my bike in a bike case on the train. Does anybody have experience with checking their bike case on the train?

Did this in 2018. Made the journey easy, although a bit more expensive. Just hung the bikes up when we did it.

[puffin]

Has anyone taken the Caledonia Sleeper from Inverness to London with their bike after they have finished the LEJoG? Any thoughts whether this is a good option or not?

I confirmed with the train's website on live chat that I can check my bike in a bike case on the train. Does anybody have experience with checking their bike case on the train?

I've used the sleeper a few times (and the Riviera one down to Land's End).

The Caledonian sleeper is great, there is a sense of occasion at Inverness where you briefly queue up behind a lectern on the platform and are allocated your steward who shows you to your cabin. You won't sleep as deeply as you might expect, the train rattles its way leisurely but slightly noisily through the night....mind you the rolling stock might have been updated since I last went two years ago.

If there is not enough space for the booked bikes a kindly driver in a non-descript van whisks yours away, meeting you some hours later in a side street next to Euston...cool or what?

Also, you might get spatial disorientation when you finally get off; sometime during the night your train meets another one, joins up to it, then chuggs off in another direction. The front is now the back. Weird.

[bobsmith26]

thanks for the good information on the Caledonian Sleeper. Here are my next questions regarding getting from London to Penzance to start the ride:

I am planning on taking the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station and then catching the train from there to Penzance.

Are there any problems about taking your bike in a bike case onto the Heathrow Express? Are there any times you should avoid?

Do you need to reserve your bike case in checked luggage on the Paddington to Penzance train?

Does anybody have any idea on how long between the time you land in Heathrow and the time you book the train to Penzance, considering having to go thru immigration and customs and then travel to the Paddington Station?

I hope to be on a flight from the US that lands about 7 am in the morning.

[Jdsk]

AIUI there are now two different services between Heathrow and Paddington:

• Heathrow Express:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Express

• Elizabeth Line (the Crossrail project, now incorporates what was Heathrow Connect/ TfL Overground):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_line

All corrections welcome.

Jonathan

[Jdsk]

...
Do you need to reserve your bike case in checked luggage on the Paddington to Penzance train?
...

The ordinary service or the Night Riviera sleeper?
https://www.seat61.com/sleeper-to-cornwall.htm

Jonathan

[Sparky56]

.

[Sparky56]

“Does anybody have any idea on how long between the time you land in Heathrow and the time you book the train to Penzance, considering having to go thru immigration and customs and then travel to the Paddington Station? “.

also need to consider that Heathrow super busy and often landing is delayed (unfortunately). Depending on what passport you hold it can take a while to get through passport control too. But I’ve not seen queues as long as I’ve experienced arriving in the US. If it were me I’d guess a safe bet to exit LHR would be 10 to 11am. Perhaps I am pessimistic.

An alternate to going in and out of London would be to take the railair bus to Reading and catching the Penzance service from there.

I think if you are bringing your bike in a box then the cycle restrictions wouldn’t apply and you can take it on as standard luggage. To my knowledge there isn’t checked luggage on any uk train service (someone will pipe up if I’m wrong).

Great Western Railway is what you need to look at. & if by some kind of magic you can get yourself to Bristol/Cardiff there’s a service from Cardiff to Penzance that doesn’t require bike reservations, you can just put them in the guards van like in the old days