Scotland by Sleeper

The Cairngorms offer some of Britain’s wildest trails and the idea of combining them with the romance of the overnight train got Julia Hobson Caledonia dreaming...

- Julia Hobson

There’s a whisper down the line at 11.39/ When the Night Mail’s ready to depart/ Saying “Skimble where is Skimble has he gone to hunt the thimble?/We must find him or the train can’t start.”

Words ingrained in my memory since childhood, from the opening lines of TS Eliot’s famous poem, Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat. Hearing that poem read over and over gave me a sense of wonder at how exciting a journey on a night train would be. A sense of wonder that I’ve never lost.

Fast forward a few decades and I’m stood on the platform at London’s Euston station late one evening, waiting with childlike impatience to board an actual sleeper train for the first time in my life. I’m more than slightly giddy about the prospect of being whisked through the night while tucked up in my cosy cabin, and waking up in the highlands of Scotland, although the lack of any cats on the platform is mildly disappointing.

There are few methods of travel that evoke as much romance and nostalgia as a sleeper train. A time capsule back to an age when travel was truly glamorous and special. And the Caledonian Sleeper, with its luxurious compartments and wilderness destinations, has the potential to elevate the experience even further.

It was an online article about the recent replacement of rolling stock on the service, illustrated with pictures of cute modern cabins and smartly furnished dining cars, that sparked the idea in my mind. Would it be possible to combine a lifelong wish to travel on a sleeper train with an adventure by bike? Some further research and a call to my two trusty adventure companions, and the plan came together.