Disclosure – AD. This is a collaborative post with Caledonian Sleeper.
Waking up to a beautiful sunrise over the tracks, as the train travels into London perfectly on time is a great way to begin a work day. A great night’s sleep and a coffee with a delicious Scottish breakfast is easily the best start any business trip I’ve taken. But why should you use the Caledonian Sleeper train for work travel?
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What is the Caledonian Sleeper?
The Caledonian Sleeper is the overnight train that runs between London Euston and Scotland. There are also a couple of other stops in England and a new sleeper route will begin from Birmingham too in 2026.
You can take the sleeper to and from a range of Scottish destinations, including Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William and Edinburgh. Although they also stop at smaller destinations on the way, including Stirling, Pitlochry, Aviemore, Bridge of Orchy and Crianlarich.
Being a sleeper train you can choose from sleeper cabins or seats for your overnight trip, with discounts often available in the off-season.
Why Take the Sleeper to London?
Travelling from Scotland to London can take several hours on a daytime train. So knowing that you can leave the evening before and arrive in the early hours of the morning gives you more time in London. Start the day with breakfast on the sleeper train and then head to your morning meetings in London, fresh after a good night’s sleep.
Or it can be helpful for travelling further afield, ensuring you can get as far as Italy or Spain by train in one day. Simply catch a morning Eurostar train from London and then a high speed train to Milan or Barcelona.
It’s also a particularly relaxing way to travel. The Glencraft mattresses are very comfy and the perfect way to fall asleep with the soporific movement of the train. Eye masks and earplugs are provided if you need them!
Caledonian Sleeper vs Flying
In the past I have flown to London for a full day of work. However, I am always exhausted due to early morning flights and less time sleeping! Let’s look at how much time is involved in flying compared to taking the Caledonian Sleeper to London.
Flying –
- Sleep from 10pm-3am – 5 hours sleep
- Get up, dressed and drive to the airport for 4am
- Check-in, through security and wait for flight
- Board flight at 6am
- Arrive at airport at 7.30am
- Get off plane and through to bus/train service 8.15am
- Train/bus to central London, arrive around 9am
- Tube and walk to work location, arrive 9.30am
As you can see flying is time consuming with lots of waiting around whilst not moving. It also doesn’t give me a lot of sleep due to the time to get to the airport and waiting in the airport.
Sleeper train –
- Say goodnight to the kids, catch the train, I got on at my local station just after midnight, but you can get on earlier at other locations – midnight
- Straight to bed and sleep – 12.30-7am (6 1/2 hours)
- Breakfast in the club car at 7am
- Arrive at 8am in London Euston.
- Spend half an hour with a coffee at the lounge in Euston station – 8.30am
- Tube to work location – 9am.
As you can see the sleeper train gives you more sleep (and if you get on at an earlier stop you will get even more sleep). It also doesn’t involve lots of walking around and waiting, you can simply go to bed, get up in the morning and get yourself ready, have breakfast, then hop off to go wherever you need to go. It just makes much more sense from time and sleep perspective.
Also, taking the Caledonian Sleeper means you have a much lower carbon footprint than flying to London. It’s not really that far, and easily do-able, so why contribute to climate change?
What to Expect in a Caledonian Sleeper Club Room
The Caledonian Sleeper had three types of room. The Classic room, which are bunk beds and no en-suite, the club room that is the same as a classic but with en-suite, and then the double club room, a double bed with en-suite. Club rooms have priority access to the Club Car and also include breakfast in the Club Car in the morning. The Club rooms also have the bonus of lounge access at the main stations too.
I stayed in a solo club room, which just meant I had both bunk beds to myself. It was particularly nice to have the en-suite toilet and shower room, rather than sharing a toilet with others. If you have a classic room you can always request to use a shower in the lounge when you arrive in Euston.
The beds have a Glencraft mattress, two good size pillows and clean white sheets. They are very comfy and cosy, although you can also turn up or down the heating in the room too.
As a welcome you’ll find a complimentary sleep kit, Mackies chocolate bar and water. The toilet and shower room is simple to use, with towels in a net bag, hanging by the door for the shower and complimentary Arran toiletries. Lift up the seat in the en-suite and you’ll find the toilet and loo roll underneath. A sink with complimentary soap is beside the window.
Meals in the Caledonian Sleeper Club Car
The Caledonian Club car is available for use by anyone in the sleeping cars. However, those who are in club rooms have priority. It can get busy, so it’s recommended to get there early in the evening to guarantee a space for dinner.
Breakfast time tends to be quieter with people booking staggered breakfast times. For breakfast just fill out your breakfast card and give it to one of the members of staff in the club car. They will ensure that your breakfast will be ready soon after you arrive in the club car.
The meals are excellent quality, with a wide range of locally sourced food. Including various Scottish delicacies. The staff will gladly help you with any dietary requirements too.
Caledonian Sleeper Lounges
London Euston has a lounge available for Club room guests on platform 1. It opens at 6pm in the evening for travel North and from 6.30-10am in the morning for arriving in the capital. A range of complimentary food and drinks are available in the lounge. This includes pastries and fruit in the morning and cakes and fruit in the evening. There are also hot drinks, fruit juices and even Irn Bru available.
The lounges have plenty of seating, many charging points if your device is short on battery, toilets and showers. You can also order other food from the paid menu, from snacks to meals.
There are also Caledonian Sleeper lounges at Inverness and Fort William. For club room guests arriving or leaving from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, you can use the shared lounges with other train operators. See the Caledonian Sleeper website for more details.
Cheaper Tickets on the Caledonian Sleeper Train
Would you like to use the Caledonian Sleeper train, but are looking for cheaper tickets? Well don’t fret, there are ways to make the ticket price a little cheaper.
First check if Caledonian Sleeper have any current offers, there are sometimes codes for discounts on ticket prices outside of the main summer season.
Next get yourself a railcard, we have the family and friends card, but there are lots of other options from 16-25 to senior railcards and two-together. These can cut the cost of the trip down quite substantially and can be used on the Caledonian Sleeper train. You can also use Tesco clubcard points to buy your railcard, bonus!
If you are travelling as a family, Caledonian Sleeper will automatically add a 33% discount. Just add the number of adults and children travelling on the train and the discount will be applied.
Hopefully that helps to make this an affordable way to travel to London and home again!
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