Aberdeen by Caledonian Sleeper

 

 

Mrs maytrees and myself decided  to take a short break in Aberdeen before the schools broke up for the summer holidays. 

A few years ago in 2007, we took the  sleeper train to Inverness for a Valentine's  day holiday in February. 

We traveled then on the old Caledonian sleeper and enjoyed a  surprisingly sunny break in the snow; see Old Caledonian. On the current occasion in May 2025, the train was much newer and the dining menu had been spruced up. 

However many readers of The Daily Telegraph newspaper recently posted online comments moaning in respect of the new Caledonian Sleeper, about this and that, though I posted my own comment by way of contrast. For example I said:

My wife and myself traveled Euston to and from Aberdeen on this train returning today. Staff were friendly, train was fine and journey far better than plane or car. Whisky on board was excellent too. Food with real cutlery rather than plane plastic.

 No cattle truck type experience as on planes, nor traffic jams as on roads.

Whereas as indicated earlier, nearly all the other comments were critical, for example a longer one reading:

When the new Caledonian Sleeper carriages were introduced in 2019, they included en-suite rooms and other upgrades. However, these features came at the cost of reducing space elsewhere in the train, the berths and corridors are claustrophobically narrow.The new Caledonian Sleeper carriages are noisier and less comfortable, made from lighter modern materials with less effective suspension, and poor acoustic insulation compared to the old sleepers. Worn out tracks, maintenance problems exacerbate rattling and vibrations, loose fittings inside carriages add to the noise. The older trains were heavier and better tested for smoother travelling, making them quieter and more enjoyable. The current carriages prioritise efficiency and capacity over passenger comfort, which might explain why fewer people choose to travel on this train again.

Possibly many today moan more about many things, than did the generation born  before, during or just after  after WWII when there was eg still food rationing in the 1950s.

For the remainder of this blog post there are posted pictures of the Caledonian Sleeper. 

Details of our very interesting and enjoyable stay in Aberdeen will hopefully,follow next week.

 

 

To the left  is picture of the dining car, with a picture of my bunk bed    in   the comfortable cabin  above and above left, which cabin also had   its own private shower room with a loo. 

 

Below is  a picture of mrs maytrees enjoying a glass of 12 year old single malt Scotch on the journey back to London Euston.

 

The crew were very helpful. Our meals which they served, were as below with breakfast being included in the fares:

The sadness apart from the break in Aberdeen being so brief, was the fact that there were so few other travelers. Train travel is far less polluting than travel by air or car yet some roads on the route back were jammed. The train journey fare is a factor but bearing in mind the comfortable sleeping arrangements on board, the train costs are not much more expensive than a combination of car petrol and overnight stay costs would be. 

 

Of course a car driver would be ill advised en route, to enjoy the malt whiskies we both enjoyed.