The Anonymous Widower

Man In Seat 61: My Nail-Biting Journey To Orkney By Train And Ferry

The title of this post is the same as that of this article in The Times.

This is the heading.

Now the Caledonian Sleeper connects the Midlands to Scotland in style. Mark Smith travels to the UK’s most northerly rail station and beyond

These are the first two paragraphs.

In January the Caledonian Sleeper added Birmingham to its route from London to Scotland — its first new stop in 30 years. With a ticket for one of the first departures and a bucket-list desire to see the historic naval anchorage that is Scapa Flow, I would ride the sleeper to Inverness, take Scotland’s scenic Far North Line to Britain’s northernmost station and then sail across the Pentland Firth to Stromness. I could leave my Buckinghamshire home in the evening and reach Orkney 24 hours later without setting foot on a plane. It sounded like a plan.

The Highland sleeper (which travels to the Highlands; there is also a Lowland sleeper that travels to Edinburgh and Glasgow) rolled into Birmingham International at 10.42pm on the dot. I was greeted at the door by a steward with a friendly Scottish accent and my room key. He jotted down my breakfast reservation and I headed for room 4 in car L. The Cal Sleeper is rightly proud of its Scottish-made mattresses and fluffy duvets and I drifted off to sleep in my cosy berth to the sound of steel wheel on steel rail.

I feel adding a Birmingham International stop is a masterstroke, as it gives so many travel options.

1. You could of course still join in London.
2. I might go to Birmingham on Chiltern, as I prefer the trains to Avanti West Coast.
3. There are lots of shows and exhibitions in Birmingham.
4. If you had a relative in Scotland and you lived in the far South-East of England and Wales, half of the journey would be in a comfortable bed.
5. Birmingham International has regular connections to Aberystwyth, Bournemouth, Pwllheli, Shrewsbury and Wrexham General.
6. Some journeys might be easier with a change between plane and sleeper train at Birmingham International.

The list is endless and will grow as travellers have other ideas.

More imagination needs to be added to train journeys.

My first thoughts are.

There needs to be a Lumo-style service between Birmingham and Scotland and a sleeper between Birmingham and Penzance.

February 20, 2026 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Avanti West Coast, Birmingham, Birmingham International Station, Caledonian Sleeper, Chiltern Railways, Inverness, London, Man In Seat 61, Scotland, Sleeper Train