Every review of the Caledonian Sleeper starts the same way: someone boards at London Euston, has a drink in the fancy lounge, and wakes up in the Highlands.
That's not this review. I boarded at Preston station, at 00:35. Alone, on a freezing cold, dark platform, with a backpack full of camping gear, waiting for a train that was already half full of people who'd been asleep since London.
So here's my very honest review. And it might actually surprise you…
Before I get started, if you do fancy watching my entire experience, you’ll find it here:
Full Caledonian Sleeper YouTube video here
- Boarding outside London is a completely different experience
Here's the thing the other reviews won't tell you, because they all start at Euston: London passengers get a first-class lounge with showers, snacks and hot drinks before they board at a rather civilised 10:30 pm. Boarding at Preston however, gets you a dark, extremely cold (it’s like a freezer, even in summer) platform after midnight.
There's no lounge. There's no slow boarding process. The train rolls in at half midnight (if you’re lucky), you climb aboard as quietly as you can because everyone else is already asleep, and you find your room in a corridor so narrow I smashed my backpack against the wall roughly every two steps. Whilst also whispering “sorry!” to every single room I bashed into.
It's a strange way to start, half adventure, half feeling like you've broken into someone's house at night. But honestly? Standing alone on that platform waiting for a sleeper train to Scotland felt like the start of a proper adventure.
2. What it actually costs (brace yourself)
I'll get straight to the numbers, because this is the bit everyone argues about.
I paid £452, yes, you have read that right, for single occupancy, one way, Preston to Fort William in a Club room.
Prices vary a lot, I booked a month in advance. Other reviews quote cheaper fares, but those are usually the London–Edinburgh/Glasgow Lowlander route, often with two people splitting the room. The Highlander route to Fort William, on your own, is the expensive way to do it. I think people deserve to know that before they get their heart set on it.
The usual defence is "but it's your travel AND your hotel night combined”, and that's very true, it does save you a night's accommodation. But at £452 solo, it's not exactly saving you money. It's a treat. I did it as a present to myself for my 21st birthday, and that's exactly the right way to think about it.
Two people splitting the room changes the maths completely. Although, it also changes the space situation, more on that next.
Your four options are:
Caledonian Double En-suite - An actual double bed (all beds are handcrafted Glencraft mattresses, same as the Royal family), en-suite shower room, breakfast included, priority Club Car access, and use of the station lounges before and after (if you board somewhere that has one, Preston does not).
Club En-suite (the room I had) - same perks as the Double, but twin bunk beds instead of a double. Breakfast included, en-suite shower room, lounge and Club Car access.
Classic Room - twin bunks and a washbasin, no en-suite, no included breakfast. There's an interconnecting option so up to four of you can travel together. This is the sensible-money choice if you just want a bed and don't mind a walk to the loo!
Seated Coach - an overnight in a seat with an adjustable headrest and footrest, plug and USB sockets, and a sleep kit thrown in. By far the cheapest way to do it, and railcards work on seated fares. If you can sleep sitting up, fair play to you. I could not, and I didn't fully manage it lying down either...
3. The room: lovely, quaint, absolutely tiny
When I opened my door, there was a little bar of fudge waiting on my bed. Small thing, but it genuinely made my night. On the Caledonian, there are a few touches like that, the kind that make it feel like an experience rather than just a mode of transport.
The room itself is cosy in both senses of the word. It’s lovely, and it’s tiny.
I was travelling solo with a wild camping pack, and even alone it was a squeeze to get sorted. I honestly don't know how two people plus luggage would manage without a full negotiation over who moves when. The en-suite was brilliant to have, a private toilet on a train at 2am is a luxury I will never take for granted again, but there's a shower in there too and I genuinely cannot picture how you'd use it. It's claustrophobic just to stand in!
Would I still rather have the en-suite than not? Absolutely. Just don't expect a hotel bathroom. Expect a posh cupboard.
4. Will you actually sleep? (I didn't, much)
Honest answer: I fell asleep at about 3am and was up at 6am for breakfast. As a 9pm-6am person, 3 hours of sleep really didn’t cut it for me. Especially because I didn’t know where I was sleeping that night (like I said, camping trip…)
Some of that was the movement and noise of the train, it's a lot louder and jerkier than you'd expect, or at least more than I expected. Some of it was excitement though, and rightfully so. If you're a light sleeper, go in with realistic expectations: this is not the best night's sleep of your life. It's a night's sleep on a moving train.
5. The morning is the entire point
Even after falling asleep at 3am, as soon as my alarm echoed through my tiny cupboard with a bed, I was immediately awake. I dragged myself to the Club Car at 6am, had a full Scottish breakfast, and sat there with a coffee as the train crossed into the Highlands.
Rolling across Rannoch Moor, with red deer running alongside the train, is an experience I will never forget.
Three hours of sleep, £452 worse off, and I'd have paid it again in that moment. There is no other journey in Britain where you eat a full cooked breakfast while watching deer run across one of the wildest, emptiest places in the country. That half hour is what you're actually buying.
The breakfast itself was surprisingly good, and the coffee kept coming, I had about three cups and didn't pay for any of them. Breakfast is included with the en-suite rooms (you can have it in the Club Car or delivered to your room. My advice - go to the Club Car, the view is the whole point).
6. So… is the Caledonian Sleeper worth it?
Here's my honest verdict.
Worth it if: it's a one-off treat, a celebration, or the start of a Highland adventure. Especially if there are two of you splitting the room cost. Waking up in the Highlands of Scotland with a coffee in hand is genuinely one of the best travel moments I've had in the UK.
Not worth it if: you're expecting good sleep, spacious comfort, or value-for-money transport.
Would I do it again? Not on my own at that price, I'd struggle to justify it twice. But with someone to split the cost? I’d be back in a heartbeat! Though I'd also warn that the room is cramped for one person, let alone two, so pack light. Do not, for example, bring a full wild camping backpack. Please learn from me.
Practical bits
- Route: Preston to Fort William (the "Highlander" route: London Euston to Fort William, calling at Preston around 00:35)
- What I paid: £452, single occupancy en-suite room, one way (Club cabin)
- Cheaper options: Classic rooms (no en-suite) and the seated coach bring the price down a lot; railcards work on seated fares too!
- Book at: https://www.sleeper.scot/