My wife could only get this Monday off work and getting the Monday overnight sleeper back home would have been too late for her. We therefore looked for a day train service from Inverness to London using the National Rail website. We were amazed to find that we could get singles on the Highland Chieftan direct service to Kings Cross for just £16/person. At first I thought this was a mistake, but booked immediately.

I have never previously been on a day train between lnverness and London. I recall decades ago my grandparents taking a train from Euston to Inverness (the Clansman?) which took at least ten hours. The current service is operated by National Express via Edinburgh.

 

The train is an InterCity 125 which despite its quarter of a century age was well fitted out inside. There was even a free wireless internet which some people were using. Importantly the windows were clean unlike the journey up on the Caledonian Sleeper!

 

We left on time at 7:55 and rapidly left Inverness and sped up towards Slochd summit. There was a "big sky" view back to Ben Wyvis from the Moy area.

 

A few minutes before Aviemore, we got a good view of the Cairngorms. The picture taken leaving Aviemore station shows the Lairig Ghru pass that goes between the highest Cairngorm peaks. I was pleased to see that the train was fairly full a good 70% occupancy.

 

The countryside in the Spey valley became more and more desolate as we went upstream. After Dalwhinnie where was a view to Loch Ericht and shortly after that we sped over Drumochter Pass. I recall taking the train from Inverness to Glasgow as a student and we certainly seemed to be going a lot slower then. This train also stops far less - only at Aviemore, Kingussie and Pitlochry between Inverness and Perth.

 

After Drumochter Pass the Sun came out and we got a glorious view towards Loch Garry (above). The hills seemed less desolate as we went south through Blair Atholl.

 

The train slowed by the pass of Killiecrankie and then stopped at Pitlochry. South of Pitlochry the landscape softened as we headed out of the Highlands to Perth.

 

Between Perth and Stirling, there were big sky views across to the Southern Highlands such as the view above to Schiehallion.

 

We crossed the Forth just before stopping at Stirling. After Stirling we sped across the lowlands towards Edinburgh. The last glimpse of the Highlands was just before Linlithgow.

 

You get a glimpse of Edinburgh Castle as you pass below it on the way into Waverley station. We stopped there for a good 15 minutes and then headed along the coast towards Berwick upon Tweed and the English border. There were good views of the Firth of Forth and the North Sea. After speeding through Berwick we passed along the sand dunes of Northumberland before stopping at Newcastle.

By Newcastle the train was at least 90% full. I was pleased that a steward went 4 times through the train with a large rubbish sack between Edinburgh and London. On so many trains in the past the bins have overflowed on a long journey.

The remaining journey offered views of Durham Cathederal, York Minster and Peterborough Cathederal. However with the train full it was not easy to get up and take photos. There was a large catering staff on the train (at least 4) and a good trolley service.

We arrived in Kings Cross ten minutes early. The entire journey was 7 hours and 50 minutes.

 Comfort, cleanliness, service, views, punctuality and price.

I do not know how typical our experience was but we were very pleased with this service.