Sleeper Wonders

I recently learned there are two sleeper train services here in Britain; to me this is amazing because the island of Great Britain is less than 250,000 square kilometres in area. Britain is a small island, you can drive across the longest part of the Island in less than 6 hours. The idea is you get a small room on a train and sleep on the train overnight while you travel to your destination, I think the train deliberately goes slowly so you can sleep better. You would do this as a tourist experience or if you needed to be up and about when you arrive there and only wanted to stay one day. If you booked early then you would condense your travel and hotel stay into one and save money, perhaps you were an elite journalist or something like that. 

Scottish Rail owns the Caledonian sleeper train service and Great Western Railways owns the Riviera Sleeper (London in the East to Cornwall in the West). The Caledonian Sleeper goes from Euston Terminal Station in London and Riviera Sleeper Goes From Paddington Station. 

Sleeper trains are fascinating because they're small boxes on trains that are fitted out as hotel rooms. They use lots of clever designs and features to use the limited space effectively. Both the Companies found different ways to solve the space problems. The riviera service has a cover that turns the small sink basin into a table and has a folding bunk bed that comes out of the wall. The Caledonian one has similar features but I think they managed to add a small on suite bathroom toilet bit into the space of a cupboard. 

Let me show you two videos so you can see for yourself. 

Caledonian Sleeper video

Reviera Sleeper Video

It makes me think about my own hospitality. If guests come over to visit me, would they enjoy their stay? Perhaps I should have my mind set on getting fluffy cushy couches with leg rests. Guests could visit and they would have a relaxing experience. I could bring them baked pasties and coffee with sugar free syrup barista style regularly. 

I imagined running a sleeper train service. Perhaps they could board the train long before it leaves the station. The train could use a lay-by platform in a less busy station instead of a grand terminal one in the city centre. It could stay there for 5 hours at a time. I wonder if they have sleeper coaches. 

London Tourism Advice

I'm no stranger to London and Easter is around the corner, I thought I should share some advice to tourists visiting London. 

Stay at the edge of the city, the hotels are cheaper there. I would recommend Uxbridge. If London was a clock face, Uxbridge would be where the number 10 is. There is a hotel next to the train station and the station has two lines that branch off from it. The chain hotels don't check or care how many people are in a room so you can bring inflatable mattresses and bring a whole family to one double room. 

If London was a clock face, Heathrow airport would be a polca dot beyond the clock face next to the number 9 so there are several buses that go from Heathrow to Uxbridge, the Carousel 102 to high Wycombe passes through Uxbridge. 

If you did stay at Uxbridge, there are several perks that come with the train station, both the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines stop at that station. 

If you stay on the metropolitan line and get off at Finchley road, you can get a Jubilee train from the same platform because jubilee and metropolitan line trains share a platform and go in the same direction. The Jubilee line stops at some key points on the river, by the clock tower with the big Ben bell in it and near London eye. The Jubilee line also stops at the Greenwich ("gren itch") peninsula. Most the interesting stuff is near the river, even Trafalgar Square is a 15 minute walk from the river Thames ("tems"). The Piccadilly line goes to most the important places, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and places like that.