Atherstone to Penzance (Night Riviera sleeper)

[sn1975]

Hi,

I'm planning a trip between Atherstone and Penzance, taking the Night Riviera sleeper between London Paddington and Penzance on the outward journey and ideally returning via London on an HST.

Unfortunately, I can't give dates at the moment but the trip will be sometime between mid July and the end of September.

I will be spending at least one day and one night in Penzance before returning. For example, travelling down on Thursday night / Friday morning, spending Friday in Penzance, Friday night in a B&B or hotel before returning on Saturday. I am flexible on days and times.

Is there a quietest night to travel on the sleeper?

On the outward journey between Atherstone and London Paddington, ideally I would like to travel from Atherstone to Birmingham New Street and then take a Virgin Pendolino service first class from Birmingham to London Euston, but this depends upon cost. I have noticed the 1910 from New Street, arriving Euston at 2034. Would an evening meal be available on this service?

What are my options for transferring between London Euston and London Paddington? Possibly a taxi, especially considering the time of day?

I thought about arriving at Paddington at about 2130 to allow for relaxing in the lounge before sleeper boarding at 2230?

On my return journey I would love to return via London Paddington on an HST, ideally first class, as I have never travelled long distance on an HST before and then perhaps returning to Birmingham with Virgin or even London Midland if necessary due to cost.

How do the fare prices compare for returning via London or direct to Birmingham from Penzance with CrossCountry? I imagine that XC would be prohibitively expensive in first class.

As I would be returning during the daytime I am flexible in times within reason.

Would I be better off buying tickets - off-peak? - for the entire journey, or would splitting be appropriate?

Any suggestions as always gratefully appreciated.

 

[bb21]

1910 from New Street is the last meal service of the day.

There is no through ticket valid via London so if you want to travel via London, you will have to split.

 

[calc7]

Note that the Wolverhampton-Birmingham-Euston trains serve "Evening supper" rather than "Evening meal" - typically this could mean a slightly smaller main course; and no cheese and biscuit option for dessert

 

[FenMan]

Hi,

What are my options for transferring between London Euston and London Paddington? Possibly a taxi, especially considering the time of day?

Euston to Paddington is easy using the westbound H&C/Circle line. From Euston take the - signposted - short walk to Euston Square Tube. Although the journey planners allow nearly an hour, the journey can be done platform to platform in under 30 minutes. There are services every 5 minutes or so at that time of the evening.

 

[LexyBoy]

FGW do quite good Advance fares in first- you will want first for this trip, standard is horrible. XC is likely to be expensive but it's worth checking as it would obviously be convenient.

Friday is the busiest day for the down sleeper but it's likely to be fairly busy on any day in the summer. Even so, you can probably get a good Advance fare if you can fix your dates a couple of months in advance- there's no sharing with strangers like on the Scottish sleepers so you'll get a room to yourself (with TV!).

 

[lemonic]

Be wary of the food offering on the 19:10 Birmingham to London train. When I travelled on it last summer in First Class, it was starting from Edinburgh not Wolverhampton and contrary to the timetable, there were no hot meals on offer, only the all day menu. It could have been a one-off though; I'm not sure.

 

[34D]

If you'll have a huge suitcase, then the 205 bus (Euston to Paddington) will be more convenient than dealing with stairs (at both tube stations iirc).

If you haven't done a sleeper before, then be prepared that you may get very little sleep (though that may be just me).

 

[causton]

If you'll have a huge suitcase, then the 205 bus (Euston to Paddington) will be more convenient than dealing with stairs (at both tube stations iirc).

If you haven't done a sleeper before, then be prepared that you may get very little sleep (though that may be just me).

Agreed - I guess. I would say the Tube was easy but if you have a lot of suitcases it can be awkward... but not a problem really especially with how much time you have! If you have a contactless payment card but not an Oyster it is also easier to just hop on the bus, tap and go, cheaper than cash fares!

Having been on the Night Riviera seated and the sleeper to Edinburgh in a berth (and repeating the latter on Sunday!) I would say you get some sleep, but potentially not a full night's depending on how easily you sleep (and for me how excited I was!)

 

[paul1609]

Agreed - I guess. I would say the Tube was easy but if you have a lot of suitcases it can be awkward... but not a problem really especially with how much time you have! If you have a contactless payment card but not an Oyster it is also easier to just hop on the bus, tap and go, cheaper than cash fares!

Having been on the Night Riviera seated and the sleeper to Edinburgh in a berth (and repeating the latter on Sunday!) I would say you get some sleep, but potentially not a full night's depending on how easily you sleep (and for me how excited I was!)

I have to say I actually sleep better on the Riviera than on the Scotrail Sleepers as the air conditioning doesnt keep going on and off in neutral sections. However services via Honiton can suffer some very rough shunting at Exeter and FGW seems to have some very loud announcements on the platforms overnight, again exeter seems to be very bad for this.

 

[bnm]

If you haven't done a sleeper before, then be prepared that you may get very little sleep (though that may be just me).

Ear plugs may help as will trying to get a berth in the centre of a carriage away from the bogies. On my last but one trip I had neither. And there was a wheel flat. So I had to resort to red wine to help me nod off.

 

[furgus2]

Regarding the 19:10 from BHM, a couple of times when I travelled on it recently, I also noted that no hot food was offered.
If travelling 1st class from Birmingham, I suggest you visit the 1st class lounge on your arrival in Euston. When a friend and I did this journey a couple of years ago, we spent about 30 minutes there and then had a casual walk to Paddington station. Maybe on your own and and that time of night and if you have to carry luggage, that's not a practical option. However, we enjoyed it and felt completely safe in so doing.

We arrived at Paddington about 22:00 and relaxed in the lounge there. Boarding of the Night Riviera was due to commence at 22:30 but I think it was closer to 22:45 when it actually started.

I too find that journeys on the Night Riviera are more relaxing, comfortable and pleasant than on Scotrail sleepers these days. Note that only soap and a towel are provided in the berths now although I was told last week that toothpaste and brush and also earplugs are available on request from the onboard lounge at no charge.