I traveled for 2 weeks on a 1st class BritRail pass in June 1990. Took the Cornish Riviera to Penzance & returned on Night Riviera. Cheers from Vancouver.
We did the Night Riviera and Caledonian Sleeper just a few days apart and were so impressed with both! The beds on the Night Riviera beat the Caledonian Sleeper, though! Those mattresses were so plush! Love reliving the journey via videos like this one, so thanks for posting! We just shared our experience, too. So fun!
At 7:24, you hit the nail on the head when you say, "There's something absolutely wonderful about gliding through the darkness in your very own sleeper cabin."
a remodelled class 47, very nice indeed for the train buff. yup indeed Scot, green is mean, cant imagine their alternative for the green probably Fred Carnos Circus coloured.
Thank you for this wonderful journey. I like watching your videos because I like to travel with my son on the trains, and thanks to your comments I can learn English.
Just found your channel Scott and now a subscriber. I live with my family in the Gover Valley, just outside St Austell, we can see the railway viaduct from our house. Love hearing and seeing the trains trundle past. Looking forward to catching up with your other work. You have a very relaxing style of presenting.
So glad this channel found its way to my feed. Brilliant. Along with Noel Phillips, always well presented, informative and fun. Watched the Paris to London video, and it was the best 30 mins of TV in many a moon. Cheers Scott. 👍👍
I have this on my bucket list as well, next time I'm in the UK. I'm with you, Scott, on the livery. I think the dark green color looks very nice. And I love the slam doors!
Cool journey! Always fancied it myself, but never been for the very reasons you mentioned! Great to see the experience through your eyes - I'd heard it was a lot smoother and quieter than the Caley! Looking forward to the journey home too :)
I remember as a lad sleepers all over the UK. So sad so few exist these days. Could you imagine the convenience of one from Inverness to Penzance via Glasgow and Birmingham...
Great review! I live near Penzance and use the sleeper train a fair amount when commuting to London for meetings and events. I find the sleeper births very comfortable and always get a good nights sleep. The bar area is good and the staff on board are excellent. The train moves relatively slowly and smoothly as it’s not in rush, so none of the 125mph rock and roll from the GWR normal express trains. Highly recommended!
I love your unique and entertaining style of presenting, Scott, and particularly enjoyed this video. Many thanks for the hard work and care you put into all your posts. Please keep them coming!
I hope when the time comes to replace the coaches, GWR will get a new sleeper fleet. Alstom now own the design rights to the MK3 and it would be fantastic if they could offer a updated version. I know that is unlikely though.
I don't know how I remember but sleeping on the sleeper train going to Penzance is like being in a pram as a baby. Rolling and rocking all night very cosy and relaxing. Thanks for a great vid 🙏💎
That one was fun. I like the colour, but then one of my favourite colours is British racing green. Looking forward to the video with the 7 ticket split. Cheers.
Well done GWR, very slack with the showers at both station but the dark green train looks the business. Loved the views from the rear carriage. It passes about a mile from our house every night, on the bucket list for sometime 👍
What a lovely train and wonderful trip. I can't explain why but I actually found it moving. Maybe I'm just a kid at heart too as far as train travel is concerned. Thank you Scott. Look forward to your 'exciting' trip back home.
Very useful Scott. I've done the 5PM Riviera in first class with food and now I'm planning on going to the Scilly Isles with a sleeper on both ends of the trip
Excellent as usual! Although I have used Paddington many times I have never seen it at night, You have captured the ambiance very well. I have done the journey to Redruth very many times, very scenic, especially beyond Exeter so a daylight trip would be well worth your while.
Thanks Scott. When the new CAF stock for Cal Sleeper was about to enter service i thought it was the bee's knees compared to what GWR was operating. But, given all the teething issues withe the CAF stock, I have been proved wrong.
Thank you so much for this! It's been 20+ years since I travelled on the Night Riviera Sleeper (heading the other way!). We've been wondering whether to have another go, so I'm grateful for the lovely review. I commute by train from Redruth to Penzance every weekday morning, and it's a great little journey, even when the weather isn't the best. I hope you had time to spend some time in lovely Penzance before heading back! For anyone else making the trip, if you look up 'Walking Tour of Penzance', there's a lovely lady called Anna who does walking tours (some free, some paid) from just outside the train station entrance.
I got to use the shower facilities at London Paddington for free before my "Night Riviera" Sleeper journey to Penzance/Pensans in November 2019. The First Class Lounge attendant provided me with a large towel and a small bottle of shampoo, The water was plenty warm enough!
Beautiful part of the country had the opportunity to do Devon and Cornwall Tours few years back. Pop into Tintagel just watch out for the seagulls...they stole my pasty 😭Safe journeys and thank you for sharing Scott.
You're so right about the colour of the train. The first time I saw that train it was like going back in time. A little memory of yesteryear. So much better than the garish colours that often assault our eyes on all sorts of things nowadays. Or maybe I'm just getting old. 😉
I think you're bang on about the heritage of the colour, and I think you're bang on about the need to show off split ticketing. Of the two sleepers that certainly seemed the more dignified, but I'm now impatient for the return leg.
In the BR days, there used to be a lot more. London to Liverpool and Manchester, London to Edinburgh and Aberdeen via the East Coast and Plymouth to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and they would convey your car too.
Penzance truly is a lovely place. The last time I went there, I went by coach. The journey consisted of :- Cumnock to Glasgow, Glasgow to Birmingham, Birmingham to Plymouth & Plymouth to Penzance (a total of 26 hours travelling). The first time I went there was in 2002 & it was just 1 coach from Edinburgh to Penzance with a journey time of 19 and a half hours. When I was there 2 years ago, I went to St Michael's Mount & quickly discovered that you had to be at least half fit to get up to it lol.
Thanks Scott. Yes the green looks good on Mk3s, DMUs, Castle sets and the EMUs. Much better than earlier First Group attempts. However the green does’t look so good on the Hitachi IETs. Maybe something a bit more dynamic is needed to cope with all the crevices and tapers on their bodywork.
Great views of the south west coast esp Dawlish Warren and over the brunel bridge into Cornwall on this train trip, loves this route Scott like all your adventures. You should try the mini tamar valley train from Plymouth to Gunnislake with beautiful views of the river tamar and the viaducts and a trip to Calstock too❤
Having travelled on both the Caledonian Sleeper and the Night Riviera I can only agree that the GWR is the better experience. You get plenty of complimentary food and drink with the Night Riviera, not so with the Caledonian. I also love the green livery. It's such a change from the drab grey or silver that most TOCs opt for. Great video. Nice one Scott. Happy travelling!
We were also pleasantly surprised with how lovely the Night Riviera was given that we see a lot more posted about the Caledonian Sleeper-- we did both just a few days apart and loved each of them.
One day, or night even, I’m going on a sleeper train. Been something I’ve wanted to do all my life. Maybe a double header, Glasgow to London followed by London to Penzance the next night.
Loved the video as always. Impressed with the quietness, especially for a sleeper train. And the smoothness too. I've crossed Australia on the Indian Pacific. Somewhere in the outback of Western Australia, I woke up and the train gentle bouncing up and down. Don't ask me how or why. However, it rhythmically put me back to sleep. I liked your line on the "happy as a pig...in mud". I play around with this line. I often sat to someone "I'm happy as a pig in...very damp soil". Some think and smile, others think and walk away pondering. Keep it up Scottie!
I am 2 mins in and i love anyone who has the intelligence to research and check and work out with a little time and a few brain cells you can get to do what you do so I like that a lot. I did it with flights and not many people have sat in first class and I. The next seat is a toy turtle being handed hot towels. I’m fact the whole 777 was ours ok not expected but that’s a story! So this is my decision maker for this experience as it’s been on my bucket list and might book tonight just checking so let’s see !!
Just catching up on your videos. Suggestion: how about a map showing where you are and where you are going. As an American, most of those city names, other than the big ones, are unfamiliar and make it hard to visualize your trip. Great videos anyway.
Brilliant vlog Scott!! Looking forward to seeing the next vlog. Totally agree about the colour, it is amazing and a nod to their heritage. Hope all is well, take care
i live and was born in Penzance and have used this sleeper up to london for many years its a very good experience even before the recent upgrade staff through out the years are always good..its like light years away from day time trains.
Last time on that train was early 60's (60 and 61), one could have a late dinner in the Dining car (Mum and Dad did and breakfast (all of us), all wood panelling, with rattles and squeaks to send one to sleep. Dad's car on the flat bed wagons on the rear of the train. The car had to be dropped off to the side of Paddington an hour or more before departure and collected from a yard at Exeter, Plymouth or Truro and from Penzance as a wagon was detached at each of those. One hoped they were all loaded in the right order on the right wagons.
Another great video from you, well done. Love a sleeper train. Have done 3 now. London to Edinburgh, Sydney to Perth and Singapore to Bangkok. Loved them all. Just one question if I may. Why is that loco on the rear end from London?
They’re OK if you have the need to arrive at your destination at 6am. Otherwise catch a day time train (much cheaper) and arrive in time for lunch when most civilised meetings occur!
Having travelled on both, the Night Riviera is, for me, far better than the Cal Sleeper, for all the reasons mentioned in this and other reviews. Also the First Class Lounge at Paddington (available for sleeper passengers) is like something out of a Victorian period drama. Just stunning and a great way to begin your journey.
Great video. As someone who has lived in the West Country it used to be one heck of a lot easier to get to/from Scotland when we still had the Plymouth to Glasgow and Edinburgh sleeper... They were always well used, but I believe they didn't fit with the 'map' of franchising as services were let, so had to go. Also wondering if the smoothness owes something to the better track engineering compared to the West Coast line - when trying to get work done while travelling, I always note that it's less bumpy on the routes out of Paddington than Euston.
Great video, Kid at Heart, definitely. The 7 split ticket sounds interesting. Coincidentally few days back watched the identical journey by @GLovesTrains which was equally entertaining.
Usually the only complain I have on GWR is also the WiFi is something you can treat as non-existent. Prepare your mobile data, or you can only have the station WiFi the short time it stop at each station.
I traveled for 2 weeks on a 1st class BritRail pass in June 1990. Took the Cornish Riviera to Penzance & returned on Night Riviera. Cheers from Vancouver.
We did the Night Riviera and Caledonian Sleeper just a few days apart and were so impressed with both! The beds on the Night Riviera beat the Caledonian Sleeper, though! Those mattresses were so plush! Love reliving the journey via videos like this one, so thanks for posting! We just shared our experience, too. So fun!
It's a lovely rich dark green colour that highlights the heritage of GWR. Great video Scott
At 7:24, you hit the nail on the head when you say, "There's something absolutely wonderful about gliding through the darkness in your very own sleeper cabin."
100% agree!
You cannot beat a sleeper train with your own cabin. Great film Scott 👍👍
That's the truth!
Great episode Scott! Can't wait for the 7 way split ticket episode to come either!
a remodelled class 47, very nice indeed for the train buff. yup indeed Scot, green is mean, cant imagine their alternative for the green probably Fred Carnos Circus coloured.
Thank you for this wonderful journey. I like watching your videos because I like to travel with my son on the trains, and thanks to your comments I can learn English.
Just found your channel Scott and now a subscriber.
I live with my family in the Gover Valley, just outside St Austell, we can see the railway viaduct from our house. Love hearing and seeing the trains trundle past.
Looking forward to catching up with your other work. You have a very relaxing style of presenting.
So glad this channel found its way to my feed.
Brilliant. Along with Noel Phillips, always well presented, informative and fun.
Watched the Paris to London video, and it was the best 30 mins of TV in many a moon.
Cheers Scott. 👍👍
I have this on my bucket list as well, next time I'm in the UK. I'm with you, Scott, on the livery. I think the dark green color looks very nice. And I love the slam doors!
Glad you had a good trip. i agree about the green!
Gosh that's much smoother than when I did it a decade or so ago!
Cool journey! Always fancied it myself, but never been for the very reasons you mentioned! Great to see the experience through your eyes - I'd heard it was a lot smoother and quieter than the Caley! Looking forward to the journey home too :)
I like GWR green too Scott. Great video. Really enjoyed watching this.
I remember as a lad sleepers all over the UK. So sad so few exist these days. Could you imagine the convenience of one from Inverness to Penzance via Glasgow and Birmingham...
❤ imagine that ❤
Can you imagine the cost
@@Oddly1970 split tickets 😂
@@mott2945 imagine that Roflmao 🤣
There used to be a Motor rail service from Newton Abbott to Inverness many moons ago.
Great review! I live near Penzance and use the sleeper train a fair amount when commuting to London for meetings and events. I find the sleeper births very comfortable and always get a good nights sleep. The bar area is good and the staff on board are excellent. The train moves relatively slowly and smoothly as it’s not in rush, so none of the 125mph rock and roll from the GWR normal express trains. Highly recommended!
The bar staff are SO lovely!
That's the best video you've made so far, in my opinion. I'm an avid follower, I love what you do.
I love your unique and entertaining style of presenting, Scott, and particularly enjoyed this video. Many thanks for the hard work and care you put into all your posts. Please keep them coming!
You cannot beat a BR MK3 coach. Better than anything else on the railway.
I hope when the time comes to replace the coaches, GWR will get a new sleeper fleet. Alstom now own the design rights to the MK3 and it would be fantastic if they could offer a updated version. I know that is unlikely though.
I don't know how I remember but sleeping on the sleeper train going to Penzance is like being in a pram as a baby. Rolling and rocking all night very cosy and relaxing. Thanks for a great vid 🙏💎
Great Vlog...to the point..calling Spade a Spade and appreciating where one should....Always refreshing to watch your vlog....Keep it going..
That one was fun. I like the colour, but then one of my favourite colours is British racing green. Looking forward to the video with the 7 ticket split. Cheers.
Really glad you enjoyed the trip, it looks great. I've always found staff at Paddington to be very surly and unfriendly.
Love this video. I travelled on the sleeper from Manchester to Penzance with a group of friends when we were 17. Loved it
Well done GWR, very slack with the showers at both station but the dark green train looks the business. Loved the views from the rear carriage. It passes about a mile from our house every night, on the bucket list for sometime 👍
Dark green for the carriages? Never! Chocolate-and cream!
That was a beautiful journey to Penzance, very civilized being able to sleep well. Thank you. The scenery of the ocean was lovely also.
Great watch Scott, it’s on my bucket list as well 👍
What a lovely train and wonderful trip. I can't explain why but I actually found it moving. Maybe I'm just a kid at heart too as far as train travel is concerned. Thank you Scott. Look forward to your 'exciting' trip back home.
i find it moving all the time arriving at Penzance...I live and was born there! you need to be cornish to know
Very useful Scott. I've done the 5PM Riviera in first class with food and now I'm planning on going to the Scilly Isles with a sleeper on both ends of the trip
Excellent as usual! Although I have used Paddington many times I have never seen it at night, You have captured the ambiance very well. I have done the journey to Redruth very many times, very scenic, especially beyond Exeter so a daylight trip would be well worth your while.
Glad you had a nice smooth journey Scott! But why oh why can we not get the basics like functioning showers and available towels right? Very shoddy.
Thanks Scott. When the new CAF stock for Cal Sleeper was about to enter service i thought it was the bee's knees compared to what GWR was operating. But, given all the teething issues withe the CAF stock, I have been proved wrong.
A video on how you sorce and how much you pay for your multi ticket journeys would be most welcome .
What a fantastic review of the GWR Night Rivera I really enjoyed watching this Vlog keep up the good work
Wow that was a cool train. My favorite color is close. Hunter green. Thanks Scott.
Great report. Your enthusiasm is infectious. I'm traveling on it this Thursday - very excited.
Thank you so much for this! It's been 20+ years since I travelled on the Night Riviera Sleeper (heading the other way!). We've been wondering whether to have another go, so I'm grateful for the lovely review. I commute by train from Redruth to Penzance every weekday morning, and it's a great little journey, even when the weather isn't the best. I hope you had time to spend some time in lovely Penzance before heading back! For anyone else making the trip, if you look up 'Walking Tour of Penzance', there's a lovely lady called Anna who does walking tours (some free, some paid) from just outside the train station entrance.
Thanks for great video that is on my bucket list as well
I got to use the shower facilities at London Paddington for free before my "Night Riviera" Sleeper journey to Penzance/Pensans in November 2019. The First Class Lounge attendant provided me with a large towel and a small bottle of shampoo, The water was plenty warm enough!
Beautiful part of the country had the opportunity to do Devon and Cornwall Tours few years back. Pop into Tintagel just watch out for the seagulls...they stole my pasty 😭Safe journeys and thank you for sharing Scott.
Brilliant video, your content is absolutely awesome Scott, thanks for all you do and please don’t stop!
Realy enjoyed this video Scott, to me one of the best ones you have done, great music and ambience, was really enjoyable.
To bad sleeper trains are so hard to book these days especially in summer and in combination with an Interrail pass. Ow yeah and getting to expensive.
You're so right about the colour of the train. The first time I saw that train it was like going back in time. A little memory of yesteryear. So much better than the garish colours that often assault our eyes on all sorts of things nowadays. Or maybe I'm just getting old. 😉
I think you're bang on about the heritage of the colour, and I think you're bang on about the need to show off split ticketing. Of the two sleepers that certainly seemed the more dignified, but I'm now impatient for the return leg.
Is there a need for more sleeper trains ? I think yes maybe London to Wales . London to Edinburgh via East Coast . The More competition the better.
In the BR days, there used to be a lot more. London to Liverpool and Manchester, London to Edinburgh and Aberdeen via the East Coast and Plymouth to Glasgow and Edinburgh, and they would convey your car too.
They should be a standard way of transportation in any major tourist destination everywhere in the world if you ask me
Good, informative vlog 👍🏻
Enjoyed this, I would also love this journey some day 🤞looking forward to the seven seat change tickerty split journey 😮
Very interesting.Thankyou I really enjoyed the video
excellent again.
Penzance truly is a lovely place. The last time I went there, I went by coach. The journey consisted of :- Cumnock to Glasgow, Glasgow to Birmingham, Birmingham to Plymouth & Plymouth to Penzance (a total of 26 hours travelling). The first time I went there was in 2002 & it was just 1 coach from Edinburgh to Penzance with a journey time of 19 and a half hours. When I was there 2 years ago, I went to St Michael's Mount & quickly discovered that you had to be at least half fit to get up to it lol.
They have split the services at Birmingham since covid
Thanks Scott. Yes the green looks good on Mk3s, DMUs, Castle sets and the EMUs. Much better than earlier First Group attempts. However the green does’t look so good on the Hitachi IETs. Maybe something a bit more dynamic is needed to cope with all the crevices and tapers on their bodywork.
I have travelled on that several times, and it has always been a great experience. I usually stay awake until Reading too!
Great views of the south west coast esp Dawlish Warren and over the brunel bridge into Cornwall on this train trip, loves this route Scott like all your adventures. You should try the mini tamar valley train from Plymouth to Gunnislake with beautiful views of the river tamar and the viaducts and a trip to Calstock too❤
That goes through Taunton, I live near there in Bridgwater, sadly the sleeper just bypass’ the line
Great!
Having travelled on both the Caledonian Sleeper and the Night Riviera I can only agree that the GWR is the better experience. You get plenty of complimentary food and drink with the Night Riviera, not so with the Caledonian. I also love the green livery. It's such a change from the drab grey or silver that most TOCs opt for. Great video. Nice one Scott. Happy travelling!
We were also pleasantly surprised with how lovely the Night Riviera was given that we see a lot more posted about the Caledonian Sleeper-- we did both just a few days apart and loved each of them.
Scott only you could make green paint interesting !!!!!🤣
Good video, glad you had agood journey,
Yes I love that green too !
Great job Scott also on my bucket list
Excellent video
One day, or night even, I’m going on a sleeper train. Been something I’ve wanted to do all my life. Maybe a double header, Glasgow to London followed by London to Penzance the next night.
This is on my bucket list. Looking forward to the return journey.
thanks fascinated to see the return journey and the reason for all those tickets!!!!
Loved the video as always. Impressed with the quietness, especially for a sleeper train. And the smoothness too. I've crossed Australia on the
Indian Pacific. Somewhere in the outback of Western Australia, I woke up and the train gentle bouncing up and down. Don't ask me how or why.
However, it rhythmically put me back to sleep. I liked your line on the "happy as a pig...in mud". I play around with this line. I often sat to someone
"I'm happy as a pig in...very damp soil". Some think and smile, others think and walk away pondering. Keep it up Scottie!
I am 2 mins in and i love anyone who has the intelligence to research and check and work out with a little time and a few brain cells you can get to do what you do so I like that a lot.
I did it with flights and not many people have sat in first class and I. The next seat is a toy turtle being handed hot towels.
I’m fact the whole 777 was ours ok not expected but that’s a story!
So this is my decision maker for this experience as it’s been on my bucket list and might book tonight just checking so let’s see !!
Just catching up on your videos. Suggestion: how about a map showing where you are and where you are going. As an American, most of those city names, other than the big ones, are unfamiliar and make it hard to visualize your trip. Great videos anyway.
Cool vid, it sounded so quiet and smooth
Brilliant vlog Scott!! Looking forward to seeing the next vlog. Totally agree about the colour, it is amazing and a nod to their heritage. Hope all is well, take care
I love Kernow/Cornwall! This is on my bucket list!
i live and was born in Penzance and have used this sleeper up to london for many years its a very good experience even before the recent upgrade staff through out the years are always good..its like light years away from day time trains.
Also on my bucket list snd continuing on to the Isles of Scilly.
Really enjoyed this video.
Last time on that train was early 60's (60 and 61), one could have a late dinner in the Dining car (Mum and Dad did and breakfast (all of us), all wood panelling, with rattles and squeaks to send one to sleep. Dad's car on the flat bed wagons on the rear of the train. The car had to be dropped off to the side of Paddington an hour or more before departure and collected from a yard at Exeter, Plymouth or Truro and from Penzance as a wagon was detached at each of those. One hoped they were all loaded in the right order on the right wagons.
That was a great review !!! :):):)
Thank you. Amazed no showers on train
Hi Scott your on a mk 3 coach 'superior build quality.
Brilliant video...
Another great video from you, well done. Love a sleeper train. Have done 3 now. London to Edinburgh, Sydney to Perth and Singapore to Bangkok. Loved them all. Just one question if I may. Why is that loco on the rear end from London?
What a brilliant service
Used this service from St Austell to Penzance and return when holidaying in Megavissey; the train staff, we found, were rude.
Thanks for the ride !!! 🇺🇾
Great review! When you say there is no Wifi, there kind of is- GWR wifi is “great western Railway wifi” and is on the train
They’re OK if you have the need to arrive at your destination at 6am. Otherwise catch a day time train (much cheaper) and arrive in time for lunch when most civilised meetings occur!
Having travelled on both, the Night Riviera is, for me, far better than the Cal Sleeper, for all the reasons mentioned in this and other reviews. Also the First Class Lounge at Paddington (available for sleeper passengers) is like something out of a Victorian period drama. Just stunning and a great way to begin your journey.
Used to be Queen Victoria's waiting room.
Nice job Rusty
Added to my bucket list. 🙂
Great video. As someone who has lived in the West Country it used to be one heck of a lot easier to get to/from Scotland when we still had the Plymouth to Glasgow and Edinburgh sleeper... They were always well used, but I believe they didn't fit with the 'map' of franchising as services were let, so had to go.
Also wondering if the smoothness owes something to the better track engineering compared to the West Coast line - when trying to get work done while travelling, I always note that it's less bumpy on the routes out of Paddington than Euston.
Amazing
Great vid. Scott, but jeez those corridors are narrow! Cheers from Oz.
If it was wider the rooms would be smaller. It's a train.............
I know it’s a train but I live overseas! The UK (I was born there) had the first trains in the world, thus a very small loading guage!
Great video, Kid at Heart, definitely.
The 7 split ticket sounds interesting.
Coincidentally few days back watched the identical journey by @GLovesTrains which was equally entertaining.
Miss this train growing up in Penzance was always a life saver those seats are the old first class seats
When are you doing the next timetable challenge? Rlly looking forward to it
Enjoyed your vid! Come to Japan and do a vid :) Japan is all about punctuality in transport.
Great video, don't suppose you could drop a hint to the price of this journey?
6:40 so it's not just me then. 🤣
Usually the only complain I have on GWR is also the WiFi is something you can treat as non-existent. Prepare your mobile data, or you can only have the station WiFi the short time it stop at each station.
It's like a British Racing Green eh? Very classy, makes me think of the Orient Express or something :)