How to make the journey the best part of your break
For the Easter holidays, my husband (Alex), our three-year-old daughter (Zelda) and six-year-old son (Sonny) and I jumped aboard the Caledonian Sleeper to travel from London to Aviemore. Despite having family accommodation on the outskirts of the scenic Scottish town, we hadn't ventured up since the kids were born, worried they’d struggle with the long journey. But here we were, hoping that staying in an overnight cabin would change all that – by turning the travelling into the part we were actually looking forward to most, rather than the bit we were dreading (with the bonus that we’d all be asleep for most of it).
To go from home to our destination took 14 hours and 48 minutes in total (17 hours and eight on the way back) – and (spoiler!) we actually would have liked for it to last longer. Well, at least the sleeper train part.
The way there
Day 1: London Euston to Glasgow Central
After taking our usual bus and tube to the centre of town from our zone 3 home – just a lot later than usual, setting off at about 9.15pm – we got to London Euston and made our way to the ticket machine, where Sonny helped print off our 18 tickets – and that was just for the way there. Had I not had Byway’s Trip Guide sent to me several weeks before, this could have felt a little daunting. But being prepped and knowing I could keep referring to the itinerary throughout on my phone (which I did) helped put any inner admin nerves at ease.
Becky Lucas
We strolled across the by-then quiet station towards platform one, where our train was already waiting. There is a special Caledonian Sleeper guest lounge just off it too, though this is exclusively for double and club room travellers, which we’d saved on by opting for more pocket-friendly tickets. And anyway, we wanted Sonny and Zelda to be able to run around, be noisy and enjoy the space at the top of the platform (as well as wear themselves out) before boarding. We planned to get comfortable in our rooms from the permitted hour before it started moving, and later, we hoped, take it in turns to visit the bar carriage instead, child-free.
Becky Lucas
Entering our two Classic Family interconnecting cabins, joined by a door that could remain open, was quite a moment. Clean and compact, they instantly felt extremely cosy. There were a few essentials neatly laid out (eye masks, ear plugs, menus, dinky Arran lime, rose and sandalwood soaps) and well-placed coat hooks and spaces to lay our bags; a friendly, professional porter let us know there was space for our buggy alongside bikes in another carriage just a short walk away. Admittedly, there isn’t a great deal of space between your pillow and the ceiling on the top bunk, but it’s not designed for sitting up, and if anything this makes lying down and relaxing all the more the order of the night.
After some hanging upside down from the ladder and trying on the tartan eye masks, Sonny and Zelda fell into deep sleep in their bunks within a staggering 10-15 minutes of departure (it was 11.40pm by then too) – which meant it was time for us to take it in turns to visit the bar car, a carriage or so away. Not cheap but worth it for the experience and the taste, I plumped for a Glaswegin and tonic, while Alex got into a 12-year-old Arran whisky.
Becky Lucas
Day 2: Glasgow Queen Street to Aviemore
So deeply passed out were we all that I woke to my 6.45am alarm, set to make sure we would be up and ready to vacate the train upon arrival in Glasgow at 7.30am. In all of her three and three quarter years, Zelda had not yet slept through the night – so this was nothing short of a small miracle. Walking out into the morning sunshine, we scanned online for suitable, child-friendly breakfast spots within walking distance. We hadn’t opted for any of the onboard fare, which could have been delivered to our room or the restaurant car had we arranged it before bed. As tempting as a (somewhat pricy) on-board full Scottish breakfast was, we didn’t want to rush breakfast.
Becky Lucas
Thankfully, there were lots of spots to choose from in the city’s many grand Victorian converted buildings with wonderful architectural bones, located between Glasgow Central, where we’d arrived, and Glasgow Queen Street Station, where we were leaving from next. After a cooked breakfast and lots of drawing and more running around, the time actually flew by.
Relieved to board our next and final train for the two hour, 41 minute leg to Aviemore, we were thankful for our table seats which allowed the kids to get stuck into fresh crafts and snacks. Us adults, meanwhile, took in the changing view when we could, from Glasgow’s urban sprawl to the Cairngorms’ majestic, rustic mountain range – eventually with snow sprinkled on top, even at the very end of March.
Becky Lucas
After stepping off the train at the quiet, familiar and antique-feeling Aviemore station (look out for the local Strathspey steam train, as used in the BBC’s Traitors, on one of the platforms and well worth some of your holiday time), we began the 25-minute or so walk to our final destination, after deciding that arranging a taxi with the correct car seats wouldn’t be worth the hassle.
Becky Lucas
This is where it got a little surreal, although not necessarily in a terrible way. Beginning with a walk under a concrete bridge, we pushed the buggy through wood chip and stone, into greener and greener landscapes – the children running about and high on life all the way. Were we? Well, we certainly weren’t running. But the fact that the apartment we’d been able to book during the school holidays with our points was bigger than we’d hoped, with excellent views into the mountains over a well-maintained bright green estate (with the occasional golf bunker) made our eventual arrival all the sweeter.
Becky Lucas
Activities we loved in and around Aviemore (by train or bus)
Aviemore is a small, friendly town surrounded by mountains and full of outdoorsy people keen to hike, cycle or ski through them, depending on the season. Locals are also very used to visiting young families (Alex has been visiting since the early 80s when he himself was a toddler) and will make quite the fuss of kids in cafés and restaurants (we particularly liked basic but friendly Cobbs Café, and its kids’ lunchboxes).
Becky Lucas
While the main high street is quite short and sweet, marked by the gothic Cairngorm Hotel, bus stop and station at the top, just a few minutes’ drive away lie all manner of woodland activities, traditional pubs and pop-up tea and cake vans, vast lochs – including Loch Ness, ideal for a monster hunt – and scenic waterside roads, so be sure to get out and explore.
Becky Lucas
Also, a sidenote on the buses: with USB sockets, seatbelts, automatic information about how far you are from your next destination, incredibly friendly and helpful drivers (who will stow your luggage below deck), as well as all the naturally stunning views outside, all for incredibly low fares – we had some of the best coach rides of our lives on them.
Becky Lucas
Landmark Forest Adventure Park
A 22-minute bus journey from the central Cairngorm Hotel stop, we loved the Red Squirrel and Tree Top Trails which allowed even young children to bounce through the nets by themselves at some height, the towering Ant City playground and the relaxing Butterfly House at this attractive woodland escape (where we were shocked to experience proper snowfall so late in the year, protected under trees). We were told that the waterslides are a big hit for all ages in summer too.
Becky Lucas
Strathspey Railway steam train
Departing from Aviemore’s own station, a ride in these 1930s-1950s heritage carriages, along a track built in 1863, is an education for kids (‘Trains used to have steam coming out of them?’) and a delight for any curious or nostalgia-loving adult too (there’s another bar car, serving locally distilled whiskies and beers).
Becky Lucas
Travelling alongside the River Spey through the stunning Cairngorms National Park, you can opt for afternoon or regular tea, coffee and biscuits on board, or a continental breakfast in the VIP dining saloons.
Becky Lucas
Becky Lucas
Cairngorm Reindeer Herd
A small but smart and interesting centre about the wild reindeer of the mountains and how they ended up in Scotland, it included an engaging scavenger hunt (Sonny did it) and Santa’s (empty) grotto/playhouse when we visited – as well, of course, as several gorgeous grazing reindeer to gaze at. Reachable by taking the roughly hourly Aviemore Adventurer bus to Glenmore.
Becky Lucas
Cairngorm Mountain
As well as being Scotland’s main ski resort, Cairngorm Mountain is home to the UK’s highest restaurant, has an immersive exhibition space, mountain bike and tubing trails, a mountain garden and a funicular mountain railway. It’s accessible by the same Aviemore Adventurer bus route.
Becky Lucas
We were buzzing to find the slopes still open and heavy with snow on the first days of April and enjoyed a hot chocolate and throwing some snow balls up top.
Becky Lucas
The way back
Day 1: Aviemore to Glasgow Queen Street
Despite only being in Aviemore for four nights, we somehow quickly forgot how challenging the 25-minute walk from our apartment to Aviemore station was with our luggage. We’d recommend perhaps treating yourselves to a taxi to ease the start of your journey back, or setting off with at least 45 minutes to spare to ease the time pressure.
Becky Lucas
After running along a fair amount of the platform to enter in the right place for our seats (ignore the carriage numbers marked on the platform unless you are travelling by LNER), we just made it on board – our particular train seemed to be making up time for running a little late and only stopped for about 90 seconds. Once sat down around a table again, however, we soon felt more settled and cracked into the soul-reviving snacks and drinks we’d packed, along with fresh coffees from the train’s trolley. We also presented the kids with new toy figures to play with, which they proceeded to do on a couple of spare seats nearby, entertaining themselves for a good hour. It seemed they were getting accustomed to the civilised ways of train travel by now – enabling us time to really savour the sunlit but still snowy-top mountain views rolling past for the last time.
Becky Lucas
When we reached Glasgow at 6.15pm on a Friday night, we were hungry again, this time for dinner, and felt more confident than when we’d originally passed through that we’d easily find somewhere child-friendly and reasonable between the two train stations – and housed in a formidable Victorian banking building. And we proceeded to, in the shape of a welcoming and particularly smart TGI Fridays, with surprisingly attractive stained glass windows. Again, time flowed by fast and the three and a half hour stopover passed remarkably quickly – helped by the fact we could board 30 minutes before departure.
Day 2: Glasgow Central to London Kings Cross
By 9.15pm, we were very ready to get back into our rooms. We had the same cabins we had on the way up, making them feel like a second home already. The route back was nearly two hours longer – perhaps because it was going into Kings Cross rather than Euston; maybe due to engineering works at the latter that weekend – but whatever the reason, we appreciated having more sleeping time. Sonny and Zelda were asleep earlier – again, 10-15 minutes after we started rolling, assisted by both the late hour, the motion and the snugness of our digs. The bar car was also relatively more lively than on the way down – I hadn’t made it in there for my turn until 1am en route to Scotland, when only the staff had been sitting in it with the lights dimmed. This time there were two clearly business colleagues chatting shop, a few, like myself, enjoying some me-time, as well as perhaps one couple. I got to sleep earlier too, allowing for more time in that sweet top-bunk bed.
Becky Lucas
Again, in the morning we had to be woken by my alarm – we were pulling into Kings Cross 25 minutes earlier than scheduled, as we had been informed would happen when we boarded back in Glasgow. Disembarkation was more frenzied than expected though, given it was the train’s last stop – we were given 10 minutes to vacate, which we managed. Thankfully, sun beams shone through the lofty, Harry Potter-famed, historic station, adding to the surreal quality of being at such a central hub at this early hour with the children.
Becky Lucas
Despite all the sleep, we did still feel rather discombobulated through the remainder of the day and could only really manage a cinema visit, if that (there were more tears about popcorn). Though by the next morning we were recharged and full of stories about our trip, mostly focused on the exciting journeys there and back. A few weeks on, Sonny and Zelda still create ‘sleeping train’ camps and dens, while Alex and I are often asked how it went by intrigued friends and fellow parents of young kids. We can honestly tell them it was probably the highlight of what was a genuinely great family trip – and, although we slept through most of it – it won’t ever be forgotten.
