Night Riviera: Why I ditched the car and travelled to Cornwall on the sleeper train

12.07.2024 - 14:01 / euronews.com / Rosie Frost

Platform 1 at Paddington Station is not usually a place I find myself at 11pm on a Monday night, but I’m here with good reason. I am about to catch Great Western Railway’s Night Riviera Sleeper from London to Penzance in Cornwall at the very tip of the UK’s southwest peninsula.

I’ve been visiting Cornwall since before I could walk. I’ve taken the ordinary train, the coach and braved the summer getaway traffic jam chaos by car more times than I can count.

But I’d never even considered taking a sleeper train as an option until now. Turns out this was a major mistake.

I’m early so I grab a complimentary drink and some snacks in GWR’s plush first class lounge. After a short while, someone comes in to tell us all that the train is ready to board.

I snap a few pictures of the train, the crew check my name off a list and I am led to one of the 57 cabins on board. There is a brief tour of my accommodation for the night. I am shown the call button to summon a member of staff at any time for more drinks and snacks along the way.

As I am travelling solo, my cabin’s second bunk has already been folded away to make it a single sleeper berth.

There are plenty of charging ports, a light, a window to watch the city slip away and, though there is no ensuite, a sink is tucked under a desk. There are no showers on board but you can book one for the morning at the first class lounge in Penzance.

The crew are endlessly helpful as they take individual timings and orders for breakfast from each cabin - choices range from a bacon roll to pastries and of course coffee, tea and orange juice.

Just down the hall, I overhear them arranging for one passenger to be served his breakfast in the lounge car early the next morning. He wants to be awake in time to see us pass over Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s Royal Albert Bridge in Plymouth. The crew figure out the right time to wake him up and do just that.

Finally, we roll out of Paddington at 11:45 pm on the dot, making our first tracks towards the southwestern tip of the UK. As the darkness swallows the bleak industrial scenery of London’s outskirts, I take this as a chance to explore the lounge car - exclusively for the use of sleeper passengers. I get myself something to drink but it’s the busiest I see it all night, so I retreat back to my cabin.

The bunk is a little narrow but comfortable: there are no thin blankets or lacklustre pillows and the mattress is soft. I sleep surprisingly well, rocked by the gentle motion of the train.

Travelling in June means I wake to the sunrise at around 5.00 am - just as the train is passing through Dawlish in Devon. This stretch of the line is famous for running right next to the sea and I am treated to some incredible views of the Channel as we