By Ted Thornhill, Mailonline travel editor
3:35 PM June 15, 2024, updated 3:46 PM June 15, 2024
- Ted Thornhill took the GWR Night Riviera from London Paddington to Penzance
- He produced a short film about his experiences – and rates it out of five below
- Would YOU board the sleeper for a trip to the West Country? Vote in our poll…
- READ MORE: Inside the house with the best views in Cornwall
Some say Britain’s Golden Age of rail transport faded years ago.
I’d say it’s still with us. Just now.
Thanks largely to the country’s two sleeper services – the Caledonian Sleeper from London Euston to the Highlands (a service I reviewed and touted as the UK contender for the world’s greatest train journey) and GWR’s Night Riviera from London Paddington to Penzance via Taunton, which I discover on a journey to the end of Cornwall romance and excitement through the (Mark III) carriage load.
This trip takes in one of the most beautiful routes in the country, takes in some of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s most beautiful structures – including a particularly breathtaking bridge – the beds are dreamily comfortable, the staff are decidedly friendly and there’s a bar that’s open all night is open.
The diesel locomotive-hauled train leaves London Paddington late in the day – 11.45pm – but passengers can board from 10.30pm and, if they have a berth, hang out in the first-class lounge on platform one.
It’s pretty basic and not much to write home about, but the train certainly is. Hence this function.
I’m traveling with my partner and six-year-old daughter – who, like her ex-trainspotter father, is beside herself with excitement.
We are greeted in carriage F by Heidi from GWR, who seems genuinely happy to have us on board.
As she checks us in at our berth, she reveals that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had used the service for a campaign visit to Cornwall just a few days earlier.
Heidi reveals that the police ‘suddenly appeared’ at the start of her shift and announced that they had to sweep the carriage.
She continued excitedly, “I said, ‘What for?’ And they told me the Prime Minister was on board.”
I’m sure Rishi will agree that it is a wonderful operation.
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Heidi takes our complimentary room service breakfast order – croissants for the girls, sausage cap with ketchup for me, plus coffee and orange juice – and then we explore our quarters.
Which are the most inviting.
Not Pullman standard, in any case, but cozy and comfortable.
We have two interconnecting bunk beds, each with a sink hidden under a lid, a paper-thin wardrobe with hangars and mineral water bottles in holders at the bottom, plus light switches, sockets and charging points at the pillow end of the room. bed.
Access to the top bunks is via a clever space-saving folding ladder that unfolds from the walls. The bonus is unobstructed access to the lower bunk (the ladders on the Caledonian Sleeper are bolted to the beds).
I’m also impressed with the atmosphere: the decor is a soothing mix of brown and gray and the lights can be adjusted to create a hygge-like atmosphere.
Before we go to bed we go to the lounge car which is fantastic.
The setup here is like a first-class carriage with bells and whistles, an inviting mix of expansive upright four-seater sofas with tables, pairs of Mastermind-style armchairs placed in cheerful corners, and banquettes.
Do you need to connect a device? You’re covered. The carriage is full of charging points.
To one side is a counter where a cheerful bartender hands out refreshments.
Here are ‘leaning poles’ in the shape of elongated mushrooms.
Quirky.
We buy a beer, wine and juice for the little one (snacks and simple breakfast items are also available for purchase) and sit down at one of the tables for a game of GWR Train Top Trumps (the old ones are the best, eh?)
The atmosphere in the carriage is friendly, with strangers talking to strangers. In London. On a train.
What now?
It’s time to go to bed, and the litmus test for the Night Riviera: does it provide a good night’s sleep?
The result? A pass with merit.
The pillows and duvets feel luxurious and the mattress is supportive.
The bed is a bit on the narrow side, but then it is a train. I didn’t expect a king size.
Sleep is further aided by the design of the Mark III carriages used by the Night Riviera.
They were groundbreaking when introduced in the 1970s – and still offer one of the smoothest and quietest rides anywhere in Europe.
I have no trouble falling asleep.
I wake up around 5am to use one of the two toilets at the end of the carriage, just as the train passes over Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s breathtaking 30 meter high Royal Albert Bridge, west of Plymouth, crossing the River Tamar.
It is rightly considered a national treasure – offering passengers stunning views as the train passes over it at 15mph.
Beyond this bridge the train winds through beautiful Cornish countryside, past lush meadows, ancient ruins and at Hayle, a picturesque sandy estuary.
At 7:00 am our breakfast is delivered by the (still cheerful) Heidi.
It’s not quite a golden age travel breakfast, but the coffee is good and the sausages are hot.
Annoyingly, I can’t sit on the bed to eat it because the top bunk is too low, so I dine standing.
For solo travelers, this isn’t necessarily a problem, as the bottom bunk can be converted into a sofa.
And there is always the option to go to the lounge for repairs.
From here I take in the last sight: St Michael’s Mount, which dominates the bay on which Penzance lies.
We arrive in bright sunshine, freshen up with a shower in the first-class lounge – you can pre-book its use on the train when you board – and think about a service the Prime Minister will surely agree with, is an excellent, stress-free way to reach the West Country.
Do you prefer to drive? You’ve gone off the rails…