WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2020 -- SOUTH AFRICA

minutes upon arrival to freshen up before they
must exit. A chair car serves thrifty travelers not
wanting the extra-cost sleeper accommodation.
Stops along the way are few and far between. I
confess I'm a railway fanatic, so I'd prop my head
up to peek out the window at middle-of-thenight
stops that include the British rail mecca
Crewe. Outside, the platforms were empty, save
for a few staff members servicing the train.
Sleeper trains, in general, lack one benefit --
daylight views of the passing landscape. That's
why we took the Fort William route. It's the
longest, and arrives just before 10 a.m., giving
ample time to see the beauty, and barren nature,
of the Highlands while having breakfast or sipping
a cup of tea.
The new trains have not arrived without
birthing pains, with some passengers complaining
of late arrivals or service malfunctions. Our
trip, however, matched the description of service
and met expectations with the aid of a helpful
staff.
Arriving on time in Fort William, we made our
way down the platform into the small station,
where there's a ticket office, cafe and small
shop. No cab was needed because our hotel was
right next door -- the venerable Alexandra Hotel
on the city's "parade." The town is small enough
to walk through its shopping district and to find
a suitable pub, while taxis wait just outside the
hotel at a grocery store.
A focal point for mountain climbers and other
outdoor adventurers, Fort William makes a good
base for Highlands exploration. You can take a
separate train trip to Mallaig, where there's
ferry service to the Outer Hebrides and to the
Isle of Skye. This route includes a run over the
Glenfinnan Viaduct, better known as the "Harry
Potter Bridge," a massive arched bridge made
famous by the Hogwarts Express. From May to
October, a steam-powered excursion train
called the Jacobite makes day trips over these
tracks from Fort William and back.
After exploring the Fort William area, Sharon
and I took a 65-mile cab ride cross country along
the famous Loch Ness to Inverness to explore
more of the Highlands. We stayed at the suitably
named Royal Highland Hotel, connected to the
train station and in the heart of the city with a
shopping mall around the corner.
After two more days of exploration, it was
time for Part Two of the Sleeping Car Adventure
-- the journey back to London. We had a light
dinner at the hotel, where our luggage had been
stored, and strolled over to the station to board
the southbound Caledonian Sleeper for Euston
Station, arriving just before 8 a.m.
Upon boarding, I felt we had become welltrained
in rail etiquette from our trip north. I
was ready to try another whisky. And, who
knew, maybe there'd be a modern-day Agatha
Christie or Alfred Hitchcock sitting in the club
car as we pulled away into the night.
As Skimbleshanks famously said:
"You might say that by and large it was me
who was in charge
Of the Sleeping Car Express
From the driver and the guard to the bagmen
playing cards
I would supervise them all more or less...."
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WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020