You can now book
sleeper berths as well as seats on the Night Riviera
online. To book a sleeper, make sure the fare you
choose has a 'bed' symbol against it.
If you live overseas, you can book tickets here &
collect them from the self-service machines at London
Paddington or any main station in Britain.
Booking opens about 3 months
before departure.
To buy tickets by phone, call
08457 000
125
Lines open 0700-2200 Mon-Fri, 0800-1900 Sat & Sun
Introducing the
'Night Riviera' sleeper train between London & Cornwall...
It's the most
time-effective way from London to Cornwall,
making short breaks possible in the sunny southwest without
the need for a 6-hour drive or a domestic flight. And if you live in
Devon or Cornwall,
it makes business or leisure trips
to central London or even Paris easy. Every night
except Saturday night, an overnight sleeper train with
private 1 & 2-bed compartments and a lounge car links
London's Paddington Station with towns, cities and holiday
resorts all over Cornwall.
The Night
Riviera sleeper train is a miniature travelling hotel, with private
sleeper compartments & lounge car. The sleeper compartments
are compact but cosy, with an upper & lower berth in
twin rooms or just one lower berth in single rooms, plus a
washbasin with hot & cold running water. The beds come
with a snug blankets, fresh clean sheets & plump pillows.
A complimentary toiletries pack is provided with soap,
flannel, toothbrush, toothpaste & razor, and a small bottle
of mineral water is provided for each passenger. The single-berth rooms (but not the twin rooms) have an
on-demand LCD TV screen showing a selection of drama, comedy,
documentary & children's programmes (bring your own
earphones or buy them from the buffet for £2.50). There
are two toilets at the end of the corridor in each
sleeping-car which you can use at all times, even when the
train is standing in the station. There's a lounge car with
tables & chairs and a buffet counter selling wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks &
snacks. A light breakfast with tea or coffee &
fruit juice is included in the fare, served by your steward
in your compartment at the time you specify. The Night Riviera also has
ordinary seats, in fact the seats are extra-roomy reclining
first class ones sold at standard class prices, but a sleeper berth is recommended. Like
all British trains, the Night Riviera is
all non-smoking.
More information & photos.
Shortly before midnight...
The
sleeper to Cornwall waits to leave platform 1 at Paddington Station,
under Isambard Kingdom Brunel's magnificent arched roof
dating from 1854. You can board the sleeper from
22:30 onwards...
Single-berth sleeper,
shown with washbasin open.
Note the TV screen.
More photos.
Two-berth sleeper,
shown with washbasin
closed & blind down.
More photos.
The lounge
car... A buffet counter sells beer, wine, tea,
coffee, and hot & cold snacks. This seating is reserved for sleeper passengers,
or you can take food & drink back to your sleeper...
Good morning Cornwall... The Night Riviera
is seen here at St Erth, the last stop before
Penzance. Change here for the scenic branch line
train along the estuary to pretty St Ives.
Option 1, buy a special
inclusive 'Sleeper Advance' ticket
specifically for travel by sleeper
between London & Cornwall.
Option 2, buy a
normal ticket to
or from Cornwall and pay the sleeper berth supplement.
Option 1,
special 'inclusive'
sleeper fares...
There are
special inclusive fares for travel on the Night Riviera between London and
any station in Cornwall, covering both travel & sleeper
berth.
Sleeper Advance fares...
Fare per person,
each way...
Sole
occupancy of
a single
berth sleeper
For travel
in a
twin
berth sleeper
London to
Plymouth, Truro, Newquay, Penzance, St Ives or any
station in Cornwall
From
£69 one-way
From £49 one-way
These 'Sleeper
Advance' fares must be booked in advance, no refunds,
limited changes to travel plans allowed.
By all means buy
a Sleeper Advance ticket in one direction and a normal
Advance ticket for travel on daytime trains in the other.
The
price rises as the cheaper tickets are sold, so book early
(maximum 12 weeks in advance). Mid-week will usually
be cheaper than Friday nights, February cheaper than August.
Children under
16 go for 50% of the adult Sleeper Advance fare. Children under
5 go free, although they don't get their own berth.
Railcard
holders get no further discount on these Sleeper Advance
fares.
Option 2,
normal ticket + sleeper
supplement (£45 for a 1-berth room, £30 per person for
a 2-berth room)
If you have a
normal standard class 'anytime' or 'off-peak' ticket to or
from Cornwall (for example, London to St Ives, Penzance to
London, Cambridge to Falmouth,
Canterbury to Truro, Croydon to Newquay and so on...) or for that
matter a BritRail pass or all-line Rail Rover, you can
travel in a sleeper berth simply by paying the sleeper
supplement. You can't upgrade to a sleeper by
paying the supplement if you have an non-sleeper 'Advance'
ticket.
Passengers travelling alone pay £45 and
get a single
room all to themselves. Unlike the sleepers to
Scotland, if you're travelling alone you're no longer
allowed to
share a 2-berth room with another passenger, you must
pay for sole occupancy of a single room. However, unlike the Scottish
sleepers, you no longer need a first class ticket to travel
in a single room all to yourself, a standard class ticket
is all you need.
If there's two of you, you can either pay £30 per person
and share a
2-berth room with upper & lower berths or pay £45 per
person and ask for two adjacent single rooms (both with
lower berths, of course) with
inter-connecting door.
There's
no reduction on sleeper berth supplements for children if they want
a separate bed, although they pay the child-rate fare.
More information on children in sleepers.
You can now book sleeper berths on the Night Riviera
online using the
online booking system above. This links to
www.thetrainline.com, who charge a £1 booking fee for debit cards
or £3.50 with credit cards. You can also book
at
www.firstgreatwestern.com, which has the same fares but with no booking fee.
Tickets can be sent free by first class post to any UK
address, or picked up from the self-service machines at most
main British stations (50p charge).
Bookings
normally open 12 weeks before departure, sometimes less than
this, you can't book
before reservations open!
An error
message often means that bookings haven't opened yet - try
calling to ask them.
To buy sleeper tickets to or from Cornwall by phone, call First Great Western telesales
on 08457 000 125, lines open 07:00-22:00 Monday-Friday, 08:00-19:00
Saturday & Sunday.
You can also
buy tickets at most main railway stations.
If you live outside the UK,you can't access UK '0845' numbers
from overseas,
so call First Great Western Telesales on their international
number, +44 1752 835705.
Children under
5 go free, although they don't get their own berth.
Cots can't be provided as there's insufficient room, but a
Samsonite travel bubble
fits on the floor for babies up to 18 months an is great for
hotel rooms, too. A 2- or
3-year old can sleep quite comfortably head-to-toe with an
adult in the lower berth. If you can get the little
so-and-so to sleep when he's so excited about being on a
sleeper train, of course.
If you want a separate berth for a child under 5 you'll need
to pay for a child-rate Sleeper Advance ticket or
for a child-rate normal ticket plus the adult sleeper
supplement. Two children under 5 can share a bed for
the price of one child-rate Sleeper Advance ticket or one
child-rate normal ticket plus one adult berth supplement.
Children under
16 go for 50% of the adult fare if you buy a Sleeper
Advance ticket. Or they can travel for 50%
of the normal adult fare plus the adult berth
supplement for the bed. Two children 5-15 sharing a
bed must pay two child fares but need only pay one sleeper
supplement as they're only using one bed.
Luggage:
Sleepers are very compact, but there's room for small & medium-sized bags and cases on the
luggage racks or on the floor if
necessary, though very large suitcases are best placed in the
guard's van.
Bicycles: You can take
bikes on the Night Riviera sleeper train free of charge,
placed in one of the three special bike racks in the guard's van. A bike
reservation must be made as the number of bike spaces is
limited. To reserve your bike, call First Great
Western on 0845 678 6980, lines open 08:00-22:00
daily. Tandems aren't carried.
Dogs & pets: You
may be able to take a dog or other pet on the sleeper, to
ask about this call First Great Western on
0845 678 6980 at least 48 hours before travelling. Guide dogs travel free.
Cars &
motorbikes: The Night Riviera no longer carries
cars or motorbikes.
At London
Paddington, all sleeper berth passengers may use the
First Class Lounge, located half way along platform 1 (the
platform normally used by the Night Riviera sleeper),
see the photo below.
The lounge is open 05:30 to 23:55 Monday-Friday and 16:00 to
23:55 on Sundays, just show your sleeper ticket to enter.
The lounge features complimentary soft drinks, fruit juice,
tea & coffee, biscuits, fruit & nuts. It has easy
chairs, tables, and workstations with charging points for
laptops and mobiles.
There are two
toilets at the end of the corridor in each sleeping-car
which you can use at all times, even when the train is
standing in the station. There are no toilets in the
sleeper compartments.
There are no
showers on the sleeper train itself, but there's a shower facility
in the main station toilets at London Paddington which is
free if you have a sleeper berth ticket. Travel
tip: The toilet attendants aren't always very clued up
about this, so be polite but firm.
There are no
power sockets in the sleeper compartments, just a 2-pin 240V
shaver socket (which you can use for recharging your mobile
phone if you have the right adaptor).
There are laptop and mobile charging points in the First
Class Lounge at London Paddington.
Unfortunately
there are no wheelchair-accessible sleeper berths on the
Night Riviera, unlike the sleeper to Scotland, although
there are wheelchair spaces in the seating coaches.
There is an
inter-connecting door between each pair of adjacent sleeper
compartments, normally kept locked shut. You can book two adjacent
2-berth compartments with an
inter-connecting door between them to make a 4-berth suite,
or you can book two adjacent single-berth compartments with
an inter-connecting door to make a suite with two lower
berths (but 3-berth suites aren't possible because of the
way the compartments are paired). You
can work out which berth numbers have the connecting door
like this: Berths 1 & 2 have a connecting door with
berths 3 & 4. Berths 5 & 6 have a connecting door with
berths 7 & 8. Berths 9 & 10 have a door with
berths 11 & 12. And so on, up to berths 21 & 22 having
an inter-connecting door with berths 23 & 24.
Travel tip: When asking for two compartments with
an inter-connecting door, ask which berth numbers you've
been allocated and make sure they are indeed two
communicating compartments before hanging up the phone, as
telesales staff don't always get it right. However, on
board staff are excellent, and can usually sort out any
problem.
First Class Lounge at London Paddington...
All sleeper berth passengers (even with standard class
tickets) can use the First Class Lounge at London
Paddington before departure or in the morning on
arrival. It's open 05:30-23:55 Mon-Fri &
16:00-23:55 Sundays, located half way along platform 1 (the
platform normally used by the Night Riviera). The lounge
has
complimentary tea & coffee, soft drinks, snacks, fruit,
newspapers & magazines. There are workstations
with charging points for laptops
& mobiles.
Above: The
carpeted
sleeping-car corridor. Just like a hotel corridor,
but narrower, with compartment doors & berth numbers.
The green lights are safety lights.
TV entertainment... The single-berth sleepers
(but not the 2-berths) have
an LCD TV screen with a small selection of programmes such as Midsomer Murders, Lewis, Wallace
& Gromit & Grand Designs. It's free, but
bring some ear-phones. Use the ones from your iPod or
buy a pair for £2.50 from the lounge car.
Wake up in Cornwall... Lift up the blind next morning,
and the
sunlight streams in. Catch a glimpse of Truro Cathedral
in the morning mist as the train crosses the viaduct over the city
en route to Penzance...
Breakfast in bed...
There's a knock on your door and the steward brings your
breakfast, which is included in the fare. You'll
be asked when you board whether you'd like tea or
coffee. Passengers also get a morning newspaper.
Above:
Disembarking from the ferry 'Scillonian III' at Hugh
Town on St Mary's. The Scillonian III dates from
1977, replacing Scillonian II (1956) and the original Scillonian
of 1926. A historic link with the Scilly Isles!
Above: The bar on the Scillonian III. A
commentary explains points of interest as the ferry
rounds the Cornish coast. There's also a cafe serving full English breakfasts and other hot
meals.
Above: Approaching St Mary's on the Isles
of Scilly.
The Night Riviera sleeper train
connects conveniently at Penzance with the ferry to the Scilly Isles, some 28 miles from the Cornish
mainland.
London ► Scilly Isles
Travel from
London to Penzance overnight by Night Riviera sleeper
train, daily except Saturday nights.
The ferry sails
from Penzance at 09:15 on Mondays to Saturdays from
mid-April to early October, arriving at Hugh Town on St
Mary's
in the Scilly Isles 2 hours 40
minutes later, at 11:55. It also sails on Monday,
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday during the two or three weeks
before and after this period. Minimum check-in 15
minutes. Exact sailing dates and times vary, so
check sailing times at
www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk.
Motor launches
connect with the ferry at St Mary's for transfers to the other Scilly
Islands, including Tresco with its famous gardens.
Scilly Isles
► London
The ferry sails
from Hugh Town on St Mary's at 16:30 on Mondays to Saturdays from
mid-April to early October, arriving Penzance at 19:10.
It also sails on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday
during the two or three weeks before and after this
period. Minimum check-in 15 minutes. Exact
sailing dates and times vary, so check sailing times at
www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk.
Ferry fares
cost around £95 for a fully-flexible open return, £85
for a Saver return valid on off-peak sailings or £47.50 one-way.
See
www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk for details.
Alternatively,
First Great Western offer a special combined train+ferry
deal from London to the Scilly Isles for around £150
return, see
www.firstgreatwestern.com. To use the sleeper
you will need to add the sleeper
supplement in each direction. It may be cheaper
to buy separate train and ferry tickets.
You can also
buy tickets on the day of travel at the 'weighbridge'
office at the entrance to the quay from where the
Scillonian III sails. The office is open from 08:00
on sailing days.
You can use the Night Riviera to
make a time-effective visit to the famous Eden project near
St Austell in Cornwall. For information about the Eden
Project including opening times, see their website,
www.edenproject.com.
Take the Night Riviera sleeper
train overnight from London to St Austell.
Bus 527 run by Western
Greyhound links St Austell station (bus stop G) with the
Eden Project every hour from 08:41 to 16:41
Mondays-Saturdays, journey time 16 minutes. See
www.westerngreyhound.com to confirm bus times.
There are no Western Greyhound buses on Sunday.
Buy your bus ticket on the
bus. Ask the Western Greyhound bus driver for a combined bus +
entry ticket to the Eden project. This costs
around £13.50, saving £4 on the entry fee and avoiding the
ticket queues at the entrance. Children £5.70.
You can check these special combined fares at
www.westerngreyhound.com/fares.php. First Bus
also offer a combined bus + Eden Project entry ticket, for
£17 adult, see
www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/devon/fares/otherfares.php.
Bus 527 returns from the Eden
Project to St Austell rail station every hour on the hour
09:00 to 17:00 Mondays-Saturdays, journey time 20 minutes.
See
www.westerngreyhound.com. No buses on Sundays.
First Bus route 101 runs hourly back from the Eden Project
to St Austell, including Sundays, see
www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southwest/devon/timetables.
Alternatively, you can buy
special inclusive tickets covering train travel from any
British railway station to St Austell, bus transfer to the
Eden project and a one-day entry fee. The cost is
£16 more than the relevant anytime, off-peak or Advance
fare from the station in question to St Austell. You
can buy tickets by phone from First Great Western on
0845 678 6980.
The railway only
goes as far as Penzance, but buses will take you the final
10 miles to Land's End, where you'll find cliff top walks, a
hotel, restaurant and bar, tourist shops and various
exhibitions.
Bus 1 or 1A
(First Group) or 501 & 504 (Western Greyhound)
links Penzance bus station (next to the railway station)
with Land's End every hour or two throughout the day.
Dinner in Cornwall, then
lunch in central Paris next day, no airports, airlines or
flights required! Just take the Night Riviera sleeper
train from Cornwall up to London, Underground or taxi to St
Pancras then Eurostar to Paris or Brussels in 2
hours or so.
Cornwall ► Paris &
Brussels...
Take the
sleeper from Cornwall to London,
see above for times & fares.
The sleeper runs daily except Saturday nights, arriving at
London Paddington before 06:00. Take the Circle or
Hammersmith & City Line to St Pancras. Remember
there's a 30 minute check-in for Eurostar.
A Eurostar
leaves St Pancras at 07:27 on Mondays-Saturdays arriving
Paris Nord at 10:56.
A Eurostar
leaves St Pancras at 08:34 daily, arriving Brussels Midi
at 11:29. On Saturdays, leave St Pancras at 08:53
arriving Brussels at 12:03.
Paris & Brussels ►
Cornwall...
A Eurostar
leaves Paris at 20:13 daily except Saturdays, arriving
London St Pancras at 21:29.
A Eurostar
leaves Brussels Midi at 20:29 daily except Saturdays,
arriving London St Pancras at 21:33.
Take the Circle
Line or Hammersmith & City Line to Paddington.
Take the
sleeper from London to Cornwall,
see above for times & fares.
The sleeper runs daily except Saturday nights,
leaving London Paddington at 23:45 (23:50 on Sundays).
Fares...
Sleeper from
Cornwall to London from £98 return with a bed; Eurostar from
London to Paris or Brussels from £59 return.
How to buy
tickets from Cornwall to Paris...
You can't buy tickets online,
but it's easy to buy tickets for the sleeper &
Eurostar separately.
1.
Buy Night Riviera sleeper tickets by phone on 0845
678 6980.
By all means take a later Eurostar southbound or an
earlier Eurostar northbound, if these have cheaper
seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
London.
Try searching all the main hotel websites at once using the Hotels Combined
booking form below. This is a free search tool that checks all the
major hotel websites including Expedia, Travelocity, Opodo, Venere & many
more, to find the cheapest rates. Set up in 2005, it's very
impressive, and probably the best place to start looking for any hotel
worldwide.
