After some days of internet research and planning, I was finally ready to take that long-desired trip to the Scottish islands from my Bavarian home (where we obviously have mountains but no sea, while in northern Germany we have the sea but no mountains - so it's the combination of these two that makes me crave for Scotland all the time...).
For the journey to London, I was able to get a DB London-Spezial ticket priced at merely 109 Euros in first class - booking just two weeks ahead! Hard to beat by any so-called "low cost airline" and miles ahead in terms of travel culture! Why in the world would anyone fly to the UK???
The ICE journey via Frankfurt to Brussels went smooth and surprisingly without any delay (which is quite rare for DB in these days, unfortunately). The continental lines I travelled are well-known to me, nothing spectacular here, but a comfortable journey in almost empty first class carriages.
Check-in for the Eurostar is always somewhat cumbersome, but much less so than airport procedures. The "Standard Premier" class (which is what you get with a first class London-Spezial ticket) from Brussels to London was almost fully booked, even being Sunday around lunchtime. Catering was cold and rather disappointing (rocket and grilled chicory salad, blue cheese, rice pudding, a roll, small bottle of red, small bottle of Vittel, pretty disgusting coffee). I notice that catering on Eurostar is experiencing a steady decline in quality and is in itself no longer worth the "Standard Premier" fare. But it should get even worse on the way back - wait and see!
No additional border inspection after arriving at St Pancras - have they finally managed to close that infamous immigration loophole (circumventing border inspection in Brussels by using a ticket to Lille)?
Approaching London, the question is always "east or west coast main line?" Being aware of the reduced service in first class on weekends, I decide for the ECML, where it's supposedly better than on Virgin trains. Kings Cross being just a short walk from St Pancras, I manage to join the 1400 service to the north, which continues to Aberdeen from Edinburgh, so it was a HST instead of an electric train. Many british trains look cramped and a little run-down to a visitor from the continent, but first class on this service is actually spacious, comfortable and - full! An unknown experience over here on a sunday afternoon! Catering is a pretty tasty smoked salmon sandwich, crisps, a brownie, non-alcoholic beverages and coffee (a little better than on Eurostar but still close to disgusting, better get some from Costa or the like...). The complimentary Wi-Fi is disappointingly slow up to the point of not working at all most of the time - Wi-Fi on DB trains is always charged for (but included in many German mobile phone/data plans), while delivering a much better performance.
The train guard barely looked at my DB-issued BritRail pass ("lovely, thanks!"), however, I notice that most other passengers have standard class tickets and pay £25 for an on-the-spot upgrade - so that's the reason why British first class is so well-used on a sunday afternoon! The train guard changed at Newcastle and the new one even thanked me in German for showing my pass! Weather was rather foggy up north, so the scenic part right along the coast was not as enjoyable as I'm used to. On-time arrival at Edinburgh Waverley.
Continuing to Glasgow, I was the only passenger in the tiny, but comfy first class section on the Scotrail shuttle. Train guard immediately demanded to see my ticket and examined it thoroughly this time... Later, a nice elderly lady offered me a complimentary brew from her catering trolley - nice touch! The Wi-Fi on this train was excellent compared to East Coast, maybe because I was the only person logged in according to the welcome screen. Travelling into the sunset, enjoying a brew and listening to the evening concert on Radio 3 - that's travel culture!
On-time arrival at Glasgow Queen St and overnight stay there.
The next morning I printed my pre-purchased ticket to Oban without issues. Just £9,80 instead of £23,10 on the spot - nice! Again, a catering trolley was on board delivering the best coffee on British tracks so far. The journey from Glasgow to Oban doesn't need many words - probably one of the most scenic ones in the UK.
On-time arrival (needless to say by now) and two hours to enjoy this picturesque little harbour town. Buying my affordable "Hopscotch Ticket" (only £34,50) the lady with the Calmac ticket office informed me that the inbound ferry suffered from a loading delay and might therefore depart a little late (it was going to be almost an hour late, but whatever - no more connections to reach today).
The ferry trip from Oban to Barra is, well, breathtaking! At least during its first half, passing the Sound of Mull - SO beautiful. After passing Coll and - from some distance - Tiree it gets a little boring on the open sea, time for a brew I reckon...
Arrival in Castlebay around 50 minutes late, checking into my hotel and enjoying delicious fish watching the sun set over the Hebridean sea.
The next morning I start my cross-Hebridean bus experience. It was a little tricky to find timetable info on the web, timetables are somewhat complicated to read (many exceptions, services operating only on specific dates and such...) and for some services you're supposed to ring in advance which is always a little awkward for me. Not being a native speaker I feel rather uncomfortable having a phone conversation in English, especially if the other person has a strong accent like many people from Scotland, BUT: these people up there are so amazingly friendly and helpful, what can I say?
Same goes for the bus drivers, always chatty and willing to share some inside info on Western Isles life. Starting with the bus on Barra which took me from Castlebay to the Ardhmor Slip: a very nice gentleman delighted to meet a foreign visitor to his island. Bus was very cheap as well, at £1,60.
Second Hopscotch leg from Ardhmor to Eriskay on a pretty old ferry without any facilities, the Calmac guy seemed almost reluctant to ask for my ticket, but was very cheerful then, praising my English (which is not THAT good after all, I reckon). Ferry carried many foot passengers, some in business suits - travelling to Benbecula airport as I found out later, because yesterday's Barra flight had been cancelled by reason of the runway (essentially: the beach) being under the sea due to high tide!!!.
Long bus ride (almost three hours) across the Uists to the Berneray slip, again amazingly cheap (£6,20) and with a very kind driver, informing me that the ferry to Harris was not to leave until 15:30 because of low tide (already got that info from Calmac website though). He offered to drop me off at a tea room just 10 minutes from the ferry, where I was well-catered by a delightful lady with homemade sandwich and tea. People in Britain are always so friendly, this is really amazing.
Third Hopscotch leg from Berneray to Leverburgh, a very impressive crossing through the Sound of Harris passing many uninhabited small rock islands (breathtaking sea and mountain scenery again). Last bus for today took me to Tarbert, along the beautiful West Harris beaches. It is fascinating how organised and well-connected to the ferries that Hebridean bus system is.
Hotel in the lovely little town of Tarbert directly at the ferry pier.
Next day the last Hebridean bus to Stornoway, a real, if somewhat aged, coach this time. I also met the first impolite driver on my journey, shaking his head and cursing about me tendering the exact fare in coins (something German bus drivers like a lot or even expect!). The scenery got a little less impressive now, completely lacking vegetation at times. We reached Stornoway an hour later, a pretty busy town for such a remote location actually. Many little businesses and a Tesco to stock up on travel food. In the afternoon I used my last Hopscotch portion for the ferry to Ullapool, the most modern Calmac ferry I encountered on this trip. Having a Latte from the "Coffee Cabin" I watched the Hebrides withdraw into the murk just to have their place taken by the fjord-like scenery of the Scottish mainland. The last 45 minutes to Ullapool, what can I say: mindblowing!!! The crossing also seemed very swift compared to the somewhat lengthy Oban-Castlebay route.
Queueing to disembark I noticed that most other foot passengers already had a print-at-home style ticket for the coach to Inverness. I did not, so the coach driver had me wait until everyone else had boarded, demanded the £12,80 fare in a rather inappropriate tone and made some joke about my banknotes that I failed to understand... (maybe because it were English ones?)
The scenic coach ride more than compensated for this weird behaviour and we arrived in Inverness just a few minutes late (due to traffic). At the bus station I noticed a "sleeper coach" to London about to depart - never seen such a thing before.
After Dinner at Wetherspoon I made my way to the train station where the Caledonian Sleeper was already at the platform. Boarding was supposed to commence at 19:45, but my host seemed to be a little late. Another Scotrail host kindly asked me to wait on the platform until his arrival. Around 8 he finally arrived, checked me in without any remarks about my "strange" DB-issued reservation (which sometimes confuses staff because they don't have a name on their reservation list, just an empty space) and without checking my Britrail pass (!), and I proceeded to the Lounge car immediately, which was a good decision because it filled up quickly and was packed even before departure! Enjoying delicious scottish brew I unwinded into my last night in Britain. Sleep was very comfortable, woken up by the friendly host around 7 in the morning, just passing Milton Keynes. The cooked breakfast, despite the appalling plastic packaging, was rather tasty and Starbucks coffee, if instant, not so bad.
On-time arrival at Euston, finally a real coffee at Costa, and after watching the commuter traffic for a while, proceeding to St Pancras. The ES departure lounge was packed, the inbound service from Paris delayed, not a good start at all. Departed almost 15 minutes late, therefore missed our slot in the French network and accruing more delay between Calais and Lille, finally being almost 30 minutes behind schedule. My connection to Munich was not in danger, however, other passengers' were and ES staff was less than helpful about that.
As if this wasn't enough, I had the misfortune of being on a service where "breakfast" was served. "Breakfast" consisted of a stale roll, croissant, lipstick-coloured jam, some strange cereal-yoghurt mixture consisting mostly of apple juice according to the ingredients list, and the dreadful coffee again. Welcome back to the continent with its lack of breakfast culture! This is outrageous considering the Standard Premier fares (and what Scotrail provides on the sleeper for so much less)! The passenger across gave me a compassionate look when unpacking his M&S bag full of delicious treats...
Late arrival at Gare du Nord, short walk to Gare de l'Est and shocked at the food prices - many people in Germany are under the assumption that the UK is an expensive destination. Not true. Paris is so much worse.
Boarding the delightful EuroDuplex TGV to Munich I found to have a perfect seat to enjoy the LGV Est once again and the catering was absolutely fine: chicken breast filled with mozarella and herbs, penne, bean salad and a mini-eclair. The complimentary wine served with the food was nothing to write home about, but you can purchase something more decent if you wish. On-time arrival at Munich Central concluded this beautiful little UK adventure of mine.
I must say I'm again very impressed with the performance of the UK rail system and I fail to see why so many people are complaining about it. I also come to note that the UK needn't be expensive (as many Germans think) and that British people are amazingly kind and glad to meet us as visitors to their country (again, many Germany wrongly assume not to be welcome for historical reasons).
Dear friends, many thanks for these awesome days in your country!
For the journey to London, I was able to get a DB London-Spezial ticket priced at merely 109 Euros in first class - booking just two weeks ahead! Hard to beat by any so-called "low cost airline" and miles ahead in terms of travel culture! Why in the world would anyone fly to the UK???
The ICE journey via Frankfurt to Brussels went smooth and surprisingly without any delay (which is quite rare for DB in these days, unfortunately). The continental lines I travelled are well-known to me, nothing spectacular here, but a comfortable journey in almost empty first class carriages.
Check-in for the Eurostar is always somewhat cumbersome, but much less so than airport procedures. The "Standard Premier" class (which is what you get with a first class London-Spezial ticket) from Brussels to London was almost fully booked, even being Sunday around lunchtime. Catering was cold and rather disappointing (rocket and grilled chicory salad, blue cheese, rice pudding, a roll, small bottle of red, small bottle of Vittel, pretty disgusting coffee). I notice that catering on Eurostar is experiencing a steady decline in quality and is in itself no longer worth the "Standard Premier" fare. But it should get even worse on the way back - wait and see!
No additional border inspection after arriving at St Pancras - have they finally managed to close that infamous immigration loophole (circumventing border inspection in Brussels by using a ticket to Lille)?
Approaching London, the question is always "east or west coast main line?" Being aware of the reduced service in first class on weekends, I decide for the ECML, where it's supposedly better than on Virgin trains. Kings Cross being just a short walk from St Pancras, I manage to join the 1400 service to the north, which continues to Aberdeen from Edinburgh, so it was a HST instead of an electric train. Many british trains look cramped and a little run-down to a visitor from the continent, but first class on this service is actually spacious, comfortable and - full! An unknown experience over here on a sunday afternoon! Catering is a pretty tasty smoked salmon sandwich, crisps, a brownie, non-alcoholic beverages and coffee (a little better than on Eurostar but still close to disgusting, better get some from Costa or the like...). The complimentary Wi-Fi is disappointingly slow up to the point of not working at all most of the time - Wi-Fi on DB trains is always charged for (but included in many German mobile phone/data plans), while delivering a much better performance.
The train guard barely looked at my DB-issued BritRail pass ("lovely, thanks!"), however, I notice that most other passengers have standard class tickets and pay £25 for an on-the-spot upgrade - so that's the reason why British first class is so well-used on a sunday afternoon! The train guard changed at Newcastle and the new one even thanked me in German for showing my pass! Weather was rather foggy up north, so the scenic part right along the coast was not as enjoyable as I'm used to. On-time arrival at Edinburgh Waverley.
Continuing to Glasgow, I was the only passenger in the tiny, but comfy first class section on the Scotrail shuttle. Train guard immediately demanded to see my ticket and examined it thoroughly this time... Later, a nice elderly lady offered me a complimentary brew from her catering trolley - nice touch! The Wi-Fi on this train was excellent compared to East Coast, maybe because I was the only person logged in according to the welcome screen. Travelling into the sunset, enjoying a brew and listening to the evening concert on Radio 3 - that's travel culture!
On-time arrival at Glasgow Queen St and overnight stay there.
The next morning I printed my pre-purchased ticket to Oban without issues. Just £9,80 instead of £23,10 on the spot - nice! Again, a catering trolley was on board delivering the best coffee on British tracks so far. The journey from Glasgow to Oban doesn't need many words - probably one of the most scenic ones in the UK.
On-time arrival (needless to say by now) and two hours to enjoy this picturesque little harbour town. Buying my affordable "Hopscotch Ticket" (only £34,50) the lady with the Calmac ticket office informed me that the inbound ferry suffered from a loading delay and might therefore depart a little late (it was going to be almost an hour late, but whatever - no more connections to reach today).
The ferry trip from Oban to Barra is, well, breathtaking! At least during its first half, passing the Sound of Mull - SO beautiful. After passing Coll and - from some distance - Tiree it gets a little boring on the open sea, time for a brew I reckon...
Arrival in Castlebay around 50 minutes late, checking into my hotel and enjoying delicious fish watching the sun set over the Hebridean sea.
The next morning I start my cross-Hebridean bus experience. It was a little tricky to find timetable info on the web, timetables are somewhat complicated to read (many exceptions, services operating only on specific dates and such...) and for some services you're supposed to ring in advance which is always a little awkward for me. Not being a native speaker I feel rather uncomfortable having a phone conversation in English, especially if the other person has a strong accent like many people from Scotland, BUT: these people up there are so amazingly friendly and helpful, what can I say?
Same goes for the bus drivers, always chatty and willing to share some inside info on Western Isles life. Starting with the bus on Barra which took me from Castlebay to the Ardhmor Slip: a very nice gentleman delighted to meet a foreign visitor to his island. Bus was very cheap as well, at £1,60.
Second Hopscotch leg from Ardhmor to Eriskay on a pretty old ferry without any facilities, the Calmac guy seemed almost reluctant to ask for my ticket, but was very cheerful then, praising my English (which is not THAT good after all, I reckon). Ferry carried many foot passengers, some in business suits - travelling to Benbecula airport as I found out later, because yesterday's Barra flight had been cancelled by reason of the runway (essentially: the beach) being under the sea due to high tide!!!.
Long bus ride (almost three hours) across the Uists to the Berneray slip, again amazingly cheap (£6,20) and with a very kind driver, informing me that the ferry to Harris was not to leave until 15:30 because of low tide (already got that info from Calmac website though). He offered to drop me off at a tea room just 10 minutes from the ferry, where I was well-catered by a delightful lady with homemade sandwich and tea. People in Britain are always so friendly, this is really amazing.
Third Hopscotch leg from Berneray to Leverburgh, a very impressive crossing through the Sound of Harris passing many uninhabited small rock islands (breathtaking sea and mountain scenery again). Last bus for today took me to Tarbert, along the beautiful West Harris beaches. It is fascinating how organised and well-connected to the ferries that Hebridean bus system is.
Hotel in the lovely little town of Tarbert directly at the ferry pier.
Next day the last Hebridean bus to Stornoway, a real, if somewhat aged, coach this time. I also met the first impolite driver on my journey, shaking his head and cursing about me tendering the exact fare in coins (something German bus drivers like a lot or even expect!). The scenery got a little less impressive now, completely lacking vegetation at times. We reached Stornoway an hour later, a pretty busy town for such a remote location actually. Many little businesses and a Tesco to stock up on travel food. In the afternoon I used my last Hopscotch portion for the ferry to Ullapool, the most modern Calmac ferry I encountered on this trip. Having a Latte from the "Coffee Cabin" I watched the Hebrides withdraw into the murk just to have their place taken by the fjord-like scenery of the Scottish mainland. The last 45 minutes to Ullapool, what can I say: mindblowing!!! The crossing also seemed very swift compared to the somewhat lengthy Oban-Castlebay route.
Queueing to disembark I noticed that most other foot passengers already had a print-at-home style ticket for the coach to Inverness. I did not, so the coach driver had me wait until everyone else had boarded, demanded the £12,80 fare in a rather inappropriate tone and made some joke about my banknotes that I failed to understand... (maybe because it were English ones?)
The scenic coach ride more than compensated for this weird behaviour and we arrived in Inverness just a few minutes late (due to traffic). At the bus station I noticed a "sleeper coach" to London about to depart - never seen such a thing before.
After Dinner at Wetherspoon I made my way to the train station where the Caledonian Sleeper was already at the platform. Boarding was supposed to commence at 19:45, but my host seemed to be a little late. Another Scotrail host kindly asked me to wait on the platform until his arrival. Around 8 he finally arrived, checked me in without any remarks about my "strange" DB-issued reservation (which sometimes confuses staff because they don't have a name on their reservation list, just an empty space) and without checking my Britrail pass (!), and I proceeded to the Lounge car immediately, which was a good decision because it filled up quickly and was packed even before departure! Enjoying delicious scottish brew I unwinded into my last night in Britain. Sleep was very comfortable, woken up by the friendly host around 7 in the morning, just passing Milton Keynes. The cooked breakfast, despite the appalling plastic packaging, was rather tasty and Starbucks coffee, if instant, not so bad.
On-time arrival at Euston, finally a real coffee at Costa, and after watching the commuter traffic for a while, proceeding to St Pancras. The ES departure lounge was packed, the inbound service from Paris delayed, not a good start at all. Departed almost 15 minutes late, therefore missed our slot in the French network and accruing more delay between Calais and Lille, finally being almost 30 minutes behind schedule. My connection to Munich was not in danger, however, other passengers' were and ES staff was less than helpful about that.
As if this wasn't enough, I had the misfortune of being on a service where "breakfast" was served. "Breakfast" consisted of a stale roll, croissant, lipstick-coloured jam, some strange cereal-yoghurt mixture consisting mostly of apple juice according to the ingredients list, and the dreadful coffee again. Welcome back to the continent with its lack of breakfast culture! This is outrageous considering the Standard Premier fares (and what Scotrail provides on the sleeper for so much less)! The passenger across gave me a compassionate look when unpacking his M&S bag full of delicious treats...
Late arrival at Gare du Nord, short walk to Gare de l'Est and shocked at the food prices - many people in Germany are under the assumption that the UK is an expensive destination. Not true. Paris is so much worse.
Boarding the delightful EuroDuplex TGV to Munich I found to have a perfect seat to enjoy the LGV Est once again and the catering was absolutely fine: chicken breast filled with mozarella and herbs, penne, bean salad and a mini-eclair. The complimentary wine served with the food was nothing to write home about, but you can purchase something more decent if you wish. On-time arrival at Munich Central concluded this beautiful little UK adventure of mine.
I must say I'm again very impressed with the performance of the UK rail system and I fail to see why so many people are complaining about it. I also come to note that the UK needn't be expensive (as many Germans think) and that British people are amazingly kind and glad to meet us as visitors to their country (again, many Germany wrongly assume not to be welcome for historical reasons).
Dear friends, many thanks for these awesome days in your country!
Leave the self criticism to us; as you've seen we exercise it enough regarding train punctuality. 
