The ..”Getting there” …bit.

Getting to the start of this bicycle trip requires a bit of travel first . 700 meter cycle to the local train station . Overland train to Waterloo Station . Cycle over the Thames, heading north to Euston Train Station . Board the “Caledonian Sleeper “ and slip into your cosy and rather snug twin bed couchette and then relax for the next 12 hours as you are whisked north to Scotland and Fort William.

Yes. 12 hours in a small couchette measuring 8x3 feet with no seating and a twin bunk bed providing your comfort .

Some of the prison cells I’ve seen on TV are bigger than this. I’am betting they (prison cells) have better ventilation too.

Oh, and I’ve been told that at 4 am we will be roused from our sleep when we arrive into Edinburgh in order to move our bikes from one coach to another . That makes sense .

Or b.

Awaiting our first train .

Crossing Waterloo Bridge the views of the ever growing city landscape is fairly evident. When I first moved to London in 1990 for four years , the tallest building aside from St Paul’s Cathedral was the NatWest Tower. Now the horizon is smeared with a conglomeration of sky reaching edifices that easily out muscle St Paul’s for height .

The eponymous Caledonian Sleeper .

Given the 12 hours it’s going to take us to get there, I suspect the list of stations we’re stopping at will be long .

The couchette . Home for the next 12 hours.

Might give the haggis , neeps and tatties with a whiskey cream sauce a miss .