Aberdeen - bus to airport, wait. Fly to Glascow or LHR or Gatwick. Wait sometimes overnight. Change planes. Fly to Newquay. Change to bus get to station, wait. Train to Par, change trains, wait, train to PZ. And then only on the days when the flights happen (not every day). Quicker and cheaper to train to King's Cross, transfer to Paddington, Train to PZ. Almost possible in one day provided the early train from Aberdeen exists. Flying in and out of Newquay is arranged optimally to get to Newquay from Lunnon, not the other way round. Although some days in the summer you might be able to fly to Dusseldorf, then to Edinburgh then to Aberdeen relatively quickly possibly even on the same day. Walking might be nicer than 14 hours of standard class on Cross Country trains.@@jondavies9347
@@WorldWide_Dom XCountry is right up there with GWR with their low value offering in First class. You can go whole legs of the journey where they have nothing onboard.
@@stevenbennett3922 agreed on that one! went first class from Bristol to Edinburgh return ...the journey back was a sunday ....we saw the cabin stewardess ONCE through the whole trip and she didnt have much on her trolly when she got to first class i asked why and she said it had all been sold in the standard class! i was sooooo pissed of after forking out what i did for a 1st class fare! I complained but didnt get anywere with cross country! ...I miss virgin on the west coast line their 1st class is expetional and you paid the same price as you would to travel the dire cross country trains, i know as we got cross country on the 1st leg up to Birmingham and then had to change to virgin to carry on to Edinburgh , you could see the BIG diffrence between both 1st class experiences , proper china and cutlery, decent food, and someone coming round all the time if you wanted drinks such as wine (yes alcholic drinks were included unlike cross country) ect all included and didnt charge on the virgin trains,! such a shame virgin lost the franchise for the westcoast route a few yrs ago ...You cant even get a straight through train from Bristol to manchester now like you used to its all change at birmingham new street these day!
I've been on several long rail journeys, up to 24 hours long, but this one is pretty brutal looking because it is during the day and all in a seat instead of a sleeper! Good review, interesting, and it must be nice seeing the way the UK's scenery changes from the North East to the South West. Oh and a Lumo review would be welcomed, especially since there are rumours they may be starting a Glasgow - London route, which is more useful for me than their current route. Thanks for another excellent video!
You could take 2 sleeper train.... one to London on the Caledonia and then another from London to Penzance with GWR... but would be such a long an expensive way to do it
I agree about the accents, as I thought the same when I took that train from Edinburgh to Bristol. You hear a wonderful kaleidoscope of the majority of accents in the UK! The scenery and the cities you visit is a great bonus, but the time taken for the journey is brutal!
That's actually a fantastic price for 1st class.I may be wrong (I usually am) but I seem to recall that this was the first train journey in the UK to cost more than £1000.
We travel from Northumberland to Devon around 6 times per year. It takes around 7 hours and £60 in diesel. Its quite tiring, we did it by train once it took 7 hours, quite tiring (not in first class) and it cost around £400 for two of us. Have a guess how we travel there now. Bearing in mind we have a dog. Yes the car every time. It's a shame because we love the trains.
I'm doing this one in June. Daylight all the way. The sun sets one minute after we arrive in Penzance! I paid £77 with a Senior Railcard. But that's in standard class.
Oh dear….you looked exhausted at the end of that. I laughed at you flopping onto the bed and the “see you in the next one”😂 Another good video Dom, with some stunning scenery along the way. Thank you 😊
This is the third review have seen of this journey. Funny that they all go on the same direction, though when you have arrived on God's own country, why go back?
Hahaha😅😅😅! Oh boy!! You hit that bed in your hotel room hard!! You made me laugh!!😅 Thank you for tsking this train ride. There were some great country side videos there. In some of tge country side areas, I saw the cows which were farm land areas. I notice you passed by a nuclear plate there. For many people it is to always nice to see their country from the trains prospective. I heard you when you said that you heard how everyone speaks with their different accents. And that was good!!😅 The sandwiches and cookies looked good and yes you and I need our coffee ☕. 😂 Hahaha!! For me, that really needed in dealing with passengers on the airplanes in my former career.😊 Well, I saw the sun starting to go down and it was still nice seeing the homes go by you. It is nice to see how people in general are living.There are many train enthusiasts who love train rides. And those people take the trsins all the time. But for me and from here in Chicago, Illinois USA, flying on the airplane is the first option. But again, you did this long trip and gave your viewers here a great video., You made it from coast to coast!😅 Nice. Thank you a grear video!😊😊
Thanks for your lovely comment. I'm glad you liked the video. As you can imagine I was pretty much a walking zombie by the time i hit the bed 🤣 I feel this train ride while not the most convenient way to get from the top of the UK to the bottom, is certainly one of the best ways to see a lot of the country as you correctly point out. 😅 Funnily enough i am intending to head over to Chicago at some point on another one of my America trips. Still a lot of Airlines and trains in that neck of the woods I'd love to give a shot.
😂 Hahaha! Thank you and you are welcome for looking at this video. ☺ I agree with you! You where 😴 tired!!! Oh man!! Well, we here it not bad here in Chicago today. It is about 58 degrees Fahrenheit with a good scene of tge sun starting to go down at my time of 5:25pm ☺
It's an insane trip and it has to be done. It is worth the money to go first class. When I did the trip I met a couple who got off at Penzance, having travelled in standard. They wished they had gone first class.
Yes, I think it is an excellent whistle-stop tour for anyone who hasn't seen much (or any) of UK. ONLY do it in summer when you can see everything all the way. Otherwise break the journey overnight with a rover ticket. Those heading north could continue the next day to Thurso where the last train arrives at 11pm STILL IN DAYLIGHT, but only at mid-summer. It makes all the difference.
Incomplete unless starting at Lerwick and going to Hugh Town Isles of Scilly. (I've managed that, in the other direction between Wednesday afternoon (Hugh Town) and Saturday morning (Lerwick), with overnights in PZ and Edinburgh to maintain sanity.)
Another top notch video. Loved the sound track - and what great views from the window. Price is certainly very steep - think I'd expect a couple of hot meals at least to be thrown in. 14 hours is serious numb bum territory - hope you got up and stretched plenty during the journey. If you'd been a glutton for real punishment you could have made it a John O'Groats to Lands End, and chucked in the rail journey from Thurso (with bus connections at either end), though I'm not sure that can be done in a day. But a great sense of achievement!
You did it! We did have a laugh at your "See you in the next one" muttered whilst collapsed on the bed. LOL. We love train travel and on a future trip are planning a Cardiff to Edinburgh train journey. Your super-long trip, though, is probably a bit too long for us.
Hi Dom, I want to travel by train from Sussex to Edinburgh and I'd be interested in seeing a video on the Lumo. I've not travelled on public transport so I need to discover more about my options. I know I can fly from Gatwick but I'd miss the countryside views from the window
We did Eastbourne to Victoria & then tube to Kings Cross on the Victoria Line before Kings Cross to Edinburgh on LNER for our silver wedding. Booked split tickets Eastbourne to Gatwick, then used oyster pay as you go to Victoria & Kings Cross as it’s cheaper.
We paid up to Gatwick for a paper ticket using our rail card & then used pay as you got for us Kings Cross as he gets free travel in the London travel card zone but only from East Croydon.
Well done! For scenery and atmosphere the rail journey is much better. Ive done Sussex to Penzance, and Sussex to Aberdeen, and both are tiring, but worth it. Planes save time, and thats it.
When you think about it, it’s possibly one of the best ways to really see the country. They were going to stop this service, however there was a campaign to keep it running to Aberdeen, which was successful. I think doing a journey like that creates a problem, it makes you realise just how much of our own country we have to explore..
@@WorldWide_Dom I haven’t been able to travel last year due to finances, however this year on a tight budget I intend to use EasyJet from Inverness to Bristol, then explore Bristol itself, see nearby Bath and get a train over to Cardiff and see Wales for the first time..
I've long wanted to leave Euston on the Caledonian Sleeper to Aberdeen - which arrives in time to pick up this train to Penzance - which arrives in time to catch the Riviera Sleeper back to London. A spectacular waste of time and money I am sure - but a novelty!
Make a tape loop of wheel on rail sounds, lock yourself in the bedroom with a basket of sandwiches and some cartons of fruit juice and emulate the journey, including dashing around london with luggage between trains.
Everyone slags off the CrossCountry Super Voyagers, but the trains themselves aren't that bad. They do get up to their max speed quite often, and the seats are relatively comfortable, but the BIG problem with them is major overcrowding at times due to the size of the sets. I mean, FOUR COACHES? Are they MAD? On most other service providers such as GWR and LNER, there is a minimum of 5-cars per unit, and up to NINE cars per unit on some longer routes. I think all Crosscountry need to do to make a better service is increase the amount of cars per unit, to deal with the overcrowding and make for a less stressful journey.
I believe they will be receiving Avanti West Coasts Super Voyager sets once they are replaced by new IET's so hopefully Cross Country will start to double up more sets on more journeys.
@@nathanw9770 I hope they sort out the REALLY uncomfortable seats too. Very little cushioning and seriously bad for the back! I was only on one for just under an hour recently, and my lower lumbar region felt like it was on fire by the time I got off!
@@maimadha All the Avanti West Coast Super Voyagers are slowly being replaced by Hitachi Class 805 and 807's, so they could be moved over to CrossCountry to greatly improve on their inadequate 4 and 5-car sets.
For convenience, a flight for sure. Though working en route, best office view in UK, always changing. Bit biased, although all beautiful Scottish landscape is best on the train😅. Shame not a buffet car for first class and the length of the journey . Do they still exist Dom? Wonderful video❤.
They do still exist but sadly since Covid it has become a much rarer occurrence to have a cooked service in 1st class. I would genuinely love to see proper hot meals once again become main stream on the rails.
Another fantastic video Dominic. I must say I think I'd go for the Loganair service to Newquay via Manchester but guess it's likely seasonal. That said, 14 hours on a direct train in the UK is like something from a film so I totally get why you did it!!
I went from Plymouth to Leeds, 2023, with cross country and they did not offer any refreshments until Derby, I will not use them again, although I complained never got any reply.
I did that once. Never again. I used to work on the trains so we only paid 25% of national fares and I got an all network pass for a week for, at the time about £50. My arse had died by the time I got to Penzance.
If you didn't get any complimentary drinks and snacks until after Edininburgh, Cross Country were stingy. You should have caught the LNER 0752 from Aberdeen until York, and changed there, they would have looked after you big time. :)
Having several crew changes on this journey is essential. I imagine people in the West Country would have difficulty understanding the train staff if they were all speaking Scottish/Doric. Not to mention how tiring the shift would be if the train had the same staff all the way from the start
Absolutely! Each shift of the crew were fantastic as well and i got talking to a lot of them who were mostly curious as to why i was doing such a long trip.
@@WorldWide_Dom I doubt many people travel the full length of that journey. I remember watching another TH-camr doing this trip and he said the conductor was shocked when he checked his ticket
Excellent video and I highly commend your dedication to this! 14 hours, that’s a flight to Singapore from London! It is a great scenic route but Cross Country is the worst operator for it.
Glad you enjoyed it, there was Wi-Fi but not great, i just used my hotspot most of the time. I flew back to Edinburgh from Newquay airport on Ryanair, the video for that is out on the channel already.
Great video. I bet you’re glad you weren’t on standard (cattle) class!!! I used to get CrossCountry from Edinburgh to Motherwell each day and it was horrific - the train was filthy, stinking, uncomfortable and very often late and over-crowded. I’m surprised CrossCountry still operate actually.
Are you a musician Dom? I notice you always put the cuts between video clips on the first beat of a bar! A nice touch. Anyway, nicely done. Not a trip I’d do myself I don’t think, but a good one to watch all the same.
ah i see you found me out. Yes I am of sorts, I play the Piano and off the back of that have been known to dabble in orchestral composing in Apple Logic.
@@WorldWide_DomGreat video. For long (ish) train journeys, I use my Ipad and midi controller runing Cubasis to keep me occupied, but I usually just end up watching the scenery
I must say, I think it a very worth while idea going first class on a long trip like that - the supply of coffee, USB terminals, quietness (I already mentioned about peak hour through West Midlands). Maybe it might be an idea to incorporate the trip into something like the all-line rover ticket.
I feel like you could've edited this much better, this could've been a 14 minute video but you spent so much time on filler/transitions. For example you could cut out segments like 13:08-14:28 and very little would be lost.
Duly noted. Thank you, as I only release one video a week I try to strike a balance between cutting out the unnecessary and showing off as much as possible. Sometimes i get it right, sometimes i don't
Your comment about four people - that tells you a lot about how many all-the-way compatriots you had. But wait and see how busy it gets when you arrive in West Midlands at rush hour time - my train was packed.!! Most of the passengers all doing short segments, constantly getting on and off.
@@GodAtum Yes I find it secure enough, never had a camera fall. Most GoPro's and action cameras i find now have good enough stabilization that you don't need to do any kind of walk like you used to have too.
I doubt many people are doing the whole trip. That they even run this full service is more surprising than anything, I'd have expected them to terminate it at Birmingham and run a separate service into Cornwall
XC do a service PZ to Bristol, in which the train empties, locks up and parks for half an hour at Temple Meads unpowered, then forms another service heading north. The logic of this may be related to the most excellent rules covering competition and franchising devised by a caring sharing government back in the day.
as someone who lives in cornwall and wants to visit scotland, I hate flying. so I'd probably get the sleeper into london, then the other sleeper up to scotland
Would love to know what the door to door trip time from Aberdeen to Penzance would be , I bet it could be at least 6 or 7 hours ( if there is actually a flight) , and the far that would be a nightmare trip , just waiting for the cost
Definitely a test of endurance and hotel bed well deserved at the end. Did First Class include any hot meals or alcohol? £275 is a lot but probably worth the extra £ over second class which I imagine is fairly painful for almost 14 hours. One detail - the audio of you speaking on the train is almost inaudible - either talk louder, get a handheld microphone or stick your face right into the camera!
Your journey reminded me of asking the mountaineer why he climbed it, because it was there, you did it because it was there no other reason, well not unless you’re a masochist 😊
Sitting facing backwards for 14 hours....you savage!...it was bad enough when i used to get the train from London Paddington to St Erth..( the stop before Penzance) to visit for my parents..that was about 6 hours and was too long for my liking...I made the mistake of not going 1st class one time...never made that mistake again.
Give Lumo a try . I use them on the Edinburgh -London Kings Cross route. They are cheaper usually than LNER but they are not as comfortable. Cross Country I use between Edinburgh and Derby. Never a very pleasant journey. Carriages just seem old and dated and they always look dirty.
Personally I think it is great that there is still a service to cover the whole country. However, I am not sure that many folk [or families] will be able to afford a trip like this.
I did actually think that it would cost more than £275 in First Class, despite the lack of hot food, though it's the only place to be on a Voyager for anything more than a couple of hours. I actually did it in 2nd many years ago on an HST - when it started from Elgin, at 0549 if my memory serves me correct! We all have our different values and so only you can really decide whether it was worth it - but even compared to what that might cost in petrol these days, it doesn't seem too bad, especially as you're unlikely to choose to drive such a distance if travelling alone anyway. Flights to the more off-the-beaten-track airports are rarely cheap either, and although they do save some time, Newquay isn't especially handy for Penzance and so a good couple of hours would need to be added to the flight time to sort out how you intend to complete your travel as well as for check-in times etc. Both of these options have a much higher environmental cost, too... I have to say, I'd not choose to travel all day on a Voyager. They're a bit cramped and claustrophobic - even in First Class, and mainly due to complete absence of fresh air and anywhere to walk to other than the toilets. They're good trains for journeys of 3-4 hours duration and seem to be mechanically reliable enough, but not for all-day journeys; and certainly not without any hot food provision. While I do appreciate the opportunity of through trains, it ought to be possible to break your journey at given points on the journey (perhaps Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham & Bristol TM; have a walk out in the fresh air and perhaps a hot meal in a cafe; and then continue on a later train - without any additional surcharges.
Flying is not really an option on this route. The closest you can get to Penzance by direct flight is Bristol, which at this moment is around £300, leaving you still having to pay public transport fare the rest of the way, and taking a lot longer.
Can confirm that it is to arrive at. Eg. You arrive at the station. Much depends on the context. Eg. Sometimes you can say to arrive in London. Arrive into is colloquial and anyway, unnecessary.
Fair play a journey that long is a hard slog, and a first class ticket is likely to set you back a lot more that a plane ticket. Thanks for sacrificing 15 hours of your time for our entertainment!
776.25 miles by rail and if the 13h30 is correct that's 57.5mph average. I guess that's not too bad considering there's so many stops and some parts are pretty slow, especially the wobbly route through Cornwall. As to wether I'd fly or take the train, well in the old days I'd prefer the train if I wasn't in a hurry. Actually I did sort of, covering the whole route on various different trains. Back in them days you could also do the route overnight, or most of it. I feel that if this country was serious about climate change and encouraging train travel they'd reduce the fares and subsidize a sleeper train on this route.
Its such a shame that this great journey is operated by CrossCountry, one of the wors operators in the UK. Never enough carriages, reservations never work, never any food service. We could do so much better.
Really excellent video! Your presenting style and editing are as good as I've seen with this kind of content 👍 Would love to see you review Lumo on the ECML, perhaps by doing a comparison with LNER? I'd also be interested in seeing you review Avanti West Coast, Glasgow to London Euston. And maybe showcase the rail route options between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Keep up the good work! ☺
I am actually considering a LNER vs Lumo video so your suggestion is very timely. 😁 glad you like the video I’m always trying to improve on my content quality.
What do you think, what is better this train ride or flying?
I'm completely opposed to domestic flights in the UK,that said 14 hours is a ridiculously long time to take in 2024.
Aberdeen - bus to airport, wait. Fly to Glascow or LHR or Gatwick. Wait sometimes overnight. Change planes. Fly to Newquay. Change to bus get to station, wait. Train to Par, change trains, wait, train to PZ. And then only on the days when the flights happen (not every day). Quicker and cheaper to train to King's Cross, transfer to Paddington, Train to PZ. Almost possible in one day provided the early train from Aberdeen exists. Flying in and out of Newquay is arranged optimally to get to Newquay from Lunnon, not the other way round. Although some days in the summer you might be able to fly to Dusseldorf, then to Edinburgh then to Aberdeen relatively quickly possibly even on the same day. Walking might be nicer than 14 hours of standard class on Cross Country trains.@@jondavies9347
fly , perth to Heathrow is 17 hours.
@@edwiazewicz250 Then Heathrow to Exeter and Exeter to Penzance?
Train
It's such a long journey that you literally arrive in a different climate.!!
My flight to South America was shorter than this trip.
My fight from seoul Korea to Heathrow London was 14 hours
I mean it’s the fact that it has to stop at many stops that’s why it’s so long
That was just amazing seeing a Cross Country train with a drinks service
🤣😂 I know they don’t have the best reputation but I had no idea!
@@WorldWide_Dom XCountry is right up there with GWR with their low value offering in First class. You can go whole legs of the journey where they have nothing onboard.
You want to try Avanti First Class. They bring a menu to the table and have a full drinks service.
@@stevenbennett3922I might just have to give them a try! Whats their longest/main route?
@@stevenbennett3922 agreed on that one! went first class from Bristol to Edinburgh return ...the journey back was a sunday ....we saw the cabin stewardess ONCE through the whole trip and she didnt have much on her trolly when she got to first class i asked why and she said it had all been sold in the standard class! i was sooooo pissed of after forking out what i did for a 1st class fare! I complained but didnt get anywere with cross country! ...I miss virgin on the west coast line their 1st class is expetional and you paid the same price as you would to travel the dire cross country trains, i know as we got cross country on the 1st leg up to Birmingham and then had to change to virgin to carry on to Edinburgh , you could see the BIG diffrence between both 1st class experiences , proper china and cutlery, decent food, and someone coming round all the time if you wanted drinks such as wine (yes alcholic drinks were included unlike cross country) ect all included and didnt charge on the virgin trains,! such a shame virgin lost the franchise for the westcoast route a few yrs ago ...You cant even get a straight through train from Bristol to manchester now like you used to its all change at birmingham new street these day!
I've been on several long rail journeys, up to 24 hours long, but this one is pretty brutal looking because it is during the day and all in a seat instead of a sleeper! Good review, interesting, and it must be nice seeing the way the UK's scenery changes from the North East to the South West. Oh and a Lumo review would be welcomed, especially since there are rumours they may be starting a Glasgow - London route, which is more useful for me than their current route. Thanks for another excellent video!
You could take 2 sleeper train.... one to London on the Caledonia and then another from London to Penzance with GWR... but would be such a long an expensive way to do it
Yessss! Tourists can also buy it for saving🥺 and I also know a cheaper channel😎
I agree about the accents, as I thought the same when I took that train from Edinburgh to Bristol. You hear a wonderful kaleidoscope of the majority of accents in the UK! The scenery and the cities you visit is a great bonus, but the time taken for the journey is brutal!
That's actually a fantastic price for 1st class.I may be wrong (I usually am) but I seem to recall that this was the first train journey in the UK to cost more than £1000.
Yes It’s a great price, I know how to get some discount for buying railcard from the trainpal,just need to input a code～（I can share 😊
Another great video Dom! You managed to cope with a 14 hour train trip better than I ever could lol
Haha glad you liked it. Its been on my to-do list for a while.
We travel from Northumberland to Devon around 6 times per year. It takes around 7 hours and £60 in diesel. Its quite tiring, we did it by train once it took 7 hours, quite tiring (not in first class) and it cost around £400 for two of us. Have a guess how we travel there now. Bearing in mind we have a dog. Yes the car every time. It's a shame because we love the trains.
I’ve taken this train took but only from Haymarket (Edinburgh) to Leuchars (near Dundee) 😂(and it was packed)
I'm doing this one in June. Daylight all the way. The sun sets one minute after we arrive in Penzance!
I paid £77 with a Senior Railcard. But that's in standard class.
Sounds like you got a bargain! Please do enjoy. It will be a journey to remember. 😁
@@WorldWide_Dom Thanks. I will.
@@peterjmcc1953 You're brave for doing it in standard class 😬, how did it go?
Oh dear….you looked exhausted at the end of that. I laughed at you flopping onto the bed and the “see you in the next one”😂
Another good video Dom, with some stunning scenery along the way. Thank you 😊
I think so too！ And I got a promote code for buying railcard on trainpal with a 5% discount！If there is anyone also want a cheap trip can contact me～❤
After seeing many people doing this journey, it's easy to tell how extraordinary this journey must be, been on this Legh from north to south.
Its a slog for sure but the views of seeing basically the UK from north to South make it so worth it.
Great point!
This is the third review have seen of this journey. Funny that they all go on the same direction, though when you have arrived on God's own country, why go back?
Only just started this video and realised you're on a voyager..... Good luck with that
Love it! Thank you! I hope to do this journey someday.
Interesting journey! Thanks for sharing
Hahaha😅😅😅! Oh boy!! You hit that bed in your hotel room hard!! You made me laugh!!😅 Thank you for tsking this train ride. There were some great country side videos there. In some of tge country side areas, I saw the cows which were farm land areas. I notice you passed by a nuclear plate there. For many people it is to always nice to see their country from the trains prospective. I heard you when you said that you heard how everyone speaks with their different accents. And that was good!!😅 The sandwiches and cookies looked good and yes you and I need our coffee ☕. 😂 Hahaha!! For me, that really needed in dealing with passengers on the airplanes in my former career.😊 Well, I saw the sun starting to go down and it was still nice seeing the homes go by you. It is nice to see how people in general are living.There are many train enthusiasts who love train rides. And those people take the trsins all the time. But for me and from here in Chicago, Illinois USA, flying on the airplane is the first option. But again, you did this long trip and gave your viewers here a great video., You made it from coast to coast!😅 Nice. Thank you a grear video!😊😊
Thanks for your lovely comment. I'm glad you liked the video. As you can imagine I was pretty much a walking zombie by the time i hit the bed 🤣 I feel this train ride while not the most convenient way to get from the top of the UK to the bottom, is certainly one of the best ways to see a lot of the country as you correctly point out. 😅 Funnily enough i am intending to head over to Chicago at some point on another one of my America trips. Still a lot of Airlines and trains in that neck of the woods I'd love to give a shot.
😂 Hahaha! Thank you and you are welcome for looking at this video. ☺ I agree with you! You where 😴 tired!!! Oh man!! Well, we here it not bad here in Chicago today. It is about 58 degrees Fahrenheit with a good scene of tge sun starting to go down at my time of 5:25pm ☺
It's an insane trip and it has to be done. It is worth the money to go first class. When I did the trip I met a couple who got off at Penzance, having travelled in standard. They wished they had gone first class.
Yes, I think it is an excellent whistle-stop tour for anyone who hasn't seen much (or any) of UK.
ONLY do it in summer when you can see everything all the way.
Otherwise break the journey overnight with a rover ticket.
Those heading north could continue the next day to Thurso where the last train arrives at 11pm STILL IN DAYLIGHT, but only at mid-summer.
It makes all the difference.
Incomplete unless starting at Lerwick and going to Hugh Town Isles of Scilly. (I've managed that, in the other direction between Wednesday afternoon (Hugh Town) and Saturday morning (Lerwick), with overnights in PZ and Edinburgh to maintain sanity.)
To hell with Lumo. "Digital only" ticketing should be illegal.
Another top notch video. Loved the sound track - and what great views from the window. Price is certainly very steep - think I'd expect a couple of hot meals at least to be thrown in. 14 hours is serious numb bum territory - hope you got up and stretched plenty during the journey. If you'd been a glutton for real punishment you could have made it a John O'Groats to Lands End, and chucked in the rail journey from Thurso (with bus connections at either end), though I'm not sure that can be done in a day. But a great sense of achievement!
Hmm are you setting me a challenge there? 😉😅
@@WorldWide_Dom - could be fun 😀
As commented earlier Hugh Town to Lerwick by surface transport versus air. @@176MarkW
@@etherealbolweevil6268 And then out to Scilly Isles far south west ?
That's where Hugh Town is.@@pingupenguin2474
Great vlog! Especially the ending 🤗
Thank you!! 😁 I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Excellent film, looked like all went well , well catered for en route ....all in very impressive 😁🚆
You did it! We did have a laugh at your "See you in the next one" muttered whilst collapsed on the bed. LOL. We love train travel and on a future trip are planning a Cardiff to Edinburgh train journey. Your super-long trip, though, is probably a bit too long for us.
Hi Dom, I want to travel by train from Sussex to Edinburgh and I'd be interested in seeing a video on the Lumo. I've not travelled on public transport so I need to discover more about my options.
I know I can fly from Gatwick but I'd miss the countryside views from the window
We did Eastbourne to Victoria & then tube to Kings Cross on the Victoria Line before Kings Cross to Edinburgh on LNER for our silver wedding. Booked split tickets Eastbourne to Gatwick, then used oyster pay as you go to Victoria & Kings Cross as it’s cheaper.
@@KatharineA0203 thanks, I know I can get to KingsCross on the Thameslink link so that half of the journey sorted. What do you mean by split tickets?
We paid up to Gatwick for a paper ticket using our rail card & then used pay as you got for us Kings Cross as he gets free travel in the London travel card zone but only from East Croydon.
Well done! For scenery and atmosphere the rail journey is much better. Ive done Sussex to Penzance, and Sussex to Aberdeen, and both are tiring, but worth it. Planes save time, and thats it.
100% glad you liked it. Plus on the train you get to see a lot more of the country itself.
Those sea views are spectacular!
They really are! You can't beat the sea and a dawn/sunset
When you think about it, it’s possibly one of the best ways to really see the country. They were going to stop this service, however there was a campaign to keep it running to Aberdeen, which was successful. I think doing a journey like that creates a problem, it makes you realise just how much of our own country we have to explore..
100% I do have much of the UK to see and especially Devon and Cornwall are up there on my list of places in England to do some videos.
@@WorldWide_Dom I haven’t been able to travel last year due to finances, however this year on a tight budget I intend to use EasyJet from Inverness to Bristol, then explore Bristol itself, see nearby Bath and get a train over to Cardiff and see Wales for the first time..
Thanks for taking a hit for the team on that one, I couldn't do it definitely ✈ 👍
Says it all the state of UK rail prices almost £300 one way could go for a week in Spain for that
I've long wanted to leave Euston on the Caledonian Sleeper to Aberdeen - which arrives in time to pick up this train to Penzance - which arrives in time to catch the Riviera Sleeper back to London. A spectacular waste of time and money I am sure - but a novelty!
Make a tape loop of wheel on rail sounds, lock yourself in the bedroom with a basket of sandwiches and some cartons of fruit juice and emulate the journey, including dashing around london with luggage between trains.
Great video! I've done this too but in standard class
Well done you done it dom and it be worth it when you see your beautiful destination area not that I been there great video thanks have a good week
Everyone slags off the CrossCountry Super Voyagers, but the trains themselves aren't that bad. They do get up to their max speed quite often, and the seats are relatively comfortable, but the BIG problem with them is major overcrowding at times due to the size of the sets.
I mean, FOUR COACHES? Are they MAD?
On most other service providers such as GWR and LNER, there is a minimum of 5-cars per unit, and up to NINE cars per unit on some longer routes.
I think all Crosscountry need to do to make a better service is increase the amount of cars per unit, to deal with the overcrowding and make for a less stressful journey.
I believe they will be receiving Avanti West Coasts Super Voyager sets once they are replaced by new IET's so hopefully Cross Country will start to double up more sets on more journeys.
@@nathanw9770 I hope they sort out the REALLY uncomfortable seats too. Very little cushioning and seriously bad for the back! I was only on one for just under an hour recently, and my lower lumbar region felt like it was on fire by the time I got off!
@@AFCManUk if CrossCountry gave the Voyagers an interior refurbishment they would look so much better
@@maimadha All the Avanti West Coast Super Voyagers are slowly being replaced by Hitachi Class 805 and 807's, so they could be moved over to CrossCountry to greatly improve on their inadequate 4 and 5-car sets.
Lovely aberdeenshire coast. I cycled between aberdeen and dundee to enjoy the coast but it was foggy the whole way!
For convenience, a flight for sure. Though working en route, best office view in UK, always changing. Bit biased, although all beautiful Scottish landscape is best on the train😅. Shame not a buffet car for first class and the length of the journey . Do they still exist Dom? Wonderful video❤.
They do still exist but sadly since Covid it has become a much rarer occurrence to have a cooked service in 1st class. I would genuinely love to see proper hot meals once again become main stream on the rails.
Another fantastic video Dominic. I must say I think I'd go for the Loganair service to Newquay via Manchester but guess it's likely seasonal. That said, 14 hours on a direct train in the UK is like something from a film so I totally get why you did it!!
The music as well really sets the tone
I went from Plymouth to Leeds, 2023, with cross country and they did not offer any refreshments until Derby, I will not use them again, although I complained never got any reply.
Tremendous work! Well done!
I did that once. Never again. I used to work on the trains so we only paid 25% of national fares and I got an all network pass for a week for, at the time about £50. My arse had died by the time I got to Penzance.
If you didn't get any complimentary drinks and snacks until after Edininburgh, Cross Country were stingy. You should have caught the LNER 0752 from Aberdeen until York, and changed there, they would have looked after you big time. :)
Having several crew changes on this journey is essential. I imagine people in the West Country would have difficulty understanding the train staff if they were all speaking Scottish/Doric. Not to mention how tiring the shift would be if the train had the same staff all the way from the start
Absolutely! Each shift of the crew were fantastic as well and i got talking to a lot of them who were mostly curious as to why i was doing such a long trip.
@@WorldWide_Dom I doubt many people travel the full length of that journey. I remember watching another TH-camr doing this trip and he said the conductor was shocked when he checked his ticket
I'll let you know what i think when i do the same journey in 2 weeks' time. Bonkers.
How was it?
11:00 the guy behind you looks like Graeme that use to be on Jeremy kyle
Always wanted to try this journey
Great video. Hope to de this one day myself. What was the song as you left Birmingham?
Did u go through the great Bolton upon Dearne
it is good to see. And my friends told me a way to get bigger discounts for rail trips.
Recall getting on a train at Dawlish Warren to Glasgow…was 13hrs trip!
Excellent video and I highly commend your dedication to this! 14 hours, that’s a flight to Singapore from London! It is a great scenic route but Cross Country is the worst operator for it.
Add a lot of hours (a day) if starting in either Aberdeen or PZ.
What an awesome and epic journey¡ 😮 Really intrigued what Railcard did you use please
¿ 😊
That was a marathon journey well done. I really enjoyed video how was the wi-fi on the journey. How did you get back home ?
Glad you enjoyed it, there was Wi-Fi but not great, i just used my hotspot most of the time. I flew back to Edinburgh from Newquay airport on Ryanair, the video for that is out on the channel already.
@@WorldWide_Dom Oh I will go watch that video tomorrow thank you
I bet you were tired after that long long train journey.
Great video. I bet you’re glad you weren’t on standard (cattle) class!!! I used to get CrossCountry from Edinburgh to Motherwell each day and it was horrific - the train was filthy, stinking, uncomfortable and very often late and over-crowded. I’m surprised CrossCountry still operate actually.
Are you a musician Dom? I notice you always put the cuts between video clips on the first beat of a bar! A nice touch. Anyway, nicely done. Not a trip I’d do myself I don’t think, but a good one to watch all the same.
ah i see you found me out. Yes I am of sorts, I play the Piano and off the back of that have been known to dabble in orchestral composing in Apple Logic.
@@WorldWide_DomGreat video. For long (ish) train journeys, I use my Ipad and midi controller runing Cubasis to keep me occupied, but I usually just end up watching the scenery
No meals and no sleeping cars. No wonder people fly.
14 hours on the UKs longest train journey but you only gave us 28 minutes?
I feel cheated!
14 hour video would have taken too much storage
I did part of this journey on Friday Edinburgh to Bristol but starting at Glasgow, all I say the toilets stink
I must say, I think it a very worth while idea going first class on a long trip like that - the supply of coffee, USB terminals, quietness (I already mentioned about peak hour through West Midlands).
Maybe it might be an idea to incorporate the trip into something like the all-line rover ticket.
Didn't they used to run this to Inverness?
That is nowhere *near* a 37 at full tilt. It rattles your bones and you hear a noise from an engine you've never heard in your life.
I feel like you could've edited this much better, this could've been a 14 minute video but you spent so much time on filler/transitions. For example you could cut out segments like 13:08-14:28 and very little would be lost.
Duly noted. Thank you, as I only release one video a week I try to strike a balance between cutting out the unnecessary and showing off as much as possible. Sometimes i get it right, sometimes i don't
Your comment about four people - that tells you a lot about how many all-the-way compatriots you had.
But wait and see how busy it gets
when you arrive in West Midlands at rush hour time - my train was packed.!!
Most of the passengers all doing short segments, constantly getting on and off.
Song name at 15:43 ?
What about John "O" Groat to Land's End ?
if it was a return, it would be worth it, but not one way.
Nobody's going to mention that he was on 221122, a rare instance of a palindromic train number?
Worth it for the views
what backpack shoulder clip are you using for your gopro?
Nothing fancy I'm afraid just a cheap £5 one from amazon. In 2 years I've only had to replace it once due to a breakage.
@@WorldWide_Dom do you find it secure? Do you have to be careful how you walk to avoid a really bumpy film?
@@GodAtum Yes I find it secure enough, never had a camera fall. Most GoPro's and action cameras i find now have good enough stabilization that you don't need to do any kind of walk like you used to have too.
I doubt many people are doing the whole trip. That they even run this full service is more surprising than anything, I'd have expected them to terminate it at Birmingham and run a separate service into Cornwall
XC do a service PZ to Bristol, in which the train empties, locks up and parks for half an hour at Temple Meads unpowered, then forms another service heading north. The logic of this may be related to the most excellent rules covering competition and franchising devised by a caring sharing government back in the day.
as someone who lives in cornwall and wants to visit scotland, I hate flying. so I'd probably get the sleeper into london, then the other sleeper up to scotland
If CrossCountry used the HSTs on the Aberdeen to Penzance service that would be so much
They often stop to restock the refreshment trolley
Great video and trip ! How long ago did you do this and which railcard did you use to get that ticket price ? Thanks
@SineYi Thanks, but what railcard did you buy and subsequently use to get the discounted tickets ? And when did you make the trip ?
It was a good train no brake downs well done train
Would love to know what the door to door trip time from Aberdeen to Penzance would be , I bet it could be at least 6 or 7 hours ( if there is actually a flight) , and the far that would be a nightmare trip , just waiting for the cost
Gbp 275 in 1st is not bad
Definitely a test of endurance and hotel bed well deserved at the end. Did First Class include any hot meals or alcohol? £275 is a lot but probably worth the extra £ over second class which I imagine is fairly painful for almost 14 hours. One detail - the audio of you speaking on the train is almost inaudible - either talk louder, get a handheld microphone or stick your face right into the camera!
Very useful, thanks for sharing ❤❤ BTW I found an even bigger discount on European railroads😂 Save a lot🤩lol
I have found 5%off on trainpal
Can you tell us what music you used?
Your journey reminded me of asking the mountaineer why he climbed it, because it was there, you did it because it was there no other reason, well not unless you’re a masochist 😊
I am doing this in May also doing the full length also in first class, do you have any tips
Sitting facing backwards for 14 hours....you savage!...it was bad enough when i used to get the train from London Paddington to St Erth..( the stop before Penzance) to visit for my parents..that was about 6 hours and was too long for my liking...I made the mistake of not going 1st class one time...never made that mistake again.
Yes, an enjoyable video to watch and possibly a great experience but sorry, I don't fancy doing the trip myself.
Regards from Whitley Bay
What days do they do direct trains from Aberdeen to Penzance?
Give Lumo a try . I use them on the Edinburgh -London Kings Cross route. They are cheaper usually than LNER but they are not as comfortable.
Cross Country I use between Edinburgh and Derby. Never a very pleasant journey. Carriages just seem old and dated and they always look dirty.
Personally I think it is great that there is still a service to cover the whole country. However, I am not sure that many folk [or families] will be able to afford a trip like this.
Respect m8 💪
That looks hellish...no bed!😂
I did actually think that it would cost more than £275 in First Class, despite the lack of hot food, though it's the only place to be on a Voyager for anything more than a couple of hours. I actually did it in 2nd many years ago on an HST - when it started from Elgin, at 0549 if my memory serves me correct! We all have our different values and so only you can really decide whether it was worth it - but even compared to what that might cost in petrol these days, it doesn't seem too bad, especially as you're unlikely to choose to drive such a distance if travelling alone anyway. Flights to the more off-the-beaten-track airports are rarely cheap either, and although they do save some time, Newquay isn't especially handy for Penzance and so a good couple of hours would need to be added to the flight time to sort out how you intend to complete your travel as well as for check-in times etc. Both of these options have a much higher environmental cost, too...
I have to say, I'd not choose to travel all day on a Voyager. They're a bit cramped and claustrophobic - even in First Class, and mainly due to complete absence of fresh air and anywhere to walk to other than the toilets. They're good trains for journeys of 3-4 hours duration and seem to be mechanically reliable enough, but not for all-day journeys; and certainly not without any hot food provision. While I do appreciate the opportunity of through trains, it ought to be possible to break your journey at given points on the journey (perhaps Newcastle, Leeds, Birmingham & Bristol TM; have a walk out in the fresh air and perhaps a hot meal in a cafe; and then continue on a later train - without any additional surcharges.
Hs2 does end at Birmingham
Flying is not really an option on this route. The closest you can get to Penzance by direct flight is Bristol, which at this moment is around £300, leaving you still having to pay public transport fare the rest of the way, and taking a lot longer.
A question if I may.
Why do people say ´Arrive into´ rather than ´Arrive at´ is it colloquial differences?
Can confirm that it is to arrive at. Eg. You arrive at the station. Much depends on the context. Eg. Sometimes you can say to arrive in London. Arrive into is colloquial and anyway, unnecessary.
Fair play a journey that long is a hard slog, and a first class ticket is likely to set you back a lot more that a plane ticket. Thanks for sacrificing 15 hours of your time for our entertainment!
How much is this journey??
This is only about 1/4 of the journey from Toronto to Vancouver.
You must be mad 😂 the constant stopping would do my head in
776.25 miles by rail and if the 13h30 is correct that's 57.5mph average. I guess that's not too bad considering there's so many stops and some parts are pretty slow, especially the wobbly route through Cornwall. As to wether I'd fly or take the train, well in the old days I'd prefer the train if I wasn't in a hurry. Actually I did sort of, covering the whole route on various different trains. Back in them days you could also do the route overnight, or most of it. I feel that if this country was serious about climate change and encouraging train travel they'd reduce the fares and subsidize a sleeper train on this route.
It would be more exciting if you went from Cornwall to Civilisation !!
Its such a shame that this great journey is operated by CrossCountry, one of the wors operators in the UK. Never enough carriages, reservations never work, never any food service. We could do so much better.
much nicer than flying in my opinion.
You must of got to see some nice views
Really excellent video! Your presenting style and editing are as good as I've seen with this kind of content 👍
Would love to see you review Lumo on the ECML, perhaps by doing a comparison with LNER?
I'd also be interested in seeing you review Avanti West Coast, Glasgow to London Euston. And maybe showcase the rail route options between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Keep up the good work! ☺
I am actually considering a LNER vs Lumo video so your suggestion is very timely. 😁 glad you like the video I’m always trying to improve on my content quality.