Author: Mark Johnson

We have teamed up with Mackie’s of Scotland to grant one lucky winner and their plus one an unforgettable railway experience aboard the Caledonian Sleeper and a year’s supply of chocolate.

Prize winners will receive a welcome bottle of champagne upon arrival and enjoy a return trip in either a Caledonian Double or Club room between any Caledonian Sleeper destinations of their choice

The prize will also include a Mackie’s goodie bag which contains a Gillian Kyle apron, an exclusive Mackie’s ice cream scoop, tea towel and tote bag, as well as 52 x 120 g Mackie’s chocolate bars to sweeten the deal.

To be in with a chance of winning, participants must submit their entry on Mackie’s website by Friday 23rd December. Uploading a photograph with a bar of Mackie’s chocolate will grant an additional five entries. All passengers on board Caledonian Sleeper services will receive a ticket with a QR code which links to the competition.

Steven Marshall, Caledonian Sleeper’s Head of Sales & Marketing, said “Thanks to Mackie’s our guests have been enjoying a sweet taste of Scotland onboard since we launched our partnership earlier this year. We are delighted to be evolving our tie-up with Mackie’s and to give a lucky winner the chance to win a fantastic prize which could bookend a beautiful holiday or an overdue visit to family and friends at the other side of the UK.”

Stuart Common, Sales and Marketing Director at Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “To celebrate Mackie’s partnership with Caledonian Sleeper, we’ve launched this fun competition to give one lucky person the chance to experience a trip on the service. Seeing Mackie’s bars of chocolate touring the UK has been fantastic and we’re delighted to be providing a taste of Scotland during the trip. If you have an interest in trains, travelling or chocolate then this is the competition for you!”

The competition will run from the 1^st to the 23^rd of December.

Enter now here!

Terms and conditions apply.

Caledonian Sleeper has entered into a partnership with North Coast 500, voted one of the world’s top coastal touring routes.

Bringing together more than 500 miles (516 miles, to be exact!) of stunning coastal scenery, the North Coast 500 (NC500) naturally follows the rugged coastal edges of the North Highlands – one of Scotland’s best-kept secrets.

 

 

The NC500 is so much more than just a driving route; it’s all about the journey and the experiences you’ll enjoy along the way. With stunning coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains, remote fishing villages, hidden gems, and a wealth of unforgettable experiences, the NC500 is Scotland’s ultimate road trip, offering a truly unique touring experience quite unlike anywhere else in the world!

 

 

After waking up refreshed and ready to go in Inverness following an overnight journey with Caledonian Sleeper from London, easy onward travel links to the NC500 route encourage travellers to discover the clean air and breath-taking scenery of Inverness-shire, Easter Ross, Wester Ross, Caithness and Sutherland.

 

 

The NC500 route enjoys superb quality hotels, fine restaurants and year-round outdoor activities. There are golf courses, fairy-tale castles, distilleries and historic trails. The winter landscapes are a photographer’s dream, the wildlife abounds, and the dark skies offer some of the best stargazing as well as a chance to catch the Northern Lights. All giving visitors reasons to linger longer and enjoy the benefits of off-season travel. 

 

Craig Mills, Chief Operating Officer for NC500 said: 

 

“Our greatest attraction is the scenery of this unique part of the world – from rugged coastlines and remote beaches through to peat bogs and snow-capped mountains – and it takes on a different but no less beautiful character in the autumn and winter. By partnering with the Caledonian Sleeper, we want to encourage visitors to travel overnight and arrive fresh and ready to make the most of what we can offer in and around the NC500. 

 

“We are so much more than a road trip, and a mini-break that starts with stress-free travel to Scotland would set people up for a slower-paced holiday based in one of our glorious destinations. It is perhaps a new ‘sleeper season’.” 

 

When travelling with Caledonian Sleeper, guests can enjoy a hassle-free journey without security queues, long treks between the airport and city, nor excess baggage charges. Instead, they are transported from the heart of the city to destinations such as Inverness, the gateway to the NC500. 

 

Steven Marshall, Head of Sales and Marketing at Serco Caledonian Sleeper, said:

 

“The NC500 is a truly stunning coastal route and we’re proud to help open up this destination, allowing more people to experience its beauty.

 

“Our overnight rail service connects London with numerous destinations in Scotland, running both north and south across the border. It’s fantastic that we can give travellers the opportunity to experience all that Scotland has to offer, from vibrant cities to tranquil rural areas.”

We have been looking at ways to make our service more sustainable and we are constantly working with our partners to help reduce our carbon footprint.

Since 2015 we have partnered with ARRAN Sense of Scotland to supply our guests with bath and shower gels, shampoo, conditioner, handwashes and body lotions.

Since the start of October all our fleet has been fitted with eco-friendly refillable dispensers to replace the single use plastics in our Caledonian Double and Club rooms, reducing virgin plastic use by 81% and liquid waste by use to 75%.

In total we will remove close to 400,000 single use plastic bottles from our fleet per year.

Steven Marshall, Head of Sales and Marketing for Caledonian Sleeper, said:

“We have shifted to a more sustainable proposition while maintaining the high-quality products and experience that Caledonian Sleeper passengers have come to expect. ARRAN Sense of Scotland’s signature, After the Rain fragrance will be available in all of the new Caledonian Sleeper ARRAN branded refill dispensers.”

The move is part of ARRAN Sense of Scotland’s strategy to improve its environmental impact. All the company’s bottles are now made of 100% PCR (post-consumer recycled plastic) with the company eliminating virgin plastic from its supply chain by the end of 2022.

Kevin Meechan, CEO at ARRAN Sense of Scotland, said:

“We are still on our journey towards sustainability and the change in public perception in regard to our eco-friendly measures has been positive for our company. It has made us evaluate what we could improve on and also allow us to see all the good we have already done in this sphere. We are really excited to continue this journey towards a greener future.”

Find out more about ARRAN Sense of Scotland’s sustainable promise here: https://arran.com/pages/our-eco-friendly-commitments

 

 

 

John Whitehurst, Managing Director of Serco’s Transport business, said: “When Serco took over the Caledonian Sleeper service in April 2015, we inherited an unreliable and outdated fleet of carriages dating back to the 1970s.

“We are extremely proud that under our leadership and management we have introduced new rolling stock and other significant innovations that have completely transformed the service. The service that Serco provides today is widely recognised as being outstanding, providing hotel standard service and accommodation that is renowned and admired around the world and loved by the people who travel on it.  We thank the Minister for her warm words recognising the achievements of the Serco Caledonian Sleeper team.

The contract that was signed in 2014 included a ‘rebase clause’ that meant that, after seven years of the 15-year Franchise, Serco could present to the Scottish Government alternative financial arrangements for the remaining years of the Franchise.  The Government and Serco were not able to reach agreement on these revised terms, and accordingly the Franchise will now end in June 2023, at which point, unless other arrangements can be agreed, Serco will hand back the management of the Sleeper to the Scottish Government.

“We note that the Government’s decision not to accept our proposals has not been made due to any performance issues; from Serco’s point of view the service has been loss-making over the life of the contract and the proposals that we made to Transport Scotland were to put it on a more sustainable financial footing.  We will continue to work with Transport Scotland around options for the future management of the service and in the meantime will continue to deliver a world-class service for our guests.”