London to Cornwall on the UK’s BEST Sleeper Train

London to Cornwall on the UK’s BEST Sleeper Train

This Video is in Partnership with Readly. Tonight we’re travelling from London, as 
far West as you can go in the UK by train. We’ll relax in a comfortable room, have a few 
drinks, enjoy some beautiful rural views and a delicious breakfast – so come along 
with me on this #GreatWesternAdventure. Welcome back to the UK’s bustling capital city, 
London – which is home to around 8 million people. I’m heading down to Cornwall tonight onboard 
the GWR Night Riviera service. It’s one of my favourite parts of the country and 
definitely a change of pace from here. I’ve been to Penzance a few times 
before – but never on this sleeper train. But I’ve heard so many good things 
about it, I’m very excited to try it out. The journey starts at London Paddington, at the Eastern end of the Great Western 
Railway to Wales and the South West. This is one of 14 terminus stations in the city 
serving destination all over Great Britain. Paddington first opened in 1838 and was designed 
by famed railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The showpiece of the station being the 
stunning three-span, wrought iron and glass trainshed roof – the largest anywhere 
in the world at the time of construction. Today, Paddington features many shops 
and food outlets on the main concourse, along with a large food court, 
eating and waiting areas. There is a centrally located information 
desk, including sign language boards. Tickets can be purchased from the many 
automatic vending machines around the concourse, or form the staffed ticket office 
over the far side from the entrance. Tickets for the Night Riviera are best 
booked online, well in advance though. Connections to both the Underground network 
and the Elizabeth Line are easily accessible. Use the latter for cheaper direct 
trains to Heathrow Airport, or the Heathrow Express from Platforms 
6 & 7 for fast, nonstop services. Free to use toilets are also available. Be sure you’re subscribed so 
you don’t miss my upcoming video on GWR’s flagship ‘Pullman 
Dining’ Experience. Coming soon! OK, after saying a quick hello to 
the other Paddington at the station, I think it’s time to head 
to the First Class lounge. This is located on Platform 1, and sleeper 
passengers are allowed access from 9pm. This is a very comfortable space to wait for your 
train – with a variety of different seating areas. There are also complimentary cold 
and hot drinks, snacks and fruit. Now, I’ve got around an hour before we 
can board – so I’m going to catch up with the latest editions of my 
favourite magazines on Readly. The Readly App allows me to access over 
8,000 magazines and newspapers for one low monthly fee. There’s something – 
many things, in fact, for everyone! Right now I’m catching up with the 
fantastic ‘Railways Illustrated’ – and I just love how you can zoom in and 
rotate the text and photos so easily. One of my favourite features of Readly 
is being able to download full editions of magazines in advance, to read when I’m 
travelling, with no phone signal or WiFi. I’m also always catching up on the latest 
National Geographic ‘Traveller’ magazine for inspiration for my trips in 
2026 – more Scuba diving inbound! The Readly App is super convenient too – 
because I don’t have to carry around bulky, physical copies – which is 
also GREAT for the environment! You can even download back issues if 
you’ve missed out on a previous edition. If you’re not convinced yet, then Readly 
are offering my viewers a totally FREE, 2 month trial – so you really have 
nothing to lose. You can cancel anytime. Head to the link in my description, or scan the 
QR code on-screen now, and get reading today! When you visit this lounge, don’t forget to check out Queen Victoria’s Royal waiting room 
– which is an absolutely stunning space. OK let’s pop outside as our train is arriving. Boarding is allowed from 10.30pm, 
for an 11.45pm departure. The GWR Night Riviera service is 
formed of a rake of British Rail Mark 3 coaches – of which very few 
are still in service in the UK now. There are two seated coaches, 
one buffet/lounge coach, and four sleeper coaches, where 
I’ll be travelling tonight. These are each equipped with 12, 2-berth sleeper rooms, which can be set 
up for either dual or solo occupancy. One sleeper coach also has an accessible 
room, which we’ll look at later on. Hauling us for the entire trip 
tonight will be this GWR Class 57 diesel locomotive. These have 
a top speed of 153km/h (95mph). OK, let’s get onboard! Shout 
out to the fantastic host, Del. He was so friendly and 
helpful throughout the whole trip! Ramps are available to negotiate 
the step up from platform to train. Here is my room for tonight. And wow, first impressions are amazing – it 
looks super clean and comfortable! We will, of course, check it out in more 
detail once we get going – but as we have another hour or so before departure – let’s 
go and check out the rest of the train now. The Second Class seated coaches are arranged 
in a 2+2 layout. They have OK padding, but surprisingly, a very upright position, and don’t 
offer a recline – which is strange for a night train. They are also wheelchair spaces available 
in this coach, and an accessible toilet adjacent. The lounge car is accessible to sleeper 
passengers only, and has plenty of seating and a buffet counter at one end. Seated 
passengers can also purchase from here. Complimentary tea, coffee and water 
is provided – with a selection of snacks and other drinks available, 
and the prices are reasonable. With 25 now minutes left before departure, let’s 
now check out tonight’s route down to Cornwall. We leave London Paddington and head West, 
calling at Reading for pick up only before passing through Somerset, Devon and then 
finally arriving in Penzance tomorrow morning. Just a quick peek through the 
window at my super cosy compartment. One thing I love about these 
Mark 3 coaches is that they still have slidey windows, and slammy doors! Anyway, we depart bang on-time at 
11.45pm. The Night Riviera service runs every night of the week, except Saturdays. The route from London to Penzance 
is 490km (304mi) in distance, and is scheduled to take 8 hours and 10 minutes of 
travel time, arriving at 7.55am tomorrow morning. The price per bed, for two-people sharing 
one of the sleeper rooms starts from £116 (€134, $158) each. This includes 
the ticket price + room supplement. If you want solo occupancy, then the 
prices start from £136 (€158, $186). Sleeper supplements can be added to any 
non-advance tickets, with super off-peak being the cheapest of these. They are also valid to be 
used with railcards, and Interrail/Eurail passes. Second Class seated tickets cost from £47 
(€54, $64), but these are advance fares. I’ve got a VERY exciting money-cant-buy 
experience waiting for me down at Penzance – so watch until the end 
of the video and I’ll show you that! As we wind our way out of West London, there’s not much to see out the window – so 
let me show your around my room for tonight. Access is granted by a hotel-style key card 
– and the door can be locked from the inside. The window has a full closure, blackout blind. The bed itself is pre-made before arrival with 
lovely clean linen. The mattress is thick, and very soft – and there is a 
nice duvet, and two fluffy pillows. There is also a fold-out table from the backrest. Each bunk has its own 3-pin UK 
power socket and two USB-A ports, along with a room service call bell, 
and controls for all the room lights. These rooms have a great ambience. A towel, and bar of soap are provided 
– and then if you lift this flap, the sink will be revealed, with 
hot and cold running water. A litter bin is underneath this, 
and a storage shelf up above. The cabinet has a couple of coat hangers, and 
two bottles of complimentary drinking water. If there’s two of you in the room, 
the top bunk will be deployed from here. This can be accessed by 
the fold-out steps by the door. Suitcases and bags can be 
stored under the bottom bunks. Overall, an excellent sleeper 
compartment – very well appointed, and one of the very best in Europe. One spacious, accessible compartment is available per train – which has 
an accessible toilet next door. Speaking of toilets – here is one of the two 
regular ones located in my sleeper coach. This was all fully working – and 
stocked up with soap and toilet paper. It was also immaculately clean throughout 
the whole journey – so good job GWR! OK, time to turn in for 
hopefully a good night’s sleep! Good morning from somewhere in-between 
Liskeard and Bodmin. I wake up around 6.20am. I slept pretty well. The bedding was so 
comfortable, and the ride quality was excellent. My only slight complaint would be 
that the beds are quite narrow, so its hard to roll over 
without nearly falling out. Oh, hello cows! I ordered my breakfast for 
6.45, so I tried to hop on the WiFi for a bit of morning reading – 
but unfortunately this wouldn’t connect. However, the 4G signal was good 
enough to load my Readly App, and check out the latest edition of PC World. One other great Readly feature I forgot to 
mention yesterday, is that many publications actually have audio versions too – this 
is great if you want to listen in bed! Anyway, at 6.45 sharp – Del knocks on 
my door to deliver my breakfast tray. You can place your order with 
him shortly after you board. And what a setting to enjoy it from! I went for a fruit pastry, some biscuits, a honey porridge and a freshly brewed coffee. 
Sausage and bacon Rolls are also available. The #TrainWindowViews are certainly a bit 
different from those we left just 8 hours ago. One of our final stops is at Truro 
– the only actual city in Cornwall, and the most southerly city in the whole UK. It is and the administrative centre of the 
county, and home to around 23,000 people. I think we’ve got time to quickly pop down the 
back, and check out THE BEST window on the train. Despite these coaches having opening 
windows – they do lock while on the move – due to health and safety requirements. To check out my video on the UK’s only 
other Night Train – the Caledonian Sleeper to the Scottish Highlands 
– then click the link above now! As we are just about to arrive – let me 
summarise this trip on the Night Riviera service from London to Penzance 
in a private sleeper compartment. It was a brilliant experience 
from start to finish! I love being able to access the lounge at 
Paddington from 9pm, to relax and chill out with a drink, and then board from 10.30, have another 
drink in the lounge car and then settle in to my room well in advance of departure. This makes 
all the difference for a short sleeper train. The rooms were very clean, super 
comfortable and fitted out with all the amenities you could need for 
this overnight trip to Cornwall. The complimentary breakfast was also 
a nice touch – and very delicious. But what really made this whole 
trip really memorable was the staff – especially Del. He was 
amazing and so kind and helpful! We arrive in Penzance around 7 
minutes late, just after 8am. Don’t forget to check out Readly for your 
FREE 2 month, no-strings attached trial. Just click the link in the description 
below, or scan the QR code on-screen now. OK, I promised you a look at the special 
experience that GWR arranged for me on this trip. Well here it is – a cab ride 
in a Class 800 from Penzance! I had an amazing time, and I certainly 
have a lot more respect for the job that train drivers do after seeing 
it first hand from the pointy end. There is an awful lot going on all at 
once! Thanks again for this GWR – and Neil, the driver trainer, who I 
rode with. What an experience! To top off the journey, when you alight 
in Penzance, there is an arrivals lounge which has free tea, coffee, juices and 
biscuits – along with a large seating area. There are also private showers 
here – which you can pre-book for a specific timeslot when you board at Paddington. Have you been on either of the sleeper 
trains in the UK before? If so, on which routes? How did you find them? 
Let me know in the comments below! I’m always open to new video ideas, so if you 
have something you’d like to see on the channel, then drop me DM on Instagram, BlueSky or Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe, and thanks for coming along on this #GreatWesternAdventure with 
me, and I’ll see you in the next video! If you want AD-FREE early access to every 
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Today we’re taking one of Europe’s BEST Night Trains!

We’ll travel from London to Cornwall on GWR’s famous Night Riviera Sleeper Train in a private compartment. There’s super comfy rooms, a lounge and bar to explore and a delicious breakfast – so come along with me and let’s check it out together!

#GWR #NightRiviera #London #Paddington #Penzance #GreatWesternAdventure #TrainWindowViews

Date of Filming: 30/6/25
Camera: GoPro Hero 12 Black
Operator: GWR (Great Western Railway)
Departure: London Paddington, UK
Arrival: Penzance, UK
Cost: Solo Occupancy (Sleeper) – £136 (€158, $186)

To watch my review on the UK’s only other night train, the Caledonian Sleeper, click here: https://youtu.be/-d1flBh7vPM

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00:00 – Intro
01:22 – Arrival at London Paddington
03:22 – Relaxing in the First Class Lounge
05:38 – Train Arrival & Info
06:56 – Boarding & Train Tour
08:45 – Route Information, Departure & Pricing
10:38 – Compartment Tour
13:45 – Good Morning with an AMAZING Breakfast!
15:36 – Beautiful #TrainWindowViews
16:40 – Trip Summary & Arrival in Penzance
17:56 – A VERY SPECIAL EXPERIENCE!
19:05 – Outro