Wanderlust UK – September 2019

Golden Eagle Luxury Trains; Belmond; Journey Beyond; Dreamstime

76 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019

5

CALEDONIAN SLEEPER
England–Scotland; 1 night
Delays to its full launch have only ramped up
anticipation for the revamped Caledonian
Sleeper, which glides from London Euston
over the Scottish border up to Fort William, Inverness and
Aberdeen. Its new look is distinctly ‘hotel on wheels’, with
keycards and room service to the fore and en-suite
showers for those who splash out. There’s over 40 station
stops, and waking up in Aviemore among the reindeer
herds of the Cairngorms is just one tempting option. You
can even travel with your pets!
From £170 one-way, based on two sharing a cabin;
trains run year-round; sleeper.scot

6

SHANGRILA

EXPRESS

China&Tibet; 11 nights

Themountains,desertsand

plainsofXinjiang,Qinghaiand

north-westernGansuareeasilythemost

underratedpartofChina,andwhilethis

‘touristtrain’runsintermittently(thenexttrip

ison 26 September2020),it’sworththewait.

Thefacilitiesmightfalljustshortoftrue

‘luxury’,buttheviewsareoutstanding.Skim

upfromUrumqi,pasttheGobiDesertand

GreatWall,beforetotteringtheworld’s

highestrailwayoverTanggulaPass(5,072m)

foryourpayo•:theTibetanpeaks,prayer

—lagsandpalacesofLhasa.

From£8,695ppone-way,basedon

twopeoplesharingacabin;

goldeneagleluxurytrains.com

4

BLUE TRAIN

South Africa; 2 nights

This year saw a welcome change to the

famous Blue Train route between Cape

Town and Pretoria. Afternoon departures

on this ‘tourist train’ give you an option to hop aboard the

day you land and, best of all, the sleeper now stretches its

1,660km journey across two nights instead of one. Inside

is the same plush vibe – all high tea, picture windows and

private showers – but travelling at about half the pace,

swaying wheat —ields and the vineyards of Stellenbosch

trickle by rather than blur into one. A scheduled stop in

Kimberley on the second day also lets you explore the

iris-like Blue Hole and the mining history of the region.

From ZAR23,050pp (£1,289) one-way, based on

two people sharing a double cabin; trains run

year-round; bluetrain.co.za