Travelling the length of the West Coast Main Line (WCML) has been on my must-take train journeys for a long time, and it does not disappoint! As a child, I’d grown up on Ivor the Engine and Thomas the Tank Engine. I love the history of steam and the stories evoked by the mere mention of the ‘Big Four’ and the race been London and Scotland.
We booked our return tickets from Glasgow Central to London Euston in advance, as always taking advantage of our Two Together Railcard to save some money on the fares. After a long weekend in Glasgow, we decided to jump on the 3.40 pm direct service with Avanti which takes around 4 hours, 30 minutes.
As this had been a weekend away, we’d paid a bit more this time out for First-Class for the extra bit of space, comfort, and complimentary refreshments. I’m also a huge fan of staring out the window on a train journey and just watching the world go by and the big picture windows of the Pendolino train are perfect for this.
There is a First-Class lounge at Glasgow Central where you can grab some complimentary refreshments such as coffee, tea, biscuits, pastries, etc. Well worth getting to the station slightly ahead of time just to slow down and stop for a bit before boarding.
Onboard as always is a treat, and we had a pair of seats facing one another with the big picture framing window all to ourselves. Being a bit of a steam train fan, I was dead excited to be following in the tracks of the LMS Coronation Class locomotive which had briefly held the speed record for steam at 114 mph.
In no time at all really, we were flying along towards Carlisle, the first stop on the journey south having weaved our way through beautiful Scottish countryside for the last hour or so. As you near Lancaster get yourself a view out of the right-hand side of the train and enjoy the breathtaking sea views over Morecambe Bay.
From here on in towns, cities, villages, and rolling countryside all flash by as we wind our way down further and further towards London Euston.
I absolutely love taking the train, and this is certainly one journey that won’t disappoint. So with another journey ticked off the list, next time I hope to return north on the Caledonian Sleeper and venture even further into Scotland by visiting Fort William.
Richard, a Trainline employee, chose to share their experience of the journey between Glasgow and London.