For my 100th video on the channel, we’ll be looking at LNER’s Highland Chieftain service which runs a daily service from Inverness to London (and return) and takes close to 8 hours to complete. Whilst the Azuma trains LNER use aren’t the comfiest, this journey is undoubtedly one of the best you can take in Britain, and you’ll see why in the video. Enjoy!
Journey details:
Date of travel – January 2024
Operator – London North Eastern Railway (LNER)
Train type – Class 800 “Azuma”
Origin – Inverness
Destination – London Kings Cross
Class of travel – First
Price – £95.35/€111.02/$121.57
Advance First Single (inc
1/3 Railcard discount)
Journey time – 8 hours, 18 minutes
Distance – 566 miles/911km
Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoyed the video!
Music from EpidemicSound and is used under license.
A massive thanks to Roddy MacPhee for the use of the photo for my thumbnail, check out his amazing photo gallery here! https://www.flickr.com/photos/roddymacphee/
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Link to the LNER first class menu: https://www.lner.co.uk/first-class-travel/menu/
Link to the LNER café car menu: https://www.lner.co.uk/our-trains/catering/
#class800 #azuma #lner #highlandchieftain #tripreport #vlog #trains #edinburgh #inverness #london #scotland #england
28 Comments
Alright, because I've had several comments about this…
The map used in my intros are not to be taken as gospel – they merely just show the origin and destination city. The full route map, which follows the East Coast, is shown from 04:57. Hope that clarifies
😁
11 minutes 34 seconds. “STERLING” really? 😅🤔
Bizarre that Dickie Pickle's Spinsters bought such rubbish kit! Hopefully LNER will be able to improve them during refurbishment at some time soon.
Looking at some of your footage either passengers are terribly dirty and messy or the clean staff are useless or LNER are making cutbacks because the carpets on that drain were disgusting. The seats not worn out and yes, they are very uncomfortable only marginally more comfortable than Thameslink is 700s. I intend to go to Scotland very soon but I will be using other methods of rail travel to get up there. Great video thanks for sharing.. 👍
Hey Man Nice Video. I was expecting more from a 1st Class ticket. Looks more like a premium economy 😀 I always thought there was only 7 Scottish cities…then I find out Dunfermline is the 8th. Must be a new entry.
I don’t mind LNER and I have been on some of LNER Azuma trains to Leeds, Edinburgh Waverley, Newcastle, York and Doncaster. And I also have been on Lumo as well which their trains are also very nice.
I made the trip on HST leaving Kings Cross at 1200 and it was wonderful in First class good food and wonderful scenery
Have u travelled on cross country? I think u need to reassess your video title after trying them
On the topic of the relatively rough ride of the 80x stock, compared with the old Mk3 & Mk4s, there is an interesting article about this in the October 2024 issue of Modern Railways. “Who cares about ride comfort”, by Roger Ford. A lot of detail about the historic development of the Mk4 bogies, modern standards, design by committee etc. Well worth a read.
How tolerant 80x s are with the state of maintenance of the permanent way I don’t know yet, but wait and see. The old Mk3s were pretty good at ironing out the odd rough patch, as it were. Top quality maintenance helps a lot, and it’s occasionally noticeable on a through service across from one railway to another. I can remember one like that a long time back, through Poland, Germany, to Brussel Midi. The best ride, on a pretty curvy route, was from Hamburg to Köln Hbf, notwithstanding the fact that DB allow a relatively high amount of cant deficiency. Just that DB track maintenance was spot on.
The GWR first class isn't great either on the class 800's why I've stopped upgrading on weekends just ain't worth the money. Either seats in 1st or Standard aren't the most comfortable from when we had HST's. Saying that I've found the GWR reservation system hit or miss only the other day i got on a train from Paddington and the system wasn't working on a packed train.My seat was taken by another traveler who didn't want to move and because the system was out was told to find another seat. Also find the water sensors in the toilets are hit or miss on these, which isn't great for long journeys.
So, you traveled on ECML but the first map shown was the WCML as you entered England. Strange that.
I do so hope that they have sorted out the abysmal ticketing Bransons lot had. I booked First class from London KX to Inverness and paid for a reserved seat. The reservation was for second class. That was the one and only time I travelled on Virgin.
It can't be that bad of a train journey. It didn't stop at Doncaster
I did some work at Neville hill train depot in leeds where these Azumas get maintained. They were grounded for a while because they found cracks in the plates that connects the carnage to the bogie that holds the wheels. It's a matter of time for a serious accident
Try XC Edinburgh to Penzance as the worst gorst class
I have done journey back in the HST days and under ‘East Coast’, which was the Government brand operator of the time. I saved up my then East Coast points and did the journey, as you, north to south, first class – even staying in the same hotel! It was lovely with a fully cooked menu, those were the days!
The first class service on this route is great (I use it a few times a year). But the comfort of the seats and general suspension of the train is appalling. I notice (hope?) there's an error on the LNER menu page that you link to. It shows the Highland Chieftain service as running with the "Dish" menu Mon-Fri, which is the middle of the three menu offerings. I'm sure when I've used it it has run with the "Dine" menu, which offers a "Full LNER" breakfast. This is one of the highlights of the trip; climbing out of Inverness up into the Cairngorms while tucking in to a full breakfast. If they've dropped it to just a bacon roll, then that's a classic example of "shrinkflation!"
Still better than anything in the us… (except maybe brightline)
So do you have an "8 hours on the UK's Best First Class" video?
Do you think that LNER is better or is Lumo even better as both train operators on the ECML are competing with each other. I’ve been on both and it doesn’t really matter who is the best train operator on the East Coast Main Line.
Bring back loco hauled trains!!!
I travelled from Newcastle down to London Kings X on an Azuma for the first time this January and its ride was awful they way to light these class 800s and they can't absorb the bouncing motion on the track and the seats are way too uncomfortable too little padding and you do feal packed in like sardines in standard class
I do prefer manual locking toilets.
LNER AZUMAS ARE GOOD
The interior designers of new trains need a few lessons on comfort, and getting it right..new trains, from an operating point of view, generally do the job they were built for, but for the passenger, it is step backwards, uncomfortable seats, feels cramped, and along with rough riding does not encourage me to want use them..The TPE Hitachi`s are just as bad, and if I use TPE, I hope for a 185 unit, but if Newcastle is my destination the chances are its am801, hard seat, but from Manchester its only 3 hrs, which with regular shuffling is manageable. I wouldn`t want to do 8hrs on one.
The menu was chosen for veganuary??? So either this is a pretty old video or a pretty old menu
The Azuma is one of the best train (better then the pendolino) For me
Another oh isn't the IEP shite video made by some overprivledged white milliennia who never travelled in MK1 pulled behind a locomotive at under 100 mph.
Do you no why we have to buy this stuff?? Because your parents and grandparents voted to flog off the railway, didn't want to work and allowed York, Crewe, Doncaster and Swindon to close!
Derby stayed open but Derby's citizens buck the trend of the Midlands by actually working why a jet engine factory, a car plant and a railway works still exist.