The 2015 Challenge: Getting to the Start (2)

Well, as a new operator had taken over responsibility for the Caledonian Sleeper operation, I'm guessing you'll all want to know how it went? Overall, I think they're getting there - but there are a few things they've not got quite right. The bed linen was better, and they give you two pillows not one (at least, they do if you're travelling first class), and that's really great. But the overnight pack - well, that needs a bit of a rethink! It contained a wash cloth, a pair of bed socks, a pair of ear plugs, an eye cover, a little bottle of Arran Aromatics hand & body lotion, a little bottle of Arran Aromatics hair & body wash, and a little bottle of Arran Aromatics pillow spray (what????). No tooth paste, no tooth brush, and nothing that appeared to recognize that many travelers would be men, who might wish to shave in the morning. Give them time, though, and I'm sure they'll get it right ...

The breakfast menu, as ever, was not designed with the needs of a gluten-and-cow's milk intolerant grump like myself in mind and, inevitably, I was struggling. However, the steward agreed that they could do me the smoked salmon and scrambled egg without the scrambled egg and - get this! - it's not all pre-prepared and packaged so what was delivered to me in the morning actually WAS smoked salmon and scrambled eggs without the scrambled eggs! There was a CHOICE of fruit juices, too - so I asked for, and got, apple juice. So the catering operation is certainly getting things right, too.

Well, we arrived in Inverness, as you do, and a few of us Challengers stood around taking one another's photographs to celebrate our achievement in making it this far, and then I headed off to do a bit of shopping. In particular, I wanted to try to find some of those gaiters which cover the whole boot (Yeti Gaiters, I think they're called), as I had a feeling I might be wanting them this year. I hadn't been able to find them in London (or rather, I had managed to find them ... but the pair that said it was Extra Large, suitable for sizes 9 - 12, was clearly nothing like; and as I tried to cram my modest size 10 foot into them, with no joy whatever, I had really begun to feel a certain empathy for the Ugly Sisters as they tried to shoe-horn their feet into that glass slipper ...). I hoped, however, that in Inverness I might have a somewhat greater chance of finding some.