The Caldedonian sleeper, also known as The Deerstalker is one of only two overnight sleeper trains currently operating in the United Kingdom; the other being the Night Riviera which runs from London Paddington to Penzance. Operated by Scotrail, the overnight journey takes thirteen hours from London Euston. However, with the facility for a good nights sleep, it will leave you feeling bright and refreshed, ready for spending a few days in the small Scottish town of Fort William.

On board the train, special attention has been paid to wheelchair users, with special sleepers at the end of each carriage; a necessity as the corridors are narrow and cannot accommodate the width of a standard wheelchair. Standard and first class sleepers also have narrow entrances, whereas the mobility compartment has push button controls to open and close the door, with a facility on the inside to lock it. The sleepers have bunk beds with easy handhold rails for those with disabilities to get in and out of. Access to the top bunk requires the use of a small ladder. The basin is at a good height and within easy reach, although there are no shower facilities available on board. I found the bed comfortable with all linen provided and the compartments have air-conditioning and bedside lighting, controlled at the touch of a button.

I located the lounge car where I could relax and read my book, with plenty of room to stretch out. I found I could either buy food or refreshments from there or alternatively call room service from my own sleeper. Wheelchair users would probably have to use room service as it would be difficult to get to the lounge car.

I was awoken in the morning with a light breakfast accompanied by tea or coffee and a newspaper. Complimentary toiletries are also provided for those who travel first class.

Sightseeing in Fort William

On arriving at Fort William, I looked at what was available in terms of sightseeing. As the town lies on the shores of Loch Linnhe, you can take a leisurely boat trip which takes up to ninety minutes and operates during the summer months. You may even want to take a stroll in the pedestrianised area of the town, perhaps visiting the West Highland Museum, home to many artefacts from the stone age cultures of the Mesolithic to the technologies of modern industry. Visit one of the many souvenir shops selling goods ranging from tartan regalia to fine single malt whiskies.

In winter there is the opportunity to ski at the nearby Nevis Range, just north of Fort William, available from about November onwards where adaptive skiing for disabled skiers can be arranged by booking in advance. In summer there is the opportunity to go mountain biking in the same area.

Up and away

For an all year round activity, you may want to ride in a cable car across the Nevis Range; transporting you up to 650m. Meander along the mountain trails to the panoramic viewpoints, then relax in the restaurant and bar. The gondola cars themselves are able to accommodate wheelchairs up to 60cm wide and the operators will readily slow or stop the gondola cycle to allow access for their less able visitors, until they are onboard and fully prepared for the journey ahead. There are disabled toilets located at both the top and bottom stations.

The biggest attraction, however, for those arriving in the area is to see Ben Nevis and, for those hardy enough, to climb the mountain. This mountain is the highest in the United Kingdom and the summit is 1,344 metres (4,409 feet) above sea level. There are even the ruins of an observatory, which was permanently staffed between 1883 and 1904. The main route and the one that most tourists follow will allow you to reach the top in about four hours, fitness and weather permitting. It is not feasible for anyone with a severe disability to attempt the climb, although there have been successful attempts by wheelchair users in the past. It attracts an estimated 100,000 ascents a year, often resembling a public highway at peak times.

Another rigorous pursuit for those so inclined is walking the West Highland Way, from the foot of Ben Nevis at Fort William to

the outskirts of Glasgow or perhaps the Great Glen Way; a walk/cycle way from Inverness to Fort William. This route is Scotland’s fourth National Long Distance Walk. It runs from Fort William at the northern end of the West Highland Way to the City of Inverness along the Great Glen Fault. The route is 73 miles (118 Km) long, closely following the line of

the Caledonian Canal.

More information:

The Caledonian Sleeper runs six nights a week. Bargain berths start at just £19 single, only available by booking online at the ScotRail website. For full details of all services, visit the website. Tickets can be obtained and bookings made at most staffed stations, rail appointed travel agents, by phone from ScotRail telesales on 08457 550033 or via the website. Booking well in advance and being flexible with travel dates is the best way to secure great value fares.

Visit Scotland

For more information on accessible attractions and holiday accomodation in Scotland, see VisitScotland where you can search by location, level of accessibility and star grading. You can also call Visit Scotland on 0845 22 55 121 for information and advice. Please mention Mobilise when you call.

This article first appeared in the December 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.

No related posts.

I’m a fairly frequent visitor to Holland, but I’m often limited to the Rotterdam area and I usually drive. My normal route is via the Channel Tunnel – usually taking advantage of the off peak travel rates early in the morning – driving up through Belgium into Holland, and trying avoid the peak hour traffic on the Brussels by-pass!

I had wanted to visit Amsterdam as a proper tourist for a long time and together with my wife Carol who was taking time out from her busy teaching schedule, weighed up the options. As a disabled driver, I’m used to travelling long distances in my especially adapted Toyota Yaris Verso car, but would it be viable to drive to Amsterdam for only two full days?

Even taking into account the regular traveller discounts available on the Channel Tunnel off peak fares, I soon realised that with the cost of fuel, driving was not going to be a cheap option. Plus there was the problem of time and the need to find accommodation with easy driving and parking access relatively close to Amsterdam. This is where I could take advantage of the superb Amsterdam tramway system – but more about that later!

The internet listed many hotels, but what were the facilities like? How close were they to the public transport links? I eventually went to the Expedia Travel website and selected the Swisshotel in Danmrak Square, right next to a tram stop and less than a half mile from Amsterdam Central, Station. As I often use the Flybe airline service from Southampton Airport to fly to Scotland, Carol and I decided to fly to Amsterdam Schiphol, rather than take the car.

Easy disabled parking

Flybe, who are based at Exeter airport use Southampton Airport as one of their main bases. This airport, a fairly small but very busy regional centre, has easily accessible disabled parked facilities. In fact, the disabled parking bays at longer stay rates are as close to the main terminal as they could be in the short term car park! However, like most airports owned by BAA they do their best to extract as much money from passenger’s pockets as possible for parking! One unfair but very common practice is that if you leave your car for one and a half days, you pay for two days. Although off-site parking is available at cheaper rates, getting in and out of transfer vehicles, especially minibuses, coaches and buses, isn’t always an option for disabled people, particularly me!

And although there’s an excellent railway station serving the airport, I can’t take advantage of it unless I hire a taxi into the airport because there’s only a footbridge link for trains arriving from Bournemouth where we live.

However, once I’m on my way the service that Flybe provide is excellent. Although they offer a wheelchair, I usually manage without as I can walk a short distance and the aircraft is very close by at Southampton. The commuter type turboprop aircraft types often used on the Amsterdam route don’t seem too roomy for people of my six-foot four inch bulkiness but at only five foot and a normal size, Carol was comfortable enough! It was only a short flight of around an hour or so and we were soon landing at Schiphol.

A wheelchair attendant met us at the aircraft and we were swiftly taken to arrivals for our luggage, then right down to the top of escalators leading down to the main line railway station. Within 45 minutes we arrived at Amsterdam Central station in a beautifully clean, modern train. It’s the ideal way to get into Amsterdam and I relaxed a little, realising that I was going to manage without my car!

Service with a smile

The Swisshotel could be seen from the station and the tram halted almost outside the hotel’s front door. Like many Amsterdam buildings, it has a very narrow frontage but opens up ‘Tardis’ like, to become a large, modern and well equipped establishment.

As soon as Carol and I crossed the threshold we were made very welcome. When booking in and preparing to have our luggage taken up to the room, we were offered the chance of having a twin-bedded disabled room. Even though I hadn’t enquired about a disabled room, the manager realised that one would be free within an hour or so and said we could have it with pleasure – what service!

As the room wouldn’t be available for several hours, we had a late lunch in the hotel before leaving our luggage in the baggage room and enjoying a quick look round the attractive area around the picturesque square.

When the room was ready we were truly delighted with the twin power-assisted beds which were supremely comfortable for both Carol and I. The disabled facilities within the room were superb and the shower was truly wheelchair accessible, and in reality formed a wet room. There were also plentiful supplies of tea and coffee in the room but we supplied our own fresh milk (It makes tea so special doesn’t it?).

Amsterdam really comes to life at night and the streets are usually packed, especially in early June when we visited together. It’s truly a city that never sleeps and even the canal tour boats run late into the evenings and you can even dine aboard them. However, tired from our travels we were determined to have a good night’s rest after out evening meal and we weren’t disappointed!

Seeing the sights

Refreshed after an excellent night in the hotel and a continental breakfast, Carol and I split up for the day. She was off to see the shops and to visit a place where internationally famous hand carved wooden toys are still made. We agreed to meet up at the hotel at around 5pm.

As a tram and railway enthusiast I headed for the nearest tram to ride as far as I could on each route. Incidentally, it’s best to buy a one, two or three day unlimited track ticket as these provide unlimited travel. I can cope with riding on trams, as unlike a bus they’re very steady, don’t sway and stop and start smoothly.

Eventually I ended up at a tram depot, introduced myself and was shown round by a lady driver who was on light duties following maternity leave. The Amsterdammers love their trams and they welcome people with similar sentiments. My poor Dutch language skills weren’t tested much, as literally everyone we came across spoke English very well indeed.

After the grand tour I was asked if I enjoyed Dutch style fresh (raw) herring with chopped onions and wonderfully fresh, crisp bread – I do! So I was recommended to try the traditional Dutch ‘haaring’ shop outside the depot gates. Here, the incredibly fresh herring are skinned, filleted and prepared as you wait. The man doing the job seemed to perform a little ballet as he did so, providing real artistry without the bad language we associate with TV chefs nowadays!

Meeting up with Carol again, we decided to take one of the deservedly famous canal boat tours. Wheelchair passengers are well catered for, although I can manage to get on and off the boats by myself with care. The tours take around one and half hours and you can see most of the famous sites. During our trip I was surprised to see that at 6pm there were still long queues for tours round  the Anne Frank House Museum on the Prinsengracht, dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist’ short life.

During our final day we travelled out to a large floating restaurant, moored not far from the Central Station in the inner harbour. There, in the peaceful surroundings of the moored vessel we had a multiple course Chinese meal – it was really a banquet like those at the internationally famous restaurants in Aberdeen Harbour in Hong Kong!

We left Amsterdam with the feeling that we would return soon. It’s that sort of place and I can assure Mobilise readers that if you normally rely on your car Amsterdam may be the place to let the plane, train and tram take the strain for a change!

This article first appeared in the September 2009 issue of Mobilise magazine, which goes out to all our members and includes reviews of adapted cars and mobility equipment, features on accessible travel and leisure, campaign updates, news, competitions and real-life stories.
Membership of our charity costs just £16 per year and includes your monthly subscription to Mobilise.

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1. Accessible places to visit – London