Night 1
The sleeper north
Dinner in the club car at Euston and a cabin to Inverness. You wake in the Highlands somewhere around Aviemore.
Route · Sleeper · Orkney · Shetland
Sleeper to the Northern Isles
The Caledonian Sleeper to Inverness, the north coast, the ferry to Orkney, NorthLink to Shetland and the overnight boat to Aberdeen.
- Length 10–12 nights
- Regions Orkney · Shetland · The Cairngorms and Speyside
- Travel One sleeper · Three NorthLink crossings · No flights
- Best months May, Jun, Jul
The route
About this route.
London to Lerwick without a plane: the sleeper north, the Pentland Firth, and the overnight boat home.
Where you’ll travel: Orkney · Shetland · The Cairngorms and Speyside
Stage by stage
Night 2
The north coast
Up the east coast and along the north, the flattest and emptiest road in Scotland, to a night near Thurso.
Nights 3–6
Orkney
The ferry from Scrabster past the Old Man of Hoy into Stromness. Four nights: Skara Brae, Brodgar and Maeshowe with an archaeologist, St Magnus Cathedral, and a day on one of the outer islands.
Nights 7–10
Shetland
NorthLink from Kirkwall to Lerwick. Four nights for the cliffs at Sumburgh, Noss and Hermaness, and the long light. A last evening in Lerwick.
Night 11
Overnight to Aberdeen
The overnight ferry south in a cabin, arriving in Aberdeen in the morning for the train to Edinburgh or London.
Everything arranged
Every crossing, booked.
Where you stay
- The sleeperA cabin with its own shower, where available
- Caithness[PLACEHOLDER] A guest house near Thurso
- Orkney[PLACEHOLDER] A farmhouse in the west Mainland or a Kirkwall hotel
- Shetland[PLACEHOLDER] A country house on Mainland, and a night in Lerwick
- NorthLinkA cabin on the overnight crossing
Crossings, in order
London Euston
, by sleeper train,
Inverness
Caledonian Sleeper
Inverness
, by road,
Scrabster
Road or the Far North line
Scrabster
, by ferry,
Stromness, Orkney
NorthLink
Kirkwall, Orkney
, by ferry,
Lerwick, Shetland
NorthLink
Lerwick, Shetland
, by ferry,
Aberdeen
NorthLink (overnight)
Routes and operatorsverify pending a specialist check. We never quote timetables or fares; we book them.
Also arranged
- The sleeper cabin
- Every NorthLink crossing, with cabins
- An archaeologist for a day on Orkney
- A bird guide on Shetland
- A boat round Noss
Experiences on this route
When to go
Months and light.
Daylight on the 15th of each month at Lerwick, computed from the latitude. Our favourite months for this route are marked.
| Month | Sunrise to sunset | Daylight |
|---|---|---|
| January | 08:54 to 15:34 | 6 h 41 min |
| February | 07:43 to 16:54 | 9 h 10 min |
| March | 06:22 to 18:05 | 11 h 44 min |
| April | 05:48 to 20:22 | 14 h 34 min |
| May Best | 04:26 to 21:36 | 17 h 11 min |
| June Best | 03:39 to 22:31 | 18 h 52 min |
| July Best | 04:07 to 22:14 | 18 h 07 min |
| August | 05:18 to 21:00 | 15 h 42 min |
| September | 06:32 to 19:28 | 12 h 55 min |
| October | 07:44 to 17:57 | 10 h 13 min |
| November | 08:03 to 15:35 | 7 h 32 min |
| December | 09:03 to 14:56 | 5 h 53 min |
The map
The route on the chart.
Dotted lines are ferries and boats; solid lines are causeways and roads; dashed is the sleeper.
Speak to a specialist
Let’s plan your route.
Tell us your dates and who’s coming. A specialist will reply with questions, then a written proposal for Sleeper to the Northern Isles, changed to suit you.
Rather start from scratch?
Use the trip planner