How to Plan a Scotland Road Trip Around Electric Vehicle Charging Without the Anxiety

The location of the hotel and where you can charge is now part of the conversation, and booking platforms like My Hotel Break help travellers find hotels throughout Scotland that fit every stop on their journey, including those with on-site or nearby EV charging.

Understanding Scotland’s Charging Network

Over the last few years, Scotland has made a significant investment in EV charging infrastructure. The ChargePlace Scotland network provides charging stations in a variety of locations throughout Scotland, including rural areas, which are sometimes considered underserved. Charging points are available in major towns, retail parks, motorway service areas and an increasing number of hotels. The network is not ideal, and some parts of the remote area are more difficult to plan than others. However, it’s much larger than many drivers realise before they begin their research.

Planning Your Route Around Charging Points

For EV road trips in Scotland, it is best to plan the trip with charging stops in place, rather than just stopping to find chargers along the way. Several route-planning tools can take your vehicle’s range and battery capacity and map out a route with charging stops. This makes charging a reliable fixture on the routes. It also often shows that the charging stops you have are in line with the places you would want to stop anyway.

Charging While You Sleep

One of the most convenient methods to handle an EV road trip is to charge overnight at your hotel. When your car’s range increases significantly overnight, you’ll start the day with a full or nearly full battery, and you’re unlikely to need to charge during the day. If you’re looking for a hotel along a route, you can easily filter out those that don’t offer public or in-hotel EV charging.

Using Charging Stops as Part of the Experience

In Scotland, the journey is more about the destination. A charging stop does not have to be a time spent in a car park waiting for the battery to charge. In Scotland, many of the best charging points are located near visitor attractions, scenic viewpoints, cafés, or town centres, all within easy walking distance. A twenty- to forty-minute stop at a place with something of interest or value to see or do makes the stop a part of the trip rather than an interruption.

The Remote Highlands and Islands: Where More Planning Helps

There is a need for greater focus on charging logistics in the most distant regions of Scotland. However, there are areas with fewer charging stations along the North Coast 500, the routes to Sutherland and Caithness and the ferry crossings to the islands. It does not mean these routes are unsuitable for EVs, but it does mean that planning the daily driving distance based on available chargers is more critical than on a route through a more densely populated area. Checking in advance whether there are chargers available, knowing what options are available if there are none, and carrying a portable charging cable for your vehicle is sensible preparation without being burdensome.

Managing Range in Scottish Driving Conditions

Battery range can be influenced by driving conditions specific to Scotland, so it’s important to be aware of these before you get on the road. Batteries do not perform as well in cold weather. Steeper roads require more energy than flat roads. Driving at motorway speeds uses more range than driving on a slower rural road. Taking these factors into consideration when planning will give you more accurate range estimates than relying solely on the manufacturer’s numbers. Many modern EVs have a real-time range estimate that factors in current conditions, and, instead of the theoretical maximum, following this will give you a better idea of when you need to charge again.

A Different Kind of Road Trip

Planning an EV road trip around Scotland is a little different to a petrol road trip, but not by much. It calls for knowledge of where your charging stops are and, generally, when you will need them. It also offers lower running costs, a more peaceful, laid-back driving experience, and the enjoyment of travelling through one of Europe’s most impressive road-trip destinations in the best way possible.

By S Tabor

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