[AGT]

Most of my driving is short trips in and around Edinburgh but yesterday evening I was thinking over the longer drives that we will hope to do in our i-pace. I was really surprised to find that Scotland, which is a big land mass, seems to be well served with EV charging points with 800 - although only 175 of these are described as rapid. Perhaps the fact that our minority Scottish Government is supported in power by the Green Party has helped direct policy to the benefit of EV drivers.

There is a Scottish Government funded body called ChargePlace Scotland co-ordinating the charging points and a single ChargePlace Scotland access card. The only downside is that the charge point hosts seem able to set their own rates and in some of the more isolated areas a lack of competition might result in some spiky pricing. Although that is the same as currently applies to fuel pricing for ICEs.

There is also a separate webpage for the "Electric A9" - a 400km road from Edinburgh to John O'Groats - described as a "beacon to those at home and abroad". With a little patience at the non-rapid charge points it looks to me as if the quite fabulous North Coast 500 (miles) Route would be do-able in an i-pace and that would be quite a trip.

To those of you planning a summer trip - do have a look at the North Coast 500 Route. For our Dutch friends on the forum, the ferry from Amsterdam drops you in Newcastle.

Just to prove that I don't work for the Scottish Tourist Board or own a hotel, I will warn you that even an i-pace can't do anything about the midges except outrun them. Oh...and you might get the chance to check whether rain really does run off the back screen!

Regards
Andrew

 

[Jelle v/d Meer]

Most of my driving is short trips in and around Edinburgh but yesterday evening I was thinking over the longer drives that we will hope to do in our i-pace. I was really surprised to find that Scotland, which is a big land mass, seems to be well served with EV charging points with 800 - although only 175 of these are described as rapid. Perhaps the fact that our minority Scottish Government is supported in power by the Green Party has helped direct policy to the benefit of EV drivers.
Regards
Andrew

Be advised that most websites classify 43kW and some websites even 22kW chargers as rapid - yet the I-pace can only draw 7.4kW from those.
When doing long distance travelling the only interesting charges are DC chargers of 50kW and up - any AC charger is only good in case of emergency or as destination charging.

 

[malcolm]

It looks stunning on that route , AGT
Will definitely be on the to do list
Just need a little luck with the weather

 

[mikew]

Most of my driving is short trips in and around Edinburgh but yesterday evening I was thinking over the longer drives that we will hope to do in our i-pace. I was really surprised to find that Scotland, which is a big land mass, seems to be well served with EV charging points with 800 - although only 175 of these are described as rapid. Perhaps the fact that our minority Scottish Government is supported in power by the Green Party has helped direct policy to the benefit of EV drivers.

Many thanks for sharing this information Andrew.

I've known about ChargePlace Scotland myself for quite some time and the network is free to use with the Charge Your Car RFID card, including the 50kW CCS rapids. Not that I've used one of these yet having only taken delivery of my I-Pace last week.

My wife and I have a holiday home on the Isle of Skye, so travel from our home near York up to Skye maybe 10 times a year. It is 403 miles from door-to-door.

Our usual route is via the A1(M) to Scotch Corner, then A66, M6 and M74 up to Glasgow. M8 round Glasgow then A82 up past Loch Lomond, through Glencoe to Fort William. Then A82 again and the A87 to Skye.

Between Loch Lomond and Skye there are half a dozen or more stop offs with ChargePlace Scotland 50kW CCS rapids.

So the plan is to take the I-Pace up there sometime. Though maybe not until the spring, as I don't want to have to buy a set of winter wheels and tyres for it, having already got a set for my wife's car (a PHEV).

Most likely we would stay the night in Glasgow in both directions. Something we already enjoy doing. For those who don't know it... Glasgow is crammed with excellent hotels, restaurants, bars and shops. it is also an incredibly lively place with lots of culture to enjoy. So any excuse to stop over is always welcome!

Glasgow is exactly halfway in mileage terms, but not in time... three hours to Glasgow, then another four and a half to Skye. That's in the winter. Summer takes longer on account of tourist traffic.

Our hope would be to get all the way to Glasgow on a single charge and then charge up overnight. Our favourite hotel has two little used 22kW (7kW for an I-Pace unfortunately) chargers outside the front door. Then all the way to Skye on a single charge the next morning.

The 50kW rapids along the A82/A87 would be an insurance against any range issues. For the trip up to Glasgow, there are four Ecotricity CCS rapids along the top end of the M6/bottom end of the M74. So if range isn't looking good after joining the M6, then we would have four chances to get onto a rapid for a quick boost. Further up the M74 there are currently no rapid charging opportunities.

On Skye there is a ChargePlace Scotland CCS rapid at a Co-op (with BP filling station) opposite the start of the 14 mile single track road to our village. One really great bit of news is that they are about to demolish and redevelop the entire complex (it badly needs it). As a part of the redevelopment they will in installing an as yet unspecified number of new CCS rapids. I don't know for sure, but it could be part of BP's Chargemaster forecourt initiative.

Great news for everyone that this is underway in a place as remote as Skye.

 

[ChrisMc]

As a matter of interest ChargePlace Scotland is now affiliated with Charge Your Car and maybe soon the Polar Plus network, but its not quite as easy as that

Watch from minute 3.00 onwards

 

[SammyD]

On Skye there is a ChargePlace Scotland CCS rapid at a Co-op (with BP filling station) opposite the start of the 14 mile single track road to our village. One really great bit of news is that they are about to demolish and redevelop the entire complex (it badly needs it). As a part of the redevelopment they will in installing an as yet unspecified number of new CCS rapids. I don't know for sure, but it could be part of BP's Chargemaster forecourt initiative.

Great news for everyone that this is underway in a place as remote as Skye.

There is also a ChargePlace Charger (CCS/CHAdeMO/Type 2 AC) opposite the Ferry Terminal at UIG.
I passed a good number of other charger when riding the North Coast 500 in August. Very few were in use.