Caysoo Pete drove from Little Staughton to Fowey in his VW ID.3.
Introducing your road trip
Little Staughton, Bedfordshire to Fowey in Cornwall for a week’s walking holiday last September in a VW ID.3 First Edition 2020. Natural break stops including charging at Chippenham Services with IONITY and Exeter with GRIDSERVE before arriving at the holiday cottage in Fowey.
We also charged the car while visiting the Eden Project before returning home the next day. On the return journey we stopped and charged at the same places as coming and the car was charged up and ready before we were done with our comfort visit and coffees!
Planning & preparation
Ran route plan using Google Maps and then via Zapmap to see where suitable chargers were on or near our route. Logged these as destinations in the vehicle’s navigation. This has been our longest journey so far. I also checked we had the correct RFID card and apps prior to the trip. Note: GRIDSERVE is able to use contactless.
Charging
- IONITY ultra rapid at Chippenham services off M4 Westbound
- GRIDSERVE 150kW at Exeter services off M5 Southbound
- AC charging at Eden Project – unsure of charging company used.
Did you encounter any great driving roads on your road trip? If so, where were they and why were they great?
Motorways are definitely best for quick transit. Most enjoyable though were the slow pace of small, rural Cornish lanes. The satellite navigation worked seamlessly!
The electric car itself
The car drives just like any modern hatchback should except it is powered by electric battery. At motorway speeds you easily have more than 3 hours of driving. Us humans needed earlier and longer rest breaks! We were worrying about charging before our trip but it turned out well despite how busy the Services were. Also, we travelled on week days rather than weekends!!
Road trip conclusion
Was a great experience despite worrying beforehand. This is our main car along with a classic 1959 MGA roadster. So all long journeys are in our EV. We recently changed from a VW ID.3 to the Polestar 2 as it’s more comfortable on longer runs.
See other road trip reports here
