Polestar 2 – Road trip report: Newcastle-under-Lyme to the Orkney Islands

Anthony & Julie Hibbs travelled from Staffordshire to Orkney and back in their Polestar 2 Single Motor Long Range 78kWh 2023.

Introducing your road trip

From Newcastle-under-Lyme to Orkney, then to Bamburgh via Dundee and Falkland and finally home via Ilkley. We planned a two-week trip with a mix of Premier Inn overnight stops and self-catering (longer) stays. The trip provided us with a chance to visit family and friends as we travelled.

Planning & preparation

We’ve been planning this trip for over two years, booking the various elements over time. Of course, charging was important and research soon showed that the Tesla network would be the most time efficient & most cost effective, with Octopus Electroverse as a fill-in.

Charging

Day 1: Newcastle-under-Lyme to Stirling

A day just to get some miles in, no sightseeing or excitement. A leisurely journey to our overnight stop at the Premier Inn, Stirling. The car was packed to perfection, overnight bag ready for the next three days and fully charged off-peak on Octopus Go for £6.60.

Progressing nicely on a relatively quiet M6 past Preston I noticed a vibration on acceleration and deceleration. This was a problem I had previously experienced due to the sound deadening in a rear tyre becoming detached and throwing the wheel out of balance. It was late Friday morning by now and my only option appeared to be a stop at the nearest Kwik Fit but I decided to call the Volvo Service Centre first, near to the Premier Inn, Stirling.

To my amazement the manager Craig booked the car in that afternoon so we took ourselves off for a picnic lunch and a Tesla Supercharge at Caledonia Retail Park. They very busy but we didn’t have to wait and we were on our way within 40 minutes. Back at the Service Centre Craig was as good as his word and the three remaining tyre foams were removed and all the wheels balanced under warranty within an hour.

Day 2: Stirling to Tain via Loch Ness

A thoroughly enjoyable day’s driving, first on the well-maintained A9 to the Perth Tesla Supercharger for a top-up and then onto Fort Augustus for a lunch stop and a wander. We then continued along the shore of Loch Ness with a few pauses to take in the view and see if we could spot Nessie.

Next charging stop was the Tesla Supercharger in Inverness, Rose Street Car Park. Yuk! A dreary, draughty multi-storey affair, not a place to wait around. Charging for Tesla was unusually slow at under 70kW so a walk to the toilets at the nearby Starbucks was in order. We’d just arrived at Starbucks and I got a notification from the Tesla App, stating ‘charging stopped at 17.36, idle fees commence in 5 mins’. What I now call the ‘Tesla Sprint’ ensued and thankfully we got back in time but the car was only at 65% so I restarted the charge. Painfully slow at just 19kW, I gave up at 90% and carried on to our overnight stop in the lovely town of Tain. Decent fish and chips in ‘Platform 1856’ followed by a good night’s sleep.

475 miles covered so far at just over 4 miles/kWh.

Day 3: Tain to Thurso via Cromarty and John o’ Groats

Another enjoyable driving day, first to Cromarty via the single car Nigg-Cromarty ferry to visit Hugh Miller’s birthplace, a Scottish National Trust property of particular interest to me. After a picnic lunch we took the return ferry and drove part of the North Coast 500 route to John o’ Groats for a photo at the famous signpost on a beautiful sunny day; rare apparently. Ice cream was also enjoyed. A short journey on the roughest road so far to Tesco in Thurso to charge at the cost effective but slow Pod Points. We left the car for several hours whilst having an evening meal at our overnight stop, another Premier Inn.

610 miles covered, average consumption 4 miles/kWh.

Polestar 2 - Road trip report: Newcastle-under-Lyme to the Orkney Islands — The Polestar having a brief rest on the Nigg-Cromarty ferry.

Day 4: Thurso to Orkney via NorthLink Ferry from Scrabster to Stromness

A leisurely breakfast and a trip to another Tesco to pick up a meal deal lunch, we then joined the ferry queue. We were requested to deactivate the car alarm and given a very large EV sign to hang in the windscreen. So I went into the car settings and put the alarm in ‘Low’.

It was a very pleasant journey on the Humnvoe, the sea was calm with lots of seabirds to observe while we had our coffee & cake. A swift disembarkation and off to Tesco in Kirkwall, definitely a theme to this road trip! We were pleasantly surprised to find a rapid charger within the expected slow Pod Points but tragically it wasn’t working. We reported it to Pod Point through the app and used the 22kW charger whilst shopping for our weeks’ self-catering. At a respectable 80% on departure and with the Polestar pulling 11kW, we arrived at our accommodation early evening. Tea and an early night after enjoying the sea views from our off-grid cottage.

640 miles covered, still averaging 4 miles/kWh.

Day 5

We settled into our accommodation. We had a lazy morning after all that travelling and an afternoon enjoying the local coastline and its bird life. Bliss!

Day 6

The day started with a visit to the local GP for my wife. Outside the surgery was a post charger with the words CAR CLUB ONLY painted on the front. A quick bit of research showed it to be on the Octopus Electroverse app…at just 19p/kWh, bargain!! So we topped up for a while before starting our planned day of wartime Orkney history. Topped up twice more where we could and we also tried a ridiculous ChargePlace Scotland ‘rapid’ with a maximum output of just 25kW and a 1-hour time limit. At over 60p/kWh we didn’t linger!

Next stop was a Lidl 50kW activated by Mrs H via the Lidl+ app. Again, over 60p/kWh but delivering the full 50kW from 39% to 85% in the time it took for a flask of coffee and a quick shop. Returned to base with 82%, ready for the next few days’ activities.

Days 7-10: Orkney

Much meandering around the island was enjoyed. We visited the Neolithic sites of Stenness, Brodgar and Skara Brae and the WW1 & 2 sites of the Churchill Barriers and the Italian Church. We also came across the lovely Sheila Fleet Kirk Gallery & Cafe in Tankerness and returned on several occasions! We also discovered several good bird watching spots and some lovely secluded beaches.

Last day on the island meant another Lidl top-up but it wasn’t so smooth this time. Pouring with rain of course and the app, contactless and Electroverse all failed to initiate the charge. To my horror these failures accrued £120 in pre-authorisation charges which fortunately cleared by late evening. A ‘one more time’ attempt with the Electroverse RFID worked so it was quite frustrating and I was very damp to boot.

Day 11: Orkney to Dundee

Thanks to a tip from @Ecocars1, I learned that I could charge FOR FREE whilst waiting for the ferry! So I took advantage and charged to 100%. This meant I could drive to Dundee along just one road, the scenic A9, with just two quick comfort stops. 5 1/2 hours later we checked into the Premier Inn and enjoyed an evening meal.

250 miles covered today, 4 miles/kWh. I intended to charge the next day but could see all the Tesla Superchargers (just minutes away) were available, so at 8.50pm decided to head out. A phenomenally fast 150kW charge to 90% and I was back by 9.30pm.

Day 12: Dundee to Bamburgh

A leisurely breakfast then off to visit family in Newport on Tay and Falkland. Self-catering for the final leg of our holiday so we unsurprisingly we visited Tesco in the Dundee Waterfront and I put the car on charge as the Pod Points were available. We were ready to checkout when the power went off; it soon came back on but all the tills and self-checkout tech were still dark, except inexplicably it seemed, for three self-scans. Thinking this would soon all be resolve we joined the growing queue to use these. Staff were helpful, upbeat and even provided snacks and drinks for those waiting. Half an hour later we were through. We returned to the car to find it fully charged, the Pod Points hadn’t gone off but the adjacent petrol station had…of course, with no payment methods available they had to close, how ironic!

Dundee waterfront looked very interesting so we spent an hour or so around the Discovery Centre and V&A. Family visits concluded and we left Falkland late afternoon and completed the uneventful 150 mile journey to Bamburgh in around 2 1/2 hours.

1,404 miles covered, still averaging 4 miles/kWh.

Days 13-14: Bamburgh & Alnwick

A few relaxing days in and around Bamburgh, Alnwick & Holy Island: castles, causeways and coastal cruises. Final charge that evening at the local Adderstone Tesla Supercharger just a few minutes away before we headed home the following day – 37p/kWh, how do they do it when other CPOs can’t? Or won’t? Super fast at over 150kW, charged from 30-90% in under 25 minutes.

Day 15: Heading home

An early start with the car charged and packed. 2 & 3/4 hrs to Ilkley to meet a friend for lunch and then the final leg, 2 hours due to the inevitable Friday traffic, arriving home late afternoon.

1,750 miles covered at 3.98 (comfortable) miles per kWh. The Polestar really needs some TLC after that.

Did you encounter any great driving roads on your road trip? If so, where were they and why were they great?

The A9 from Thurso to Dundee was wonderful. When the sat nav declared “stay on the A9 for 93 miles” I was in automotive heaven!

The Polestar 2

The car was extremely capable and comfortable. The built-in sat nav was faultless and the car returned an average of nearly 4 miles per kWh over 1,750 miles.

Road trip conclusion

Apart from the tyre issue on day 1, the fortnight went entirely to plan. We had the odd charging glitch but with the P2’s 300-mile range there wasn’t a whiff of anxiety!