EV Road Trip: A Holiday to Cornwall in an Electric Car

Sam Illsley, Mer UK’s Head of Public Sector, recently returned from his summer holiday to Cornwall with his family. Sam covered around 600 miles in his Ioniq 5. We caught up with him to ask: 

• How did you prepare for your EV holiday? 

• How many stops at charging stations did you make, and where? 

• How many miles did you cover in your EV? 

• What advice would you give you other EV drivers who are going on a long journey? 

Preparing to Travel

Where did you go on holiday, and what electric vehicle do you drive?

We recently made our annual week-long Cornwall family holiday, in our Ioniq 5 (77kWh battery). We travelled from Reading down to Porthtowan on the north coast for a few nights, followed by Fowey on the south coast for 4 nights. 

What made you decide to travel in your EV rather than another form of transport?

We have made the journey each year in our EV for the past 3 years. Cornwall is not the easiest place to get around via public transport, so taking our car was the most convenient option.  

What did you do to prepare/plan for travel in your EV?

We made sure to charge to 100% at home before departing. We planned a couple of potential charging locations on route and looked at charging options around our destinations.  

Did you have any concerns about going on holiday in your EV before you left? If so, what were they?

Not really. The only slight concern I had before setting off was about our planned charging stop at Exeter services and how busy it was going to be. We were travelling on a Saturday and were probably going to hit the services at a peak time around lunch. Having charged there before, I knew how busy it can get, even with the expansion of further chargers, as the services serve both sides of the motorway.   

We managed to charge at Exeter. I had initially planned to stop at Sanders Garden Centre on the drive down to Cornwall, but my toddler was fast asleep in the car, so we just kept driving south on the M5 until he woke up. As predicted, Exeter was busy, there were only 3 or 4 bays free when we arrived. The chargers are very fast there, charging over 200kW. I had to leave the services and go and move the car after only 18 minutes of charging as the battery was nearly full!   

During the holiday

How many miles did you cover in total?

In total we covered around 600 miles during the week, with a couple of minor detours off-route to visit family.  

How many charge stops did you make on your journey/where?

We left home with 100% battery. 

Outbound journey: 

Charge stop no.1: On route, Exeter Services – Gridserve. 18%-95% charge, cost: £49.82 

Charge stop no.2: Destination, Driftwood Spas, St. Agnes – Mer. 40-100% charge, cost: £25.71 

Charge stop no.3: Destination, Eden Project, St Austell – Mer. 73-100%, cost: £10.71 

Inbound journey: 

Charge stop no.4: On route, Sanders Garden Centre, Highbridge – Mer. 30%-100%, cost: £38.07 

Arrived home with about 45-50% battery left.  

Total spend: £124.31. Circa 20p/mile – roughly equivalent to petrol. 

What did you do whilst your EV was charging?

We planned our on-route charging stops to stop off approximately half-way between Reading and Cornwall for a lunch break with our toddler. We would have had to stop anyway, so charging was not in any way an inconvenience.   

Our destination charges were more for convenience. We enjoyed a delicious Sunday roast at the Mer Driftwood Spa charge point in St. Agnes, before a walk along the coastal path. We then visited the Eden Project the day before we left Cornwall, so we took the opportunity to use a Mer fast EV charger on site to charge up to 100% for the journey back.  

Did you run into any problems during your journey?

The only minor inconvenience we experienced was that the fast charger at our hotel in Fowey was ‘ICED’ (blocked by an internal combustion engine) when we wanted to top up the car before the long journey home. We charged up on a Mer charger at the Eden Project instead. 

The only other anecdote was a stop at a retail park in Penhale, Cornwall, where there were some new Tesla superchargers open to all vehicles. We were not stopping to charge, but we noticed some non-Tesla cars with right-hand charging ports were not able to plug in due to the very short cables on the chargers – designed around Tesla vehicles charging ports being on the back left.  

Reflections After the Holiday

How would you describe your experience of travelling to Cornwall in an EV? Did the journey turn out how you expected it would?

We visit Cornwall each year, and every year more and more EV charging options become available as different places install infrastructure.  

Little perks of an EV include things like a remote start function for the car air-conditioning, so we could cool the car down before coming back off the beach, and a 3-pin plug in the car to boil a kettle for the odd cup of tea.  

Did you manage to avoid ‘range anxiety’?

Yes – there was a plethora of charging options at multiple destinations and on route, so we never worried about range, or let the car drop below 15-20% charge.   

Would you recommend travelling to get to your holiday destination in an EV? If so, why/if not, why not?

Yes. I don’t think there is anywhere in the UK that is not suitable for holidaying with an EV now. Though I would caveat that with: it might also depend on what EV you are driving, its range and other factors – e.g. if you are towing a caravan. I would not recommend driving from Reading to Cornwall in a Renault Twizy with a 70-mile range.  

What piece of advice would you offer to someone planning a long road trip in their EV?

Planning is the key word. A bit of planning, looking at a couple of on route and destination EV charging options goes a long way toward peace of mind for a smooth journey.  

Motorway driving in an EV is more power hungry than slower country roads – our motorway efficiency was averaging just under 3miles/kWh with a full car and air conditioning on. On country roads it can be closer to 4 miles/kWh. So, if you are planning a longer journey in an EV for the first time with a lot of motorway driving, take this into account as you may want to plan a charging stop within comfortable battery distance for your vehicle and get a feel for how it performs under various conditions.