Returning from the central belt of Scotland after a three day visit, things seem to be improving with regard to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure. On our way north we stopped at the Gretna Services and it was good to see that they are in the process of installing several new charge points. Hopefully the message is getting through that while there are plenty of points for Tesla drivers, there are comparatively few for those of us driving other makes of electric car.
We got the battery up to about 80% which was plenty to get to Edinburgh, but Scotland’s capital does seem to be lagging behind other places as far as having enough charge points is concerned. Fortunately there is one at a fast-food outlet next to the care home where my mother lives so we were able to plug the car in there while we spent time visiting my mum. But if it had been busy or out of order, we would have struggled to find anywhere to charge the car in the nearby Stockbridge* area of the city where we were staying that night. This probably has something to do with the fact that there are no car parks around there and I’m wondering if it is more difficult to install on-street charge points.
The next day we drove through to Glasgow to the Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum. We spotted a couple of charge points in the car park there but with it being half-term, there was not a space to be had so we drove to the nearby Bunhouse car park which also looked completely full. Fortunately we found a row of a dozen or so charge points, most of which were not in use, so we were able to plug the car in and charged it up to 100%. It was not clear if we had to pay parking charges while using those bays but did so just to be on the safe side.
On our return journey to Lancaster we came off the motorway at Moffat and found a good half dozen charge points in a public car park though I think only one of them provides a rapid charge. The other points had, I think, been installed fairly recently by Chargeplace Scotland.
So all in all a fairly pain-free charging experience in Scotland’s two biggest cities though the situation in Edinburgh does make visiting there somewhat stressful. It was good to have a charging option at Moffat where you can visit local shops and cafes as opposed to the Hobson's choice of motorway services. There is also the cost factor in that Chargeplace Scotland is often free to use but you do need to register with them as you need a card to start and stop the charging process.
CMB
17-02-2023
* a friend who lives in that part of Edinburgh has told me that there are several trickle charge points in Comely Bank which is only a few minutes walk from Stockbridge. But if you live round there and own an EV it is unlikely you would have your own charge point as it is mostly flats. As ever, if you are visiting somewhere you need to plan ahead and hope the charge points are available and working!
