According to new research from Forbes Advisor, the price comparison and financial guidance platform, drivers will find the best road trip in the UK for electric vehicles in the North West of England, through the Lake District National Park.
The Lake District drive took first place thanks to the 70 top-rated bed and breakfast locations spread across its five notable destinations. These iconic destinations include Ullswater lake and the Honister Slate Mine.
To round off the podium positions, the second and third best EV road trips are in Snowdonia in north Wales and the Dorset Coastal Route in the South West of England. With the Mourne Coastal Route in Northern Ireland in fourth place, this gives almost all countries in the UK a place in the top five.
The Welsh journey consists of five destinations, and has on average 45 charging points on the roads between them. It also boasts 19 top-rated bed & breakfasts throughout the journey.
The Dorset Coastal Route is the longest out of the top three spanning 76 miles (123 kilometres) across eight notable stopping points, consuming in total 24.6 kWh from an average electric electric battery. However, EV drivers shouldn’t worry too much about the consumption, as the 21 charging stops en route will ensure their vehicle is fully powered for the whole trip.
To put this index together, Forbes Advisor used publicly available data recording the location of EV charging points across a variety of popular existing road trips across the UK. To finalise the scores, the financial guidance platform also calculated the total kWh energy consumed per trip, and took into account the best-rated Booking.com bed & breakfasts in each notable destination.
With the best journey being in the Lake District, and the third in the table going through Dorset, this means two of the highest-rated EV road trips in the UK are located in Western England.
The fourth trip, the Mourne Coastal Route, takes drivers through Belfast and other iconic Northern Irish destinations, including the Strangford Lough Natural Reserve, and boasts on average around eight charging points at each major stop on the way site, as well as 12 en route between each of them.
While it is exciting to see that many of the UK’s popular road trips can accommodate the EV traveller, the relatively low number of charging stations in rural destinations suggests that more towns and local authorities could benefit from investing in infrastructure that enables electric vehicles to refuel. This is especially true considering the scheduled 2030 introduction of a ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars looms closer.
If you are thinking of embarking on an adventure with your electric vehicle, make sure you are adequately prepared for the weather conditions and terrain, and check that you are up to date with the best car insurance policy to cover your needs.
Kevin Pratt, car insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: “Many of us suffer from ‘range anxiety’ when it comes to electric cars – will the battery see us through to the end of our journey, and will we be able to recharge en route if we run out of juice? With that in mind, it’s great to see that fantastic road trips are well within reach across the UK for EV drivers thanks to the existing charging infrastructure.
“EVs are increasingly common on UK roads and are destined to become even more so as the government steers us towards a completely electric private motor fleet over the coming decades. So we can expect to see more people using their electric cars for all purposes, including lengthy recreational journeys into new and unfamiliar areas.
