Western France Road Trip 2026 With Electric Car
Discussion
I've written up several road trips in the past and some people have hopefully found them interesting. The most recent were:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
We do like France! We usually do a combo of places we know & love, mixed with new experiences to hopefully find our next favourite.
This year was very different!
For any number of reasons we always plan well in advance. We had already decided not to go to the south and perhaps save some mileage. This turned out to be a good plan, as between doing all the bookings and the holiday Mrs 2SB changed her car. Goodbye to the Golf GTD, which required only one fuel stop between Nottingham and Aix-en-Provence and hello to:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
We do like France! We usually do a combo of places we know & love, mixed with new experiences to hopefully find our next favourite.
This year was very different!
For any number of reasons we always plan well in advance. We had already decided not to go to the south and perhaps save some mileage. This turned out to be a good plan, as between doing all the bookings and the holiday Mrs 2SB changed her car. Goodbye to the Golf GTD, which required only one fuel stop between Nottingham and Aix-en-Provence and hello to:
Now, this is going to sound barking..
...but prior to setting off for France Mrs 2SB's longest journey in the R5 had been 50 miles, and she'd maybe charged the car about half a dozen times.
Me? I'd driven an electric car about 400 yards and other than that I'd not even driven a car with less than three pedals for over a decade and even then only somebody else's, I am a proper dinosaur. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty as it turned out, but not car related.
...but prior to setting off for France Mrs 2SB's longest journey in the R5 had been 50 miles, and she'd maybe charged the car about half a dozen times.
Me? I'd driven an electric car about 400 yards and other than that I'd not even driven a car with less than three pedals for over a decade and even then only somebody else's, I am a proper dinosaur. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty as it turned out, but not car related.
Edited by 2 sMoKiN bArReLs on Wednesday 3rd June 20:20
I've a recurring back problem which when at its worse renders me unable to walk. I've been managing this with a rigid exercise routine which means "flare ups" are less frequent, and when they do occur recovery is more speedy.
On the Friday before we were due to leave on the Tuesday I had a proper "bad do". Luckily I had a significant recovery, so could walk by Sunday. We decided to go (ignoring the fact that the very worse thing for my back is prolonged sitting
)
We did have a deal though that Mrs 2SB would have to be the baggage handler.
It was the back problem that sadly made me give up TVRs after a 25 year love affair.
I can pinpoint the day I did the original damage. It was 11.30 pm in summer 1984. I left the pub dancing (read stomping) to "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston.
On the Friday before we were due to leave on the Tuesday I had a proper "bad do". Luckily I had a significant recovery, so could walk by Sunday. We decided to go (ignoring the fact that the very worse thing for my back is prolonged sitting
)We did have a deal though that Mrs 2SB would have to be the baggage handler.
It was the back problem that sadly made me give up TVRs after a 25 year love affair.
I can pinpoint the day I did the original damage. It was 11.30 pm in summer 1984. I left the pub dancing (read stomping) to "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston.
We left Nottingham at 06.00 on the Tuesday, our first planned charging point was South Mimms on the M25. At this point we didn't even really know what the range of the car was.
We duly arrived at said services, found a rapid charger, worked out how to use it and were jolly pleased with ourselves.
Mrs 2SB took a step back to admire our work and fell backwards over one of those rubber bump stop things and hit the ground with a full on whack.
Now, it's fair to say that neither of us are in the first flush of youth...or more accurately we are a couple of fossils.
She was in proper pain, and me with my back in agony was wondering what to do next! Luckily a couple of young types had spotted our predicament and got Mrs 2SB vertical.
Not only was she in shock, but was in real pain as she had fallen awkwardly and unexpectedly. And, you young folk need to understand that hitting the ground at our age is serious.
We duly arrived at said services, found a rapid charger, worked out how to use it and were jolly pleased with ourselves.
Mrs 2SB took a step back to admire our work and fell backwards over one of those rubber bump stop things and hit the ground with a full on whack.
Now, it's fair to say that neither of us are in the first flush of youth...or more accurately we are a couple of fossils.
She was in proper pain, and me with my back in agony was wondering what to do next! Luckily a couple of young types had spotted our predicament and got Mrs 2SB vertical.
Not only was she in shock, but was in real pain as she had fallen awkwardly and unexpectedly. And, you young folk need to understand that hitting the ground at our age is serious.
By the way, in all the kerfuffle she lost her glasses and I lost my hat!
We had a board meeting, and we both knew that the only sensible thing to do was cancel the holiday.
But, being sensible has never been our strong point, so after a healing coffee and a sticky bun we pressed on.
I took the wheel of the car & added to my vast 400 yards of electric car experience.
Taking Le Shuttle is a breeze this time of year, and we always go Flexiplus so can rock up at virtually any time.
In no time we were on the péage and our trusty toll tag had emitted its first beep. (Always a tense moment when you wonder if it's still going to work).
We then encountered our next drama....
We had a board meeting, and we both knew that the only sensible thing to do was cancel the holiday.
But, being sensible has never been our strong point, so after a healing coffee and a sticky bun we pressed on.
I took the wheel of the car & added to my vast 400 yards of electric car experience.
Taking Le Shuttle is a breeze this time of year, and we always go Flexiplus so can rock up at virtually any time.
In no time we were on the péage and our trusty toll tag had emitted its first beep. (Always a tense moment when you wonder if it's still going to work).
We then encountered our next drama....
We stopped at a remote aire for our first French charge. We worked out what to do and then tried to pay. After trying five different cards and none of them being accepted I was starting to think we were just going to stay there for three weeks.
Then, Mrs 2SB, who when isn't throwing herself about is actually very smart produced a Chargemap card. It worked immediately, and that's what we used for the rest of the holiday.
So top tip, if in France and using electricity get one of them!
We finally made our first destination: Honfleur.
As well as being a charming town it's not far from Le Shuttle.
We were at the Mercure, which is unspectacular but has good parking and is clean and very convenient.
https://all.accor.com/hotel/0986/index.en.shtml
A visit to the local chemist togged us up with wrist splints, walking stick & reading glasses. I had to tackle the luggage!
To be continued tomorrow if anybody is interested.....
As well as being a charming town it's not far from Le Shuttle.
We were at the Mercure, which is unspectacular but has good parking and is clean and very convenient.
https://all.accor.com/hotel/0986/index.en.shtml
A visit to the local chemist togged us up with wrist splints, walking stick & reading glasses. I had to tackle the luggage!
To be continued tomorrow if anybody is interested.....
This should be interesting!
I do like the look of the new 5 although my wife isn’t a fan.
Honfleur is lovely although it has become a victim of its own success. We’ve been many many times.
The restaurants around the harbour are pretty poor so worth heading away from there to get decent food.
I do like the look of the new 5 although my wife isn’t a fan.
Honfleur is lovely although it has become a victim of its own success. We’ve been many many times.
The restaurants around the harbour are pretty poor so worth heading away from there to get decent food.
A visit to the local chemist togged us up with wrist splints, walking stick & reading glasses. I had to tackle the luggage!
To be continued tomorrow if anybody is interested.....
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We are at St.Malo this afternoon in motorhome, to catch the ferry Friday morning. Will look out for you, should be easy to spot
To be continued tomorrow if anybody is interested.....
[/quote]
We are at St.Malo this afternoon in motorhome, to catch the ferry Friday morning. Will look out for you, should be easy to spot
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
Thanks all. We are actually home now. I ve a busy day today but will continue the story this evening.
Huh, spoiler alert?? You’ve given away the ending now!Love western France, we did the electric route via Calais 2 years ago and also stopped at Honfleur amongst others.
Looking forward to your story.
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
....
Then, Mrs 2SB, who when isn't throwing herself about is actually very smart produced a Chargemap card. It worked immediately, and that's what we used for the rest of the holiday.
So top tip, if in France and using electricity get one of them!
Worth getting a similar RFID card for use on public chargers in the UK - they always seem to work when bank cards don't (other than at GridServe who seem to want to do their own thing).Then, Mrs 2SB, who when isn't throwing herself about is actually very smart produced a Chargemap card. It worked immediately, and that's what we used for the rest of the holiday.
So top tip, if in France and using electricity get one of them!
It would be interesting to hear what sort of economy the R5 gets on a real world road trip.
In other news, it always seems that French public charging is significantly cheaper than in the UK. I don't know if there's different taxes/incentives at play or their market is just more competitive?
In other news, it always seems that French public charging is significantly cheaper than in the UK. I don't know if there's different taxes/incentives at play or their market is just more competitive?
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