I was asked today if I would go back to a petrol car? My instant reply was ‘no’. Of course, if circumstances changed I might have to, but it is not in my plan right now.

The reason the question was asked was that I was describing a trip I’d just done. Instead of three and a half hours, it had taken four and a half hours due to charging the car en route. It sounded frustrating but it wasn’t. I’d taken along work to do, and discovered the InstaVolt charger was available when I got to the pre-chosen charging spot. InstaVolt, by the way, has a simple tap and untap method of payment. After way too many stressed out sessions at charging points needing mysterious apps I’ve decided InstaVolt is the way forward.

Anyway, back to that trip’s charging session. The InstaVolt charger I used was one of a pair positioned at the end of a carpark on the edge of the A303 near Honiton. At the other end of the carpark was the Brightside Diner. It was my second stop at the diner, and it still felt cheery and clean so while my car hummed away outside I had a pot of tea, and some delicious pancakes with blueberries, yoghurt, granola and maple syrup. In the end I stayed for just under an hour, thankful that rather than being in the draughty, neon-lit, soulless belly of a service station I was able to sit in a warm, quiet space and watch the morning sun fall in folds across the autumn flecked fields of Devon.

That for me is the bright side of travel with an EV. If I hadn’t needed a charging point, I would have been in and out of a service station, hands full of petrol, head full of fumes, clutching a coffee to go.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023