Christopher Ramsey of Plug In Adventures has completed the North Coast 500, a 516-mile route encompassing the Highlands of Scotland in the new Nissan LEAF 30kWh.
Christopher believes it’s the first time a 100% electric vehicle has been used to complete the full route, which starts and ends at Inverness Castle. Pitched as ‘Scotland’s answer to Route 66’, the scenic journey takes in the castles, beaches and wildlife of some of the most remote parts of the British Isles, which traditionally have been seen as unsuitable for electric vehicles more suited to city life.
Ramsey is no stranger to putting electric cars through epic drives. Only in September last year, Plug In Adventures completed the 1,652-mile journey from John O’Groats to Land’s End and back again – for free – in an all-electric Nissan LEAF. As an EV owner, one of Chris’ aims is to demonstrate that the UK charging infrastructure has expanded enough to allow long distance EV journeys to start becoming the norm. Chris Ramsey said;
“It’s no secret that I’m an EV advocate – I genuinely enjoy owning and running a Nissan LEAF, knowing that I’m doing my bit for the environment whilst benefiting from the low-running costs. There’s still scepticism about the capabilities of EVs on long journeys though, and that’s why I delight in pushing all-electric travel to the limits and taking on the really big drives. Doing that proves these cars can easily provide the day-to-day range of almost any driver. Whilst this was definitely the most difficult challenge I have taken on to date – mostly due to a couple of off-line rapid chargers on the West Coast stretch of the route – I loved every minute of it. The North Coast 500 was a simply stunning route to enjoy in the LEAF. The views were incredible and the quiet drivetrain meant we were able to better enjoy the sounds of the drive like the waves crashing on the beaches and the birdlife overhead – a very sensory experience!”
Plug In Adventures was founded by Chris in 2011 and was born from a combined love of adventure and electric vehicles. Comprising a group of EV enthusiasts based in Scotland, its aim is to engage with the public in unique and different ways, championing all things EV-related. Follow @Pluginadventure on Twitter for all of the latest from the team.
Source; Nissan & Plug In Adventures
My trip, July 2015: in a very basic 2013 Leaf. 1600 miles, no bother.
Bet that was a story filled journey! We drove from London to Paris in a 24kWh LEAF for our Jan-Feb 2016 issue, which although was a shorter distance than the NC500 and your own, all of them help show that even relatively short range electric cars are perfectly capable of distance driving with a little prior planning and patience.