Back from the North

There has been a gap since I last wrote on this blog as we have been away for a few days break at our favourite hotel in Cumbria. We first stayed there 24 years ago, when R was a toddler, and have been going back ever since. Although we found it because it was recommended as family friendly, we only went back once with the two older girls as it became our go-to place whenever M and I had the chance for a weekend away on our own. This year we were originally booked to visit in May, but had to postpone due to the lockdown and picked this last weekend as it was a big birthday for me - 60! I find it hard to believe I am quite that old, but am grateful that I am still fit and healthy (apart from a few creaky bits!) and that I am of a generation where it really isn't "old" any more. 

The hotel is in the Eden Valley, on the edge of Appleby-in-Westmorland, which is now no longer in the old county of Westmorland, but in Cumbria, a short drive from the Lake District. (Hmm! That makes it sound as though the town has picked itself up and moved - local government reorganisation has a lot to answer for!)  We had three full days there, visiting the Lakes on two of them and staying a bit nearer to the hotel on the third. We climbed a mountain at Grasmere (almost - we didn't scramble up the final slope!), did a "mystery" trail around the small town of Ambleside, and explored historical sites near Penrith. I have lots to say about all three expeditions, so will probably write a separate post about each. 

This was our first trip away with the electric car, so we had to tackle the challenge of using public rapid chargers. It was ... interesting! The English electric charging network is made up of a hodge-podge of machines owned by different companies, all with their own separate apps or payment systems, and of varying reliability. The motorway network has chargers run with Ecotricity, which have a pretty dire reputation, but I had downloaded their app in advance, and after a false start with the first charger we tried, had easy, successful charges both going north up the M1 and coming back south again. The only downside is that they both limited the charging time to just 45 minutes, and we could have done with a few minutes more. 

The hotel had two chargers, a rapid one and a slow one, both BP's Polar chargemaster network. All went well the first evening, until we tried to disconnect, at which point my app went off into cloud cuckoo land. We were only able to disconnect the car once the machine decided it was fully charged. After a long wait on the phone, BP reset my app so that I could use it again the next evening - same problem! We then decided we would use the contactless payment option (slightly more expensive than prepayment with the app) the next evening. At that point the charger gave up completely. We phoned BP again who tried to reboot the charger, only to find it was not showing on their system, meaning it would need an engineer to fix it. We also tried the slow charger, but that refused to connect too. Fortunately we had plenty of battery charge left, and knew there were chargers we could use in Penrith the following day to top up ready to head home. After a failed attempt at one supermarket, we found the two chargers at another supermarket across the road were both in use - fortunately one was almost done, and we had no problem at all with that machine. 

Over the five days we were away we managed five successful charges, but it took us nine attempts on seven chargers with four different networks, and two phone calls to BP Chargemaster about my locked app and the malfunctioning machine. We also had to put credit onto two apps which we haven't yet managed to use because the machines either wouldn't play ball, or - in the case of the malfunctioning hotel machine - failed to deduct any money! We never got to a point where we were concerned that we may not be able to charge, or where range anxiety became an issue, but it certainly made us appreciate just how easy it is to charge the car at home. Fortunately home charging is all we need 99% of the time. Apologies for all this waffle about car charging, but I wanted to record it. It feels as though public car charging is currently at the "dial-up internet" stage, with erratic connections and a jumble of providers. I am sure that within a few years there will be many more chargers, they will be as easy to use as a petrol pump, and it will be hard to imagine that it was ever a complicated mess. 

Occasional charging hiccups aside, we had a wonderful relaxing time. The hotel insists on masks for both staff and guests, and it felt very Covid safe. Our booking included use of the spa, which was fully open but only for limited numbers so that everyone could socially distance. Sitting in the jacuzzi or hydrotherapy pool after spending the day outdoors walking was a treat, as was the hotel food. As an extra treat, R and H had organised a bottle of sparkling wine for us as a birthday treat, which was a lovely surprise when we arrived. It feels as though we have come back with our batteries recharged ready for what I am afraid may be a long and worrying winter, between coronavirus and the impact of Brexit once the transition period we are currently in ends in January.