Recharging Round Britain Day 5 - 17 July 2026
About this episode
Day 5 of the Round Britain EV challenge focuses on whether EVs and charging access have improved since their earlier trip. They set out the six-day goal, then hit real-world variety: an Osprey charger near John o’ Groats (75 kW), a first charging failure that required rebooting and call-center help, and power limits when sharing a setup (25 kW). They also manage downhill efficiency with regen turned off and run into an Octopus World app issue.
Today, Friday 17 July 2026, we continued with Day 5 of Recharging Round Britain, where we are trying to, as closely as we can, recreate the route we undertook nearly a decade ago. Hear how we got on today as we travelled from Inverness, via Wick, John o’Groats, Tongue, Lairg, Ullapool and hopefully ending up at Fort William.
CHARGING SPONSORThanks to our charging sponsor, GRIDSERVE, They have an EV charging network that spans almost the whole of the UK.
While you can just turn up and pay with a debit card or their app, you can also get 25% off charging rates at all 200 of their locations with GRIDSERVE Plus.
GRIDSERVE Plus costs just £7.99/month and can be cancelled at any time, much like many gym memberships, and as well as the discounted charging, there are many other seasonal membership benefits such as EV heathchecks while you charge, pet portraits, and similar.
Many people take out Gridserve Plus for a month at a time to cover a holiday or seasonal travel.
There's more information at gridserve.com/membership/
VEHICLE SPONSORThank you to Hyundai, who once again have loaned us an electric vehicle enabling us to travel around as much of Britain as we can in six days. This time, we are using an Inster 02. To find out more on the Inster, you can listen to Alan’s time with one during the UK launch of the car, by clicking this link here.
To see more about the car, from Hyundai themselves, click this link here.
If you like what we do, on this show, and think it is worth a £1.00, please consider supporting us via Patreon. Here is the link to that CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE PODCASTOsprey charger
"We cruised our way up to Wick, where we found an Osprey charger on the edge of town with fine access to a B&M, a Pizzer at home, an Aldi, and not a lot of us."
Osprey is a company that runs public EV charging stations. It’s where you plug in your electric car to add battery power while you’re out.
An Osprey charger is a public charging station used for electric vehicles. In the UK, Osprey Energy operates networks of fast chargers that drivers can access via an app or card.
Dodge Charger
"...ised our way up to Wick, where we found an Osprey charger on the edge of town with fine access to a B&M, a ..."
The Dodge Charger is a car built for performance, with a sporty style and power. People talk about it because it’s a well-known model and it’s often used to show what kind of driving feel you can get from a bigger, faster car.
The Dodge Charger is a performance-focused American sedan (and historically a muscle-car icon) known for strong engine options and a sporty, aggressive look. It often comes up in motoring news because it represents a long-running model line and is frequently discussed in the context of power, handling, and how modern regulations affect performance cars. In a podcast, it may be mentioned as part of a route, lineup, or a specific example of what was driven or spotted.
GoodServe
"Again, it was another charger, because most of our experience has been with GoodServe, thanks to them as our sponsor."
GoodServe is a company/network that provides EV charging. The hosts usually use it because it tends to make charging simpler.
GoodServe is referenced as a charging network the hosts usually rely on. Charging networks matter because they determine which chargers you can access easily and what the app experience is like.
75 kilowatts
"We could have topped up had we decided we needed it at John the Groats, as well as the Osprey chargers up there, 75 kilowatts at their bank of them, some of which were in"
“75 kilowatts” tells you how powerful the charger is. More power usually means faster charging, but your car and battery level also affect how quickly you’ll actually add charge.
“75 kilowatts” is the charging power level, measured in kW, which largely determines how fast an EV can charge. Higher kW generally means quicker charging, though the car’s own charging limits and battery state of charge also affect the real-world speed.
ESO network
"no problem with the ability to get hold of help either, by the way, with the ESO network."
The “ESO network” is the company/network behind certain charging stations. If a charger doesn’t work, their support line is who you contact for help.
The “ESO network” refers to a specific EV charging network and its support/helpline infrastructure. In practice, it’s the system you rely on when a charger fails and you need remote assistance or troubleshooting.
50 kilowatts
"What happened at leg, actually, is there's another ESO charger, a kilowatt charger there, and it says 50 kilowatts on it, and so it's got two plugs on it, but of course if you"
“50 kilowatts” tells you how powerful the charger is. More power usually means faster charging, as long as your EV can accept that speed.
“50 kilowatts” is the charger’s power rating, which strongly influences charging speed for compatible EVs. Higher kilowatt numbers generally mean you can add energy faster, though the car’s own charging limits still matter.
regen
"There was a lot of downhill where all the regen was turned off, and I literally coasted into Ulupul. In fact, at one point, I was coasting through, I was doing a whole roller coaster thing,"
Regen is the EV’s way of recharging while you slow down. Instead of wasting all that speed as heat, it uses it to put energy back into the battery.
Regen (regenerative braking) is how an EV slows down while turning some of that motion back into electricity to recharge the battery. Turning regen off reduces that energy recovery, which can matter on long descents.
25 miles an hour
"I was coasting through, I was doing a whole roller coaster thing, but I felt the worm supposed to be dropped to 45 miles an hour. I didn't need to give it a wee squeak more of actual power."
How fast you drive changes how efficiently the EV uses energy. Slower speeds usually help you stretch the battery further.
Speed affects EV efficiency: driving faster usually increases energy use and reduces range. The host mentions a target of 45 mph to avoid needing extra power.
4EV charger
"And now we're charging up at a 4EV charger that's throwing in 66 kilowatts, as we sit here talking to you now, looking at the wind."
4EV is a company that provides EV charging stations. They’re pointing out this one can charge pretty fast.
A 4EV charger is a specific brand/network of EV charging hardware. The hosts mention it delivering 66 kilowatts, highlighting that charger capability and reliability can vary by site.
Octopus World app
"We were warned that this one was very stroppy. And the chat we spoke to up in lag, he hadn't made it work the other day, when he tried to use it. We couldn't make it work via the Octopus World app."
The Octopus World app is used to manage and start charging sessions on compatible chargers. In this segment, the hosts say they couldn’t get the charger to work through that app, which affects how easily you can use the station.
BMW i3
"Yeah. It's not like an i3 where they had very thin wheels. A very dangerous..."
The BMW i3 is an electric car made for everyday driving, especially in cities. It’s known for having a specific wheel and tire setup, and the podcast is likely pointing out that the tire choice affects how safe and stable the car feels.
The BMW i3 is a compact electric car designed for city driving, with a focus on efficiency and lightweight construction. It’s commonly discussed in motoring coverage because it represents an early wave of practical EVs and has distinctive design choices, including how its tires and wheels are specified. In the podcast context, it sounds like the i3 is being referenced for a specific detail related to wheel/tire setup and safety considerations.
C-segment vehicles
"we were discussing that it's one of the more expensive B segment vehicles. But you are buying something that isn't what you get at the lower end of the price bracket"
“B-segment” is a European way of grouping cars by size. It generally means a small car class, and the host is noting this one costs more than some other small cars.
“B-segment” is the European vehicle class for small cars (typically smaller than C-segment family cars). The speaker is saying the car they’re discussing sits in the pricier end of that small-car category.
B-segment
"I say it's B segment, very much sizes with my Yaris, which is a slightly older. But this, certainly the room and everything, it's a, externally it's a small B segment."
“B-segment” is a way of grouping cars by size in Europe. It generally means a small car, and they’re using it to say the loan EV feels small but not too small.
“B-segment” is a European car-size class for small cars, typically smaller than “C-segment” family cars. The hosts use it to describe how the loan car compares in overall size and interior room to a Toyota Yaris.
A segment
"It's definitely not small enough to be A segment. Yeah."
“A-segment” means the tiniest class of cars, usually meant for tight city driving. They’re saying the car they’re using is bigger than that.
“A-segment” is the smallest common European car-size class, usually reserved for very compact city cars. The hosts say the loan car isn’t small enough to be in the A-segment category.
Ioniq Electric
"And one of the reasons we chose the Insta was because it's kind of prices roughly as close as you can get these days to the Ioniq Electric that we did in the first time."
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric is an all-electric Hyundai. They’re comparing it to the other EV they used, especially how far it can go and how efficiently it uses battery power.
The Hyundai Ioniq Electric is a dedicated battery-electric car from Hyundai, known for being an early mainstream EV option. Here, the hosts compare the Inster’s pricing and real-world efficiency to the Ioniq Electric, and later discuss range confidence for motorway driving.
efficiency
"And range wise, it's one of the closest, but importantly, efficiency wise. Yeah. We haven't got the same efficiency out of it that we got out of the Ioniq, but it's not"
“Efficiency” means how economically the electric car uses its battery to travel. They’re saying one EV didn’t match the other’s efficiency, even though it still does well for the trip.
“Efficiency” for an EV is how effectively it turns battery energy into distance, often discussed as energy use per mile/km. The hosts say they didn’t get the same efficiency as the Ioniq Electric, but the car is less “slippery,” which affects real-world consumption.
range
"And range wise, it's one of the closest, but importantly, efficiency wise. Yeah. We haven't got the same efficiency out of it that we got out of the Ioniq, but it's not"
For an electric car, “range” is how far it can go before the battery runs low. They’re comparing how far each EV can realistically travel.
In EV talk, “range” means how far the car can drive on a full battery (or remaining charge) under specific conditions. The hosts compare range and then shift to efficiency, because two cars can show similar range numbers but behave differently on the road.
slippery
"We haven't got the same efficiency out of it that we got out of the Ioniq, but it's not nearly as slippery. And I would suggest we're doing more motorway miles."
“Slippery” here means how easily the car cuts through the air. If it’s not very slippery, it takes more energy to keep going, especially on faster roads.
When EV drivers say a car isn’t “slippery,” they usually mean it has higher aerodynamic drag. More drag makes the car work harder—especially at motorway speeds—so efficiency and range can drop.
motorway mileage
"And I would suggest we're doing more motorway miles. We have done much more motorway mileage and because we are confident in the range,"
“Motorway mileage” just means how much of the trip was on fast roads. For EVs, that matters because higher speeds usually use more battery.
“Motorway mileage” refers to driving distance on high-speed roads, which strongly influences EV consumption. The hosts mention doing more motorway miles because steady high speeds typically increase aerodynamic drag and reduce real-world range.
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