Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Completing the round trip for The Grey's first outing, here are the remains from the Lunderston Bay stop, from which we gazed across the water to the Hutch and finally boarded the ferry...

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Memories from Whalley and Ribblehead...

...and again I note that extreme zoom on the Gopika results in a painterly effect...

NB Van-fans; the latest vid is uploaded; glimpses of these places therein!

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

From the Portland Basin Museum;

Menoretunda; Back From The Ootery And Abootery

Sigh...

Back to the Hutch, and it is nearly two weeks since doing so. It has taken a while to 'land'. Am struggling to get very much done at the physical level. A lot of thinking done, of course. That's the YAMster's pattern. Work it all out... then BAM! Suddenly there is movement at the station, and it kinda all happens at once. But not yet. 

I have managed to get all the posts up to date here and one more video out - there's another in process. I have caught up on some reading and viewing, and listening. I have caught up on some crochet (a leftover patchwork squares thing, making it up as I go along). Caught up on laundry and a tidy-up. All of this is to work up to starting the big declutter of the Hutch. I just have to get myself going.

Today, though, I will review the technicalities of running The Grey around 1470 miles of these isles. Yes, all but 1500 flat.

As pointed out in several other posts, The Grey is big. He's got quite the backside. The first and ongoing issue I faced when it came to parking - mainly regarding charging the vehicle, as the overnights were generally in places unfettered with other units - was that we just needed to fit into the dinky car spaces provided. The majority of the charge points accessed were within established car parking facilities.

Which presented other issues, too. First, the spacing. The length and width of the bays in many car parks are skimmed down to the absolute minimum. Which is not horrendous if the park is not busy. If the bays are packed, turning into some of them would take a bit of to and fro. Then the back end would be sticking into the flow of others needing to leave. It did come to a point that if I saw such conditions, I just drove by and looked for another charger. 

Then there were the many and varied parking conditions within those facilities. For the most part, the council-run parks in England are using private collection companies for payment... and virtually all the car parking facilities I came across south of the Border were pay-for-stay. I didn't mind that in those where I was choosing to park up for the night and spend time. But when one is charging one's vehicle, it seems like a case of double-dipping. I came across only one place where it was made clear that charging meant no parking fees...

Well done to the Howden council for that one. Some of you may recall that in another place outside Manchester, another driver was under the impression she never had to pay parking fees... but I fear she must just have gotten by on sheer luck. All the parks with chargers I used in England had boards stating all the fees - and all the penalties that would be enforced if the list of conditions was not met. Frankly, the language in the small print could be classed as bullying or even threatening. Here's the thing - drivers are expected to stop and read all that stuff before buying their ticket. Here's an example - and this one is quite simple compared to some I met.

image from Signway

The devil is in the details, like the place where, in one of the last sentences in the bottom right small print part, it indicated that there was a height and weight restriction on the vehicles entering those premises... which meant that The Grey was illegal and up for potential £70 fine. It was late on a Saturday arvo, so I didn't panic. Then there was the one where that lady was saying it didn't matter, but I couldn't see any let out on the board... but then discovered that parking meter only operated with hard coin. Then the warden came along and had a good look around. I seemed to have been okay in the end, but there was some concern. It doesn't make sense that vehicle charge points should be penalised for access like that. 

The next issue with access is that the apps often indicated chargers available - but failed to alert one that it was behind barriers due to the car park belonging to a commercial business and was for patrons only. I am fairly sure that the charger owners themselves would want their units to be publically accessible - if they are only for businesses on whose land they sit, they ought not to appear on the apps.

As I have also mentioned, another aspect is that there are many different charging facilities. The Blue Oval RFID fob I have covers me for some MER, some Gridserve, all BPPulse, all ChargePlace and Osprey points, Ionity and ShellRecharge, and maybe some others... but there is no actual listing to alert me, and the app for that combined payment service isn't the most functional. I am also signed up to ChargePlace Scotland - which, it turned out, also covered a few chargers in and around the Midlands - yet not in the two obvious counties of Cumbria and Northumbria. I did sign up with PodPoint in the end to have at least one more option open to me, but that particular matter was starting to do my head in. This is one reason I didn't hang around there, particularly in Cumbria. Currently, on ZapMap, there are 53 different suppliers listed. How would petrol/diesel drivers feel if there were 53 different fuel suppliers, each with different machines to negotiate and different cards or apps to pay with? I have been reading and viewing various articles/programs on this issue and the need for significant regulation to standardise EV charging supply.

Similarly, some better checks concerning costs - and maintenance, and quantity. Certainly, the number of charge points is increasing, but it really needs to speed up. Maintenance... I didn't have much trouble with this until after leaving Nottingham and into the northwest. Around the Manchester area, there were enough for it not to be a huge issue. Once I got into the Yorkshire Dales, some cracks started to appear. Not only were the facilities more restricted (by my choosing to stick to specific networks), but every second point seemed to need to be fixed. Is it overuse? Is it that drivers in those areas are just very kak-handed? Are there saboteurs? Oh, I could write screeds... As to costs, these varied quite widely, but on the whole, south of the Border, the charges are significantly more than in Scotland. 

One of the frustrations was that, where there were options of fast DC charging or the slower AC charging, there was no differentiation, and the higher cost seemed always to be extracted. The costs were also much higher anywhere that was remotely busy or touristy. The northwest route also had me having to use motorway service chargers, and those (like fuel) come at premium pricing. By that, I mean around 90p per kWh. A quick glance back over ZapMap shows me that the average cost per kWh at most chargers I used was 59p. When I got north of the Border again, the costs became less. Now, I will be doing more driving in the Bonny Land to test out the standard and overall costs here, but as things stand, I would place the average here to be closer to 30p - which is less per kW than I am paying for the power in The Hutch. One thing that has been happening is the limiting of time and the cost of overstaying at a charger. This is to encourage a level of etiquette; not to have drivers just leave their cars for hours on end and block the space even if their battery is full. This is fine if you have the 43kWh charger - if you're on the 11kWh, that's not much charge in 70 mins (or 90 or whatever is allotted). Still, little and often remember!

What about The Grey itself? How did we go along? After the initial trepidatious hook-ups in which it all felt a tad clumsy, by the time I had reached Lincolnshire on the southbound journey, I was starting to feel like I knew what I was doing. By the time I reached Havant, I knew that overconfidence could be an issue too! Mostly, though, we managed well. The mindset for EV driving is necessarily different from ICE driving. In the latter, we tend to drive until the needle is down below the quarter tank (or even lower), then seek a station and fill the tank to full again. There is no need to think about fuel until that needle peskily gets near the E marker again. It makes no difference to the engine how much fuel is there or how much goes in - just so long as it is not empty and sucking air.  

With an EV, one must think more in terms of little and often charging. Lithium batteries are better for not being totally drained (too often) or for being fully charged too quickly, too often. Thus, the guidance is to charge when dropping below 40% and mostly to 80 or 85%. Also, use ultra-fast charging sparingly. With its power-on-board capabilities in the E-Transit, this works well because 40% works out at about 70-75 miles range. Charging up the Bluetti uses about five miles of range. While I could set the battery to permit dropping below sixty miles in range to make that charge, I only did that if I was sure there was a working charge point within cooee. I was amazed to discover that we averaged three miles per kWh used. It has to be accepted that The Grey was travelling light - not yet fully furnished - but even with another 350-400 kgs on board, I think I might expect over the two miles per unit of power, which is at the top end of the suggested likely given by Ford themselves. This means a better range. The average suggested for this vehicle is about 120 miles per full charge. The highest charge I gave Grey on the trip was 93%, and the projected mileage was 183 miles... so 100% might be closer to 200. This is well above expectation, and while I am prepared for that dropping as the weight goes on and the winter approaches, I am well-pleased with my Big Grey Steed! Obviously, more power is required to go up in the hillier areas, but using the super eco function on Grey, there was a decent amount of regain on the downward, too - enough to balance things out as if on the flat. The miles per power unit were also less in places where I had to use the brakes more - that is to say, when driving in towns and cities. In theory, this ought to be the opposite, but the traffic flow means that one cannot avoid the use of brakes and cannot rely purely on the one-pedal deceleration/regain. We did best on the open road where we could pootle along at 40/45 mph. 

Tying all that together, how did I fare on my six-week holiday? Well, in charging terms, I added the parking fees as part of the costs, as I couldn't charge unless I paid them (at least not without the risk of even higher costs!) It came out at 19.93p per mile... which is definitely on the high side if you compare it with ICE vehicles. There is no doubt that in going on another similar trip south, I have learned heaps about locating and using chargers, as well as becoming more secure in what The Grey needs versus what my mind needs, so I am fairly sure I could cut that cost down some. Though, as you have seen, there are many factors involved and to some degree, EV drivers are being held to ransom at the moment!

However, I chose to look at my total costs as well. Not counting the very personal things such as clothes and RRD (rollator), but thinking in terms of groceries, eating out, fees/donations for other things, and adding that to the energy costs, I spent just shy of, so let's round it up to, £400. For 42 days, that works out at £9.52 per day.

When did you last have a vacation with comfy accommodations, transport, food and lots of fantastic scenery and places to visit for under ten quid a day? (Twenty Aussie bucks - less than thirteen Greenbacks.)

Bargain. Come on, YAM, get things going and back on the road!

Menonagainoffagainery; Oh, The Procrastination

As I lingered still at Kilbirnie lochside on Thursday morning, it was lunchtime before I actually got into the 'saddle' again. Only to drive up to the new community centre and cafe... 

The smaller wing this side serves as the rugby club meeting room. I guess there will be changing rooms in there too. The larger part of the building houses an office, excellent toilet facilities and a smashing cafe. How could I resist the homemade Lentil and Sweet Potato soup with brown bloomer bread and a banana and strawberry slushy on the side??!!!

That soup was lush, and I kept half the bread back to have later; so filling it was. Proper stick to the ribs and perfectly seasoned. £3.95 for that and £2.40 for the drink. This equalled the standard of Cafe Autisan back in Whalley. Again, community-run. Excellent work, folks of Kilbirnie and Glengarnock!

In Kilbirnie, I hooked up to a charger for an hour, enough to top up for peace of mind (not really that necessary, but it was there, so why not avail?), and then it was a westwards drive over to Largs. By the Vikingar Centre, I parked again for a proper charge-up. While there, another camper drew up and parked, and the lady in that said they had been coming here for ten years to park, and nobody had ever challenged them. A bit of me was tempted to stay there as it was already late afternoon... but I had set my heart on Lunderston Bay (with a stop off at Sainsbury's for a grocery top-up in Inverkip on the way). I am so glad I stuck to my guns.

Yes, I was parked up facing across the Clyde towards Dunoon! Nice to see the other side for a change. (The Hutch is tucked in behind the strand of trees about a third of the way across from the right of the image.)

It was pretty late when I drove in and already starting to darken - not helped by the shower clouds. It was quite wet overnight, so I wasn't holding out much hope for Friday. But goodness me, it came up trumps! So I decided to linger. I mean, how could I not explore this interesting place that, despite being 'local', I had somehow not really known about?!!

Lunderston Bay is one of the places that, in times past, was a "doon the watter" destination for working-class Glaswegians on their holidays. This info board on one of the plentiful seats provided revealed much.

Now, there is a large swathe of grass to picnic and play upon, with loads of bins and picnic tables provided, toilets at the end of the carpark, and substantial cycle and walking pathways for the coastal route. At the eastern end is a new and quite fabulous children's playground, all made of sand and soft matting, wood and steel. There were various types of swings (not yer average, mate), climbing frames, work activities (measuring and shifting and pulling), and two brilliant pirate ships to 'set sail' in! I wished I had a young un to take in so I could have a play myself!!! (No photos of that, as it was very busy, and I am hot on the privacy of such things.)

The sun not only shone but was actually quite warm, combating the stiff breeze coming up the firth. I abluted, breakfasted, did some photo sorting, unloaded the RRD and set off for a walk around the area. Up past the playground and as far as the path went before it joined the main road again (walking could continue to Gourock, but I wasn't up for that on this day). I turned around and found a sheltered spot by the shore to sit on the trolley and gaze across at Dunoon, Kirn, Hunter's Quay, and beyond that, to Strone and Blairmore on the far shore of Holy Loch and Loch Long entries... that is what you see in the new blog banner. Then, as I trundled back past the playground, I took the urge to attempt walking the beach; the RRD was a little sticky on the softer sand and pebbles, but once down onto the wetter low tide line, we were fine. Thus I walked all the way back to the west end of the beach, passing The Grey on the way...

Although not a particularly long walk, it had been about absorbing the fine day, the smiles and snatched chats along the way, and beachcombing, so I was surprised to discover it was nearly one in the arvo when I returned to the van. As the Ice Cream seller had arrived, it would have been rude not to partake...

Lucky I had a bowl and spoon to hand. That could have been a very messy situation... I did have a picnic lunch after this. Who says you can't have dessert first? Anyway, I could have decided to drive on after this, but no. It was much too pleasant. Thus, it was Saturday morning before I gathered myself to make the move. Gotta admit, I very nearly spent a third night, but mid-arvo, I gave myself a talking to, and we set off for the ferry. 

At first, I thought I would have to park away from the Hutch, but a space opened up not long after I arrived, so I went out again and pulled the van into the spot right below the Hutch's window. 

Thus ended the big Firsts Trip in The Grey. Together we put in just 30 miles shy of 1500 in total. There will be a sort of 'technical round-up' post to complete this series, in which I shall analyse the logistics and costs, as several folk have expressed an interest (behind the scenes, if not directly!) And, as ever, there will be a Me-Now-Views post later this month with the remains of the photos from Lunderston.

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Tail-end of Marlborough, some snatches from Bakewell...

Menonday...Yes, Really, A Me-Non-Day

Having departed the rather heavenly stop at Sanquhar, I moved fifty miles further north and a tad more west to a little spot by more water. Kilbirnie Loch and Lochshore Park are nestled nicely between the villages of Kilbirnie and Glengarnock. The 'park' is still in development, part of a North Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise initiative aimed at creating a 'destination focus', and they are making a fine fist of getting the place set up. It is already attracting a lot of local walkers and cyclists; there is fishing by permit and watersports (yes, there was some jet ski noise, but only for a short time). The local rugby ground is just behind, and a brand new community building with a cafe, toilets and rentable space for various functions is recently opened. There is some plane noise, being under a flight path from Glasgow, but infrequent. The Glasgow trains are regular but distant enough to not be annoying. Mostly, it is just pure peace.

I did park at the farthest end of the parking track, noting there was a decent amount of fairly level spaces to use. I didn't stop at that higher point, though, as it felt a tad exposed for me. Dropping down just back around the corner and facing the side door to the water felt more comfortable. Let's call it Van-Shui!

I chose this lumpy gravelled spot over the tiled hard-standing over the other side because I felt that the other was a bit sloped, and with a bit of to and fro, I was able to settle The Grey as level as he's been almost this entire trip! However, a couple of large French motorhomes turned up in the evening and didn't need their levellers on that other pitch, so that might have been okay. (And, yes, the make-do fly screen is working grand!)

Ample rubbish bins are provided, and I am pleased to report that I didn't witness any litter, so proper use is being made of them. I slept well again and rose to find the sun well over the loch at 7am. I decided there and then that I would spend the day doing very little other than absorbing the tranquillity. A non-day, if you will. Delaying tactics... for the next part of the trip from here would be back to the Hutch. I did want to see my sticks and bricks home again, to get stuck into what needs doing... but golly, van life is properly taking hold of me by this stop and stop is exactly what I didn't want to do! This month will be about getting the Hutch sorted as much as possible, and The Grey fitted out a bit more (if not totally), and then it will be back on the road for the YAMster!!!

Anyway, I truly revelled in my non-day, enjoying brekky on the step and having a yarn with a lady and her dogs, who was intrigued by (and, I think, a little envious of) my plans. A couple more dog walkers nodded and acknowledged the fine morning that had dawned after the overnight rain. At lunchtime, an older fellow and his wee Cocker Spaniel, Poppy, stopped for a blether; he had been studying the back door and wondered if the "E" before the Transit meant it was electric. Spot on, that man! He'd been watching a programme the night before about electric vehicles and was clearly very interested and wondering if it would suit him. He only needs it for local stuff. My response was to think of a little e-car as a glorified mobility scooter, for he would find driving it much the same! He liked that idea. I may have started something!

I will close with a vid clip from that morning - crank up the sound, and you will hear exactly what I heard... true!

Menootery With New Friends

NB1: This one's image-heavy and, therefore, a Me-Now-Views Extra as well!

NB2: Comments on Monday's post used various references that are actually inaccurate - partly my fault as I did not specify that MC identifies as English Traveller... not "gypsy" or Roma. This website gives a succinct summary of backgrounds. I am not here to tell MC's story, only the part where our paths interconnected... and, I hope, respectfully, as he showed only respect for me.

On Monday, I told you about meeting new pals on the road, MC and his animals. I also mentioned that we took a lengthy (for me) walk together. It is an established route and part of a much larger one, but just right for the likes of me. It is known as the Euchan Glen walk, in reference to the smaller river that feeds into the Nith. It was beautiful. Before getting to the pics from the walk itself, let me share something from the info boards that are on display at the parking spot we stayed at. The first four are close-ups taken from a single board for ease of your reading. 

That last board shows all the points of interest and walkways... you can see the Euchan Glen walk that we took in that lower left quadrant, marked out in yellow dots (biggification may be required!). Now to show you some of what we saw.

There will be a little bit of video turning up over at the tubular in due course. There was quite some up and down along the way, actual steps and some bridges to cross, but the RRD served me well, and there was only one sit-down stop along the way. The path was well-kept and clearly appreciated by locals as much as visitors. A truly gorgeous spot.

Meanwhile, back at 'camp'...

It seems that Roxy decided I was alright people, and got a special pawmishun from 'Dad' to enter my premises. All you regulars here know how that thrilled "YAM-aunty"!!!

Eventually, it was time to move on, though. I had to say my farewells - but not goodbyes, because we have exchanged communications and will no doubt meet up again along the way...

NB: Vanlife followers - the next video is live on the channel!