Electric Campervan Hire
On my trip to Orkney to research this article, I found myself standing outside Stromness ferry terminal waiting for my electric campervan to be dropped off, when I realised I had no idea what to expect from an electric van.
I needn’t have worried, however, as once I was shown how everything worked by owner Paul Hudd of JP Orkney, the Nissan E-NV200 campervan was a dream to drive.
I chose to stay at Wheems Organic Farm & Campsite on South Ronaldsay as their electric hook-up is supplied by their onsite turbine. The idea of driving an electric campervan, charged by the campsite’s hook-up from a clean energy source seemed like the stuff of science fiction.
But the main revelation on this trip was that an electric vehicle has a lot more advantages than I expected. On a long stretch of road from Kirkwall to the prehistoric site of Skara Brae, I found myself behind a very slow vehicle.
I was reluctant to overtake as I doubted the acceleration power, but when I went for it the van flew! The acceleration was awesome!
And on a day-trip to gorgeous Sanday, the camper did me proud on an off-road excursion.
The other advantage was not having to use pricey island petrol stations. I charged overnight on the campsite and a full battery gives up to 120 miles. Orkney has more than 30 charging points which I often used while getting a bite to eat, walking the dogs or going to the Co-op.
After seeing how easy the shift to electric vehicles can be, returning to mainland Scotland and to my petrol car felt like going back in time.