Welcome to GRIDSERVE’s EV Travel Guide… the one-stop shop for planning your electric roadtrip this summer.
With a third of Brits saying they’ll ‘staycation’ this year, millions of families will head to seaside resorts, historic towns and tourist attractions this year, our guide reveals the best hotspots for EV drivers and some inspiration for your next holiday.
Most EV-friendly holiday hotspots
The results are in. The best UK holiday destination for EV drivers in summer 2024 is the picturesque and historic city of York.
Famed for its cathedral and medieval shopping streets, it’s also surrounded by EV charging both on motorways, local streets and at hotels. It’s closely followed by Newcastle and Manchester.
For those wanting a sea breeze, Newquay, Brighton, Torbay and Great Yarmouth all feature in the top 20, while holidaymakers wanting a nature retreat should check out the New Forest or Keswick.
The most EV-friendly tourist attractions in the UK
Almost 200 million visitors will sweep through the gates of the nation’s museums, art galleries, country parks, historic houses and zoos this year. But which tourist attraction is most EV-friendly?
Coming out on top of the 2024 index is Cliveden – a combination of manicured gardens and sweeping woodlands in Buckinghamshire. That’s followed by the Midlands Art Centre, which hosts theatre, dance, music and comedy performances, plus cinema and workshops. Dunham Massey Hall, a country home used as a military hospital in World War I, completes the podium.
Best music festival for electric car drivers
From Leeds to Cornwall and Somerset to Suffolk, music lovers will be travelling hundreds of miles this summer to see their favourite bands on stage.
And with many festivals taking place in rural parks, farms and estates, getting to and from the event needs careful planning… both the traffic and charging.
We’ve crunched the numbers to find out which UK summer music festivals are the most EV-friendly, ranking them based on proximity to High Power charging on the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway, local AC/DC charging and whether the festival offers on-site charging.
Arguably the most iconic UK music festival is also the most EV-friendly. Based in Somerset in June, Glastonbury benefits from nearby charging at Solstice Park, Moto Leigh Delamere and TEALS Farm Shop, as well as on-site connectors.
Twinned with Reading Festival in August, Leeds does not offer chargers at the festival but comes second due to being surrounded by Electric Super Hubs at Moto Wetherby, Moto Woolley Edge and Moto Ferrybridge.
The home of rock and metal music based at Donington Park in June, Download ranks third thanks to a plethora of charging options on the M1 (including Moto Donington Park), even though there are no on-site facilities.
Reading Festival happens over the same weekend as Leeds but does have on-site charging. With Moto Reading nearby, there’s also plenty of other charging options along the M4.
A music and arts festival based in Suffolk in July, Latitude offers charging at the festival and is also handily close to the Norwich Electric Forecourt®, which offers EV charging and a place to relax post-festival.
While you probably won’t want to drive directly to All Points East in Victoria Park, London in August, you may make the trip to the capital by car before staying in a hotel. Pleasingly, you’ll find plenty of charging options on your way into London, with Moto Thurrock the closest to the festival.
A nomadic festival that changes location every year, the 2024 event took place in Luton. As it jumps around there’s no dedicated on-site charging but travel links are usually good. For 2024, Moto Toddington was just a few miles down the M1.
With arts, music, talks and food, Wilderness in Oxfordshire takes place in August and bills itself as a weekend of escapism. Although there’s no on-site charging, Moto Cherwell Valley is nearby on the M40.
The festival of choice for all electronic dance music fans, Creamfields takes place in Cheshire in August. Roadchef Chester and Roadchef Sandbach are the best two nearby charging options.
Based in Newquay in August, Boardmasters is a combination of live music and surfing and skateboarding competitions. If you’re heading down to Cornwall, you’ll find charging on route at Moto Exeter, as well as Cornwall Services.
The rankings explained
Our rankings take into account how far a location is from an Electric Super Hub, Electric Retail Hub or Electric Forecourt®, where you’ll find High Power charging. It’s not just about the closest, though, as the index includes the number of sites within 50 miles.
Many towns and cities feature on-street AC chargers that you can plug into while you’re parked. It’s not good if these are all in use, however, so our rankings take into account chargers per visitor.
You may also find public DC charging on the street or in car parks. Just with the AC chargers, our rankings take into account chargers per visitor.
Many people have home chargers, meaning they can top up overnight when parked but being able to do so away from home is a rarity. That’s why our index rewards areas that offer a high number of chargers at accommodation.
Similar to charging at your hotel, for our music festival rankings we took into account if you could park and charge your electric car at the festival.
