A road trip from Hay-on-Wye to Snowdonia in an electric car

The Taycan can cover about 433km when its 79.2 kWh battery is fully charged, and I had done 256km to get here from London, driving with a light foot. The Taycan is no hybrid; it runs entirely on electricity, and I had my fair share of anxiety about finding charging stations in locales where steam locomotion still persists, in Snowdonia, for example. Fortunately, in Talgarth, about 12km from Hay-on-Wye, where we were staying at a cozy little bed and breakfast, called Swn yr Afon (The Sound of the River), there was a public car park with an electric vehicle charging station. Another electric car was already plugged in when I arrived and so I had to go back at 7am in the freezing cold to plug in the Taycan. The car’s onboard display told me it would take 1.5 hours to a full charge and it was fully charged by the time I left after breakfast at about 10am.

This was reassuring, as on Saturday our plan was to drive north to Snowdonia. I didn’t want to drive for efficiency—it would be downright silly to drive a Porsche for maximum range rather than maximum excitement. I spent the morning driving on major A roads and smaller B roads that were satiny ribbons of black draped across expanses of green. Gunning the car into corners, crossing high mountain passes and accelerating hard alongside deep blue lakes was exhilarating. All this enthusiastic driving sucked a lot of current. So, even though we had driven just 240km from Hay to Beddgelert, the range had whittled down to 124km. But it was worth it.

Whether a Porsche is powered by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, its thrilling performance, body balance and cornering capabilities are paramount features. For all my bravado, I started getting a little bit of range anxiety after my heavy-footed driving. The transmission lines often running alongside the road reassured me that electricity, too, was flowing in the direction that I was headed.

I reached Beddgelert, in time for lunch at 2pm and sat down in the beer garden of the Saracens Head, a country pub-inn. It was a sunny day and people were strolling in large numbers. Their ambling done, the thirsty and happy walkers quaffed pints of beer and guffawed merrily. I walked to Gelert’s grave, a 1.6km round trip through a field where newborn lambs skipped under the watchful eye of their mothers.

From Beddgelert, I drove 48km through Snowdonia on roads that once again begged feisty driving to a little farming village called Frongoch, where the Rhydydefaid Farm B&B was located on a cattle farm. Google Maps got me to their doorstep. The closest town to the B&B is Bala, about 4.8km away. By now the battery was down to the dregs with the Low Battery warning flashing . Fortunately, in Bala, too, the public parking lot had an EV charging station. Unfortunately, the network was down, payments were stuck and the charging wouldn’t start. That was that; I cut my losses and went to dinner.

Y Cyfnod Cafe & Bistro on Bala’s main street was soul soothing, thanks to both the warm service and the fantastic food. The medium rare sirloin steak with chips, mushrooms, onion rings and peppercorn sauce were flavourful, and the risotto boscaiola with garlic butter, sliced asparagus spears, mushrooms and topped with Parmesan shavings delectable. The local beer was ice cold, and the wine list impressive.

Early on Sunday morning the network had been restored and I sipped coffee and read books for about 90 minutes while the car charged at the public parking lot.

That done, we set off towards the Pen y Pass Warden Centre on the A4086, the start point of the Miner’s Track as well as the Pyg Track, both foot trails leading to the summit of Mount Snowdon or Yr Wyddfa. The 48km route through the majestic roads of the national park at the wheel of the Porsche spiked my adrenaline. I switched it to Sport Plus mode, transforming the Taycan’s character into that of a thoroughbred horse aiming for the top spot.

Thanks to this, as I started hiking up the Miner’s Track, there was a spring in my step. The walk started gently and went past Llyn (lake in Welsh) Teyrn on the left and over a causeway, cutting across Llyn Llydaw. I strolled along the latter for an hour over an undulating and scenic landscape and arrived at Llyn Glaslyn.

From here, it was a hard and steep scramble up rocks and scree to where the Miner’s Track met the Pyg Track. Thereon, I continued to huff and puff for another hour, stopping often to catch my breath as well as take in the fabulous views before I finally stood on the summit of Snowdon, 1,085m above sea level.

It was here in Snowdonia that the great Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hilary trained for their successful ascent of Mt Everest on 29 May 1953. Just a mile east of the Pen y Pass Warden Centre, where the A4086 meets the A498, stands the Pen Y Gwryd Hotel that was their base during their training.

Inside, there is memorabilia from the 1953 Everest ascent, including boots, hemp ropes and pickaxes. Ever since, Snowdonia has been the proving ground for Britain’s best mountaineers. More than half a million people summit Snowdon each year.

Train aficionados also flock to Snowdonia thanks to the Ffestinog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway. I have ridden both on previous trips to Wales—narrow gauge delights, with antique railway cars, vintage locomotives in top condition and that fragrance of spent and sooty hydrocarbons and water vapour that can make grown train spotters delirious with childlike delight.

Established in 1832, the Ffestiniog Railway is the world’s oldest independent railway company. One can ride the Mountain Spirit on a 21.5km journey from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog.

On Sunday evening, I was back in Bala for dinner, which was a smashing Sunday roast at Plas Yn Dre right across the road from Y Cyfnod Cafe & Bistro.

With a full charge on Monday, sadly, it was time to turn back towards London. I opted for the largely straight and flat route on motorways through England rather than the twisty mountain roads through Wales.

This was easy on the battery because three hours later during which I’d driven 250km, the range was 160km.

I stopped for lunch at a service station with electric charging stations just north of Oxford. While I ate, the car charged and in 40 minutes the battery was fully charged. More than enough to get to London, about 100km away.

Also read: Planning a road trip? Make pit stops for highway food shopping