superchargers with particularly good nearby facilities - and do you prioritise/divert?

[Mrklaw]

Travelling from Windsor to St Ives tomorrow. ABRB recommends lifton and a top up at cambourne but mostly skips exeter/darts farm. I’ve heard a lot about darts farm so was curious is the facilities there are worth diverting off route (its at least a few minutes off the A30) and trying to specify that as a stop, perhaps for lunch/grab some food for later etc. I’ll either have already topped at Gordano/Amesbury depending on the route, so could probably charge enough there to skip lifton and go straight to cambourne.

Wondering if you’d recommend that, or if there are other chargers you tend to prefer and override the built in sat nav to make sure you hit them?

 

[MrBadger]

Liphook (off A3) has good facilities when open - its at a golf club. Don't come in from SE direction via the back roads though - ABRP will route via these if coming in from A286/A283. Guildford/Peasmarsh if/when that gets Superchargers will probably be a better choice for those routes.

Unlike Havant (A3/M27) that has no, zero, nada facilities so avoid if you might need the loo. And mind the high kerb on the way out...

 

[kelvin 660]

I went to all these SuC last week. Darts Farm is good to get a quick bite in the "Shack" and a bio break and walk the dog. Lifton and Cambourne were empty. Only bio break facilities at Lifton

 

[M3noob]

Havant

Liphook (off A3) has good facilities when open - its at a golf club. Don't come in from SE direction via the back roads though - ABRP will route via these if coming in from A286/A283. Guildford/Peasmarsh if/when that gets Superchargers will probably be a better choice for those routes.

Unlike Havant (A3/M27) that has no, zero, nada facilities so avoid if you might need the loo. And mind the high kerb on the way out...

Havant has some bushes for al fresco relief...

 

[Mrklaw]

thanks. I’ll play with ABRP to see if I can make Darts Farm without charging or if it still wants me to top up at Amesbury. Then will try a longer stop if there is space and then push through (topping up at cambourne if convenient to get me back to exeter)

edit: ok if I force a 30 min stop at Exeter ABRP says I can go straight there and arrive with about 20%, then straight through to st ives with about 25% left, or top up at cambourne to give me a bit more buffer but that would be enough to get back to cambourne on the return leg anyway. Then coming back I can just splash and dash with a couple of 10-15 min stops at cambourne/lifton/exeter/amesbury as the wind takes me.

 

[Jason71]

Travelling from Windsor to St Ives tomorrow. ABRB recommends lifton and a top up at cambourne but mostly skips exeter/darts farm. I’ve heard a lot about darts farm so was curious is the facilities there are worth diverting off route (its at least a few minutes off the A30) and trying to specify that as a stop, perhaps for lunch/grab some food for later etc. I’ll either have already topped at Gordano/Amesbury depending on the route, so could probably charge enough there to skip lifton and go straight to cambourne.

Wondering if you’d recommend that, or if there are other chargers you tend to prefer and override the built in sat nav to make sure you hit them?

if you are looking at Gordano you could consider Cribbs. Its only a couple of minutes from the motorway and V3 So could actually be faster than sharing a V2 at Gordano. Toilets easily accessible in John Lewis. food/drinks a bit further into the shopping centre but more choice than Gordano.
The only down sides are :
1) if you want a proper meal charging will finish before you do
2) good luck getting the missus through John Lewis with the credit card unscathed

 

[Mrklaw]

I’d almost written off Cribbs because on previous trips I never manage to park near the shops we want to go to - adding in finding a small set of chargers in a multistorey and it put me off. Will keep that in mind for an M4/M5 route though - going to try A303 this time around

 

[Jason71]

I’d almost written off Cribbs because on previous trips I never manage to park near the shops we want to go to - adding in finding a small set of chargers in a multistorey and it put me off. Will keep that in mind for an M4/M5 route though - going to try A303 this time around

It was hopeless when it had the worlds worst pair of V2 but now it has 12 V3 I think it's a better bet than Gordano at busy times. Only for the M4/5 route though as you say.

 

[Ticked]

Travelling from Windsor to St Ives tomorrow. ABRB recommends lifton and a top up at cambourne but mostly skips exeter/darts farm. I’ve heard a lot about darts farm so was curious is the facilities there are worth diverting off route (its at least a few minutes off the A30) and trying to specify that as a stop, perhaps for lunch/grab some food for later etc. I’ll either have already topped at Gordano/Amesbury depending on the route, so could probably charge enough there to skip lifton and go straight to cambourne.

Wondering if you’d recommend that, or if there are other chargers you tend to prefer and override the built in sat nav to make sure you hit them?

If you don‘t like crowds and poor facilities, then I‘d give Darts Farm a miss as sometimes the traffic around the area can be at a standstill.

Lifton has a deli and picnic benches if weather is good or alternatively a bar with facilities or a very nice hotel bar with excellent food.

Camborne also has the brand new Nimbus cafe keen to attract Tesla drivers or a bit further afield regular chain outlets.

If you want to stretch your legs, Lifton and Camborne are a bit more interesting. Enjoy your trip And best stick to SCs.

 

[Mrklaw]

Maybe try one each way That does make Lifton and Cambourne sound interesting

 

[yfwt]

Darts farm only has 4x v3 installed about early august 2021 and the rest v2 - I went in the middle of the night as it’s one of the rare ones in retail area where’s there’s no barriers and security to buzz - so jealous of you going to that part of the world now as I went a week before Camborne went live! 3rd party charging in that part of England is so you’ll be glad of the supercharger network - having options is great Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mrklaw]

Ok that was easy. Darts farm was easy to find and I used the V3 although I don’t think I can take advantage with an SR+. Facilities weren’t great. Had a nice bacon roll and coffee while waiting but only two toilets in a shed? Maybe more inside that I didn’t see.

spent longer there than planned so was very full. But stopped at Camborne anyway. Tesla sat nav doesn’t know where it is so directed me to a dead end next to it. Found it eventually (in the college and first left some a very narrow road). Deliberately topped up to 80% to give me options when I leave - eg going straight to lifton and then amesbury so I’ve tried all of them on that section

the simplicity, availability of superchargers plus autopilot and traffic cooperating, made it a nice trip down.

 

[OnTheEdge]

There's a loo at the back of the kitchen showroom bit they let us use for future reference. Bacon rolls are very good too. Pretty sure your SR+ can use V3 to full advantage if required.

 

[Mrklaw]

Return trip was a pain - 8 hours when it took 5 before. A30/A303 is a roll of the dice but the M5 was buggered too

ironically I couldn’t get to the Amesbury supercharger because of the queue of cars trying to get to the petrol station. Had to nip the wrong way up a one way road or I’d have been there forever

 

[R5scott]

Return trip was a pain - 8 hours when it took 5 before. A30/A303 is a roll of the dice but the M5 was buggered too

ironically I couldn’t get to the Amesbury supercharger because of the queue of cars trying to get to the petrol station. Had to nip the wrong way up a one way road or I’d have been there forever

This can be a problem trying to get in most evenings as everyone is queuing for the McDonald or KFC. A bit tight but you can squeeze by on the right. Facilities in the co-op petrol station aren’t too bad.

it was nice to visit today and gain a 100miles before the cars I had passed in the queue had even hit the forecourt!

 

[Peter 224]

The Holiday Inn at Amesbury offer a discount price on Coffee for Tesla owners, very much better than the Costa machine in the co-op.