Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ?

tigerbalm

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As winter approaches, here is a travel log of our weekend trips around Ireland. Hopefully along the way, we leave useful info for anyone planning a EV road-trip in our small country.

All day report posts:

Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 1)
Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 2)
Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 3)

Weekend #2: Ballynahinch Castle (Day 1)
Weekend #2: Ballynahinch Castle (Day 2)

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Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 1)

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? 1633114887588


We leave Dublin – with a full overnight charge at our home – after work at 16.30 to head west across the country for a weekend at Dromoland Castle. It's a comfortable 230km along motorways and the weather is typical Ireland – dry between the heavy showers. The trip is uneventful and we spend most of it listening to The Drop Out on the built in Apple Podcasts player.

We arrive at our hotel just before the sunset – with a long drive up to the castle among the deer. Opportunities to test our Night Vision Assist later ?

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? FullSizeRender


The castle was built in 1835 on the site of a tower house from the 15th century.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? driveway


We quickly locate our destination charger – right outside the hotels reception.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4537

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4538


Quickly getting power at a healthy full 22kW.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4551.PNG


Check-in is friendly and efficient and we're quickly walking among the castle's tapestries.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4541


Tomorrow we explore Burren National Park – a very unique area of Ireland.

The days charging stats:

LocationStart SOC %End SOC %kWh addedCostDurationAmbient TempBattery TempCharger TypeNetwork
Dromoland Castle40%100%50.22€0.003 hours12.532Type 2Hotel Destination Charger

Today we did 229km over 2:47 hours, with an average speed of 83km/h, consuming 23.0 kWh/100km.
 
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Boss Hogg

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Looking forward to this, Ireland is on our list!

My brother is in Ireland on holiday at the moment but decided to leave his brand new (1 week) e-tron RS, he was concerned about charging.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_1219
 
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tigerbalm

tigerbalm

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tigerbalm

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Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 2)

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? day 2 ma


The rain hasn't enticed us out of our room too early – and we leave for a short drive to the coast at around midday.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4575


Driving along typical Irish country roads and through typical Irish villages.

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Passed this tacky place.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? trum


Even though this short drive went nowhere near requiring a charge, there are public 2x22 kW AC chargers at many of the towns (along the coast) public car parks. These are supplied by ESB – the state body that maintains the electricity network. You can use your Porsche Charging Service card at them – but as this is our home turf we use a dedicated ESB charging card for slightly cheaper charging.

This is where our on-board 22 kW AC charger makes sense as there are 1000's of public AC charge points around Ireland – some in very remote areas.

We grabbed some fresh fish & chips to eat in the car at Lahinch (which has a ESB public 50kW DC if you need a larger charge).

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4601


The weather wasn't being very co-operative so we decided to head back to our hotel.

Where we walked through the lit gardens at night.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4625


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4631 2


And enjoyed a drink at the cocktail lounge in the castle's tower.

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Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4655


The days charging stats:

LocationStart SOC %End SOC %kWh addedCostDurationAmbient TempBattery TempCharger TypeNetwork
Dromoland Castle58%100%35.15€0.002 hours11.031Type 2Hotel Destination Charger

Today we did 160km over 4:08 hours, with an average speed of 40km/h, consuming 24.0 kWh/100km.
 
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Boss Hogg

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Good to see a few bottles of Scotch hiding in the cocktail bar ;)
 


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tigerbalm

tigerbalm

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Weekend #1: Dromoland Castle (Day 3)

As we didn't get to see The Burren region yesterday due to the weather, we decided to pass through it on our way back to Dublin – meaning we'd return by a different motorway than we travelled over here on.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? Day 3


Car fully charged overnight and our smaller weekend Porsche Design cases all ready to load.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4679


Thankfully the weather looked drier than yesterday.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4687


As we heard towards the sea – we pass many castle's and manor houses that have seen better days.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3136

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3139


The stone walls – a feature of this area – start to line the roads.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3143


Many of the forest roads here are thin – just the width of the Taycan – and yes, these are two way with traffic coming against us – great training for zipping around Lake Garda in Italy previously.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3149


Eventually leaving the forest behind us and reaching the coast.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3182


Passing the tiny Black Head Lighthouse on the left.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3205


And the rugged exposed glacial-era limestone of The Burren on the right.

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Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3201


As the road hugs The Atlantic Ocean.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3213


Rainbows abound as we reach the motorway.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3291

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3299


We stop in for a quick pit-stop and take advantage of a charge at a public ESB 150kW charger.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4698


Which topped out at just a little over 105 kW. These chargers have among the best LCD display's I've seen but the chargers themselves are a little tricky to get started. You really need to hold up/push in the CCS plug against the car while the charger is doing its initial car communications. Its' fine once it starts supplying power. The cables themselves feel – just slightly – heavier than the typical IONITY cable.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4695


This gives us enough power to not only get home – but for the rest of the week.

We continue to listen to The Drop Out podcast on the built-in PCM podcast player as we cross the country to Dublin via the M6 motorway.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3311


The days charging stats:

LocationStart SOC %End SOC %kWh addedCostDurationAmbient TempBattery TempCharger TypeNetwork
Galway Plaza57%92%34.26€11.3124 mins11.035150 kW DCESB

Today we did 323km over 5:17 hours, with an average speed of 63km/h, consuming 22.6 kWh/100km.
 
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Scandinavian

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@tigerbalm your pictures bring back many sweet memories, playing golf at Ballybunion, eating in Lissdoonvarna. We lived in Ireland 1976 to 1985, where our family grew from 3 to 5! I still think it was the Irish water!

our absolute favourite places were along the west Coast from Galway (oyster season) down to the Dingle peninsula, where we stayed in Ballyferriter.
Doyles seafood bar in Dingle was frequently visited as well as The Half door restaurant! I probably give away my age by these names? :blush:
 
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tigerbalm

tigerbalm

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@tigerbalm your pictures bring back many sweet memories, playing golf at Ballybunion, eating in Lissdoonvarna. We lived in Ireland 1976 to 1985, where our family grew from 3 to 5! I still think it was the Irish water!

our absolute favourite places were along the west Coast from Galway (oyster season) down to the Dingle peninsula, where we stayed in Ballyferriter.
Doyles seafood bar in Dingle was frequently visited as well as The Half door restaurant! I probably give away my age by these names? :blush:
These are all familiar places – having grown up in Killorglin, Country Kerry myself!
 


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tigerbalm

tigerbalm

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Weekend #2: Ballynahinch Castle (Day 1)

We spend this weekend at Ballynahinch Castle located in the Connemara Region of County Galway. It's a former Irish country house and estate – built in 1754 – and lies on the edge of the Ballynahinch Lake and River.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? Screenshot 2021-10-09 at 16.43.00


We leave Dublin after work and head west – for the three and a half hour journey – along the M6 motorway towards Galway. Through we have enough range to reach the castle, we decide to stop off at IONITY Athlone – our approximate half way point – to top up battery – just in case we don't get a destination charge tonight. We pull in with 70% and plan to top up to around 90%.

I tap my Porsche Charging Service Card – and quickly get a "not authorised" error. I attempt a few more times – with the same result. I try the Porsche Charging app – get same error.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3318


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4756.PNG


Calling Porsche Smart Mobility helpdesk, I am quickly put through to a service agent located in London. They confirm that there is nothing on my account showing up as an issue – all appears good from their perspective. I mention this is a IONITY station that I used a good bit on my travels in Ireland – as its well located – and this is the first time I've had an issue.

Eventually they put me through to IONITY directly – who talk me through charging process a few times – each time same result. I don't critically require this charge – so its not stressful – but I'm concerned there is some technical issue with my account. Bizarrely, Porsche Charging Service have been emailing me a historical invoice every day for the past week – but I just ignored it! Sounds like something isn't quite right as suggested.

Anyways, the IONITY staff member asked me to retry the charging process for the third time. This time it worked! The card authorised and the charger started.

I'm still unsure what happened. Will try the card at another public charger later in the week and raise a support ticket if it repeats.

When we reach our target charge we continue our journey west into the night, listening to Moby's Reprise on Lossless Apple Music (via Carplay). This album sounds amazing on the Burmester audio system.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3320


As we get within an hour of the hotel – the weather deteriorates with persistent and heavy rain.

The Night Vision Assist providing reassurance that the many sheep that shares the roads in this area are not in our path.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3329


We arrive at our castle for the weekend, quickly unload our luggage and plug into the available destination charger in the increasingly wet night.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4759


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4778


We settle into the warm and welcoming bar for some food and a local IPA. I use the app to check charging speed (getting full 20.5kW) and ending time (two hours time), so I can plug it out for other guests.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4783


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4775


We head to bed with the persistent rain still falling.



















The days charging stats:

LocationStart SOC %End SOC %kWh addedCostDurationAmbient TempBattery TempCharger TypeNetwork
Athlone M6 Circle K70%92%24.80€8.1818 mins17.035350 kW DCIONITY
Ballynahinch Castle53%100%39.39€0.002 hours14.53222kWTesla Destination Charger

Today we did 287km over 4:29 hours, with an average speed of 65km/h, consuming 22.2 kWh/100km.
 
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B61

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great photos, thank you :clap:
(btw, i was expecting Kilkenny on your desk :beer: ;))
 
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tigerbalm

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Weekend #2: Ballynahinch Castle (Day 2)

We awake to nearby river looking higher than normal.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4802


And head for a lovely breakfast and view.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4810


It feels unusual to eat breakfast near a healthy open fire.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4812


We lounge around after breakfast – this is they kind of hotel that supply you with your own wellies and jackets.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_5048


Nearer midday, we decide we'll head to the nearby town of Clifden for lunch, picking the fallen leaves from our car first.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4890


As we cross over a small bridge on the hotel grounds, we get a sense of how much rain has fallen. This is normally a lazy fishing river.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4911


You can hear the roar from the water passing under the car through our acoustic glass.


















As we exit the hotel, we realise that our driving route plans are going to need some revising.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3355


We quickly update our PCM route and try a different and less rural route to lunch.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3360


We make it with no further issues and park up at the Clifden Station House Hotel for a light lunch.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4891


Afterwards, we head up a short driving road called The Sky Road Loop - which I've previously "recorded" on the Porsche Roads app at https://roads.porsche.com/content/en/routes/sky-road-loop

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? Screenshot 2021-10-09 at 18.52.51


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4937


Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4929


We decide to head back to the hotel via The Connemara National Park – avoiding the plentiful amount of sheep on the road.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3467

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3488


We approach the roadblock towards our hotel from the other side – and decide to see if perhaps its receded a bit and nobody has taken down the signs yet.

Maybe it is just the bit of water that is just past the signs.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3522


Ahem, I think that's a no!

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3530

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4968

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4957


We're going to have to go the longer way back to our hotel – which we do without incident.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3541


And plug in for a quick charge back to 100%.

The days charging stats:

LocationStart SOC %End SOC %kWh addedCostDurationAmbient TempBattery TempCharger TypeNetwork
Ballynahinch Castle78%100%18.14€0.0055 mins15.03122 kW ACTesla Destination Charger

Today we did 77km over 2:15 hours, with an average speed of 35km/h, consuming 28.9 kWh/100km.
 
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tigerbalm

tigerbalm

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Interestingly, the hotel grounds keeper told me that these two industrial sockets was where they had two PMCC & Cabinets mounted for a Porsche Destination Charger setup.

But they had a lot of trouble from them and felt they weren't installed properly. As far as I know, Porsche have nothing to do with installs and thats up to some local contractor. The hotel is hoping to get them re-installed.

In the meantime, the Tesla chargers are set to allow all EV's charge and is delivering power at full 3-phase 22kW.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_4834


The sockets are live and I could actually use my travel charger if the Tesla Type 2 was in use.

Porsche Taycan Short Road Trips: Weekends @ Irish Castles ? IMG_3113
 
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Crikey, That wakes up even more fond memories of the Emerald Isle.

We often visited Clifden and stayed many long week ends in Renvyle House Hotel! Remember all the walls along the roads as well as the sheep in the road.
Thanks for sharing and great to see that there are so many working destination chargers.
 
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Weekend #2: Ballynahinch Castle (Day 2)


Afterwards, we head up a short driving road called The Sky Road Loop - which I've previously "recorded" on the Porsche Roads app at https://roads.porsche.com/content/en/routes/sky-road-loop

Screenshot 2021-10-09 at 18.52.51.png


Today we did 77km over 2:15 hours, with an average speed of 35km/h, consuming 28.9 kWh/100km.
Heading back to Dublin next week for a visit with family - my mother is 91 this month and we missed her 90th celebration due to COVID of course.

Will spend a few days over in Galway too and thanks for reminding me re the Skyroad :) Will be a roll of the dice weather-wise this time of year but really looking forward to the trip home.
 
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