Latest news with #Land'sEnd
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Octopus launches its first ever EV home charger - you could claim 5,000 free miles if you do this one thing
Octopus Energy is expanding its EV charging empire by launching its first electric car home charger, and it's offering a free driving freebie if you sign up. Octopus, which recently became the largest domestic household energy supplier in Britain, has designed and built the Octopus Charge EV smart charger to add to its EV hardware stable. To celebrate, Octopus is giving customers up to 5,000 miles of free charging as a joining bonus - enough to get to Land's End to John o' Groats and back again with miles to spare. But there's a snag... The offer is only available to the first 100 customers, so you'll need to be quick off the mark to snap up the free miles. However, Octopus Charge is fully integrated with the UK's most popular EV tariff, Intelligent Octopus Go, allowing electric car owners to charge for a little as 2p a mile. So regardless of the sign up deal, big savings can be made if you charge smartly with the home charger. Costing £899 untethered (cable unattached) and £999 tethered (cable attached, Octopus promises that its new charger will 'shake up the electric car game' with its sleek design and super-smart charging, and make 'driving electric simpler, smarter and greener than ever'. The charger links up seamlessly with the Octopus Energy app and its tech platform Kraken, so it will know to smart charge automatically when electricity is at its cheapest and greenest. Customers just have to set a charging time and amount, and the smart tech takes care of the rest. Solar panel customers will be able to use Octopus Charge to power their EVs with any surplus solar electricity, turning free, home-grown electricity into miles on the road. While smart integration of Intelligent Octopus Go is already covered, other smart tariff integration isn't set up yet but Octopus says it will follow soon. Already, just over two years after launching, Intelligent Octopus Go is the UK's most popular EV tariff with 200,000 customers. Over 280 EV and charger models are compatible, making it a go to choice for EV owners and manufacturers. It also has built-in 4G, and fits snugly into tight spaces thanks to a uniquely designed charging cable holster. Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, Chief Product Officer at Octopus Energy, said: 'Charging at home is already better than queueing up at the petrol station – and now we've made it even simpler. 'Octopus Energy was the first energy company to launch a smart tariff, an EV tariff, an export tariff, and our very own heat pump. 'We're delighted to add Octopus Charge to our stable, initially designed to work seamlessly with Intelligent Octopus Go, and with other features to follow shortly.' How can you get the Octopus Charge EV home charger? Initially Octopus Charge will be exclusively available for customers of Octopus Electric Vehicles. It will then launch to all Octopus Energy customers in August. Drivers can register their interest in Octopus Charge online to be one of the first 100 to claim 5,000 free miles. How much can you save by charging at home? Last year, the Andersen Index compared a 1.2-litre Vauxhall Corsa to a Vauxhall Corsa Electric over a monthly average of 1,000 miles to see how much EV drivers could theoretically save. Live pricing from six popular energy providers at the time (including Ovo Energy, Octopus Energy, British Gas and gave an average smart charge rate of 7.9p/kWh. When multiplied by the 230kWh of battery energy required to power the Corsa E for 1,000 miles, an EV owner would pay £18.17 a month, or £218.04 a year. An equivalent petrol Corsa would need around 87 litres of unleaded petrol to drive 1,000 miles (at 52mpg, that's 11.42 miles a litre). Using the RAC average at the time the research was conducted (148p a litre), a petrol driver would have been forking out £128.76 per month, or £1,545.12 a year. That's a difference of £1,327.92 that could be saved by driving an EV and smart charging at home. People who don't use a smart charger, or don't take advantage of EV-specific tariffs, pay a monthly cost of £56.35, based on Ofgem's energy price cap average standard rate tariff of 24.5p/kWh. Each year this EV driver would pay £676.20.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ex-county cricketer to stop at six Somerset clubs as part of UK charity walk
Ex-Worcestershire player Olivia Robinson is walking from Land's End to John O'Groats in aid of Chance to Shine (Image: Supplied) A former county cricketer is walking the length of the UK to raise £20,000 for a youth cricket charity. Olivia Robinson is travelling from Land's End to John O'Groats as part of a nationwide campaign to support Chance to Shine, a charity that uses cricket to inspire and educate young people. Advertisement As part of her journey, the ex-Worcestershire player will visit six Somerset cricket clubs to play matches and promote the sport to young people. She said: "The charity works with youth cricket as a way of bringing the community together, teaching life skills, empowering kids and helping them with their development into adolescence." She stopped at Milverton on Monday, June 16, and is expected to visit West Monkton on Tuesday, June 17, Glastonbury on Wednesday, June 18, Wells and Horrington on Thursday, June 19, Midsomer Norton on Friday, June 20, and Priston on Saturday, June 21. Ms Robinson began her walk on Thursday, June 5 and expects to finish in late August, with donations being accepted at Advertisement The journey holds personal significance, as she has battled severe anorexia and mental health challenges for a decade. She credits her recovery to the support of the cricket community and her passion for art, and is hoping to paint scenes from her journey. Ms Robinson said: "All I have to worry about is putting one foot in front of the other, fuelling myself, staying safe and not getting lost. "I'm looking forward to the simplicity of it all."
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Real range anxiety: Driving London to Land's End in 1921
The Land's End trial includes famous hills like Beggars Roost which has been used since 1922 For classic trials regulars, Spring means it's time to dust off the competition car and head down to Cornwall for the Land's End Trial. Originally the London to Land's End Reliability Trial, this 24-hour motorsport event challenges some 300 competitors and their vehicles across more than 200 miles and up 20 hills. The aim? To win a gold medal by reaching every summit. It's one of three classic trials run by Britain's oldest motorsport club, the MCC, along with the Exeter Trial in January and the Edinburgh Trial in September (actually held in the Peak District, confusingly). Autocar reported on the Land's End Trial from the first running in 1908 but didn't follow the event from start to finish until 1921. There was controversy before that particular trial even began, when the MCC introduced a rule that cars with no more than 12hp had to complete the infamously steep Porlock Hill in Somerset at an average speed not below 18mph. Enjoy full access to the complete Autocar archive at the Such was the clamour around the new rule that many headed to the steep climb beforehand to see if this was even possible. 'In [our] opinion, the MCC have framed a regulation which is certainly needlessly severe and may possibly prove dangerous,' we said. Our coverage brought a rush of entries: 'The Autocar first drew attention to the difficulty of the trial and more entries had to be dealt with, a testimony to the sporting spirit of the British small car owner.' Fifty-eight cars (Rovers, Morrises, Rileys, ACs, various obscurities) of the 64 entered lined up at Cranford Bridge (today close to Heathrow airport) to set off from half past midnight. One local resident reacted to the large group of 'weirdly clad' men hanging around in the dark by 'retiring to her cottage in haste to bolt and bar the door'! The competitors had to not only cover 314 miles on narrow, usually dirt roads using feeble headlights but also brave challenging weather, with 'many devoutly wishing they had carried at least one more coat'. Proceeding through the night, they had to endure an ice-cold mist and could barely see the road ahead. 'There can be no doubt that Porlock proves one of the most exacting portions of the trial and on this occasion provided some interesting and exciting results,' we said of the following hill. Plenty of competitors cleared it, 26 of them at or above the required average speed of 18mph, despite its intimidating gradient and sharp hairpin bends – even a large saloon with six aboard. An even more challenging climb lay ahead: Lynton Hill. Here drivers had to average at least a strenuous 19.4mph, and it certainly delivered on the entertainment front. 'Tired drivers and mud-spattered cars were eagerly awaited by a considerable crowd which lined the sides,' we said. 'The surface was in a very treacherous condition due to rain overnight, and many sidecars had failed due to a lack of adhesion from their single wheels.' Indeed, many competitors floundered, but there were several impressive performances too, like that by VG Lloyd, who 'astounded everyone with his speed' in his two-cylinder Carden. Notably, Lionel Martin 'romped up the hill' in his new production Aston Martin (he had co-founded the company in 1913 to build hillclimb specials; Aston was a course in Buckinghamshire). Several had to shed passengers to reach the top, while others fouled the hill by hitting the wall at the hairpin. Some even managed to clear it while avoiding a comrade's stricken car. One did it on a flat tyre. From there on to Land's End, there was little to really concern the drivers. Forty-two made it to the finish – and we were surprised to see among them HJG Smith's 10hp Eric-Campbell (a small firm that briefly made cars at the Handley Page aircraft factory in London), as he had broken a tie rod on Porlock so effectively was steering with one wheel. He won a gold medal along with 22 other worthy competitors. We concluded: 'The general consensus of opinion was that a better trial had never been, or one to which more merit was attached to a reward, while, as to sport, no man could wish for better.' Since then, more notoriously difficult sections have been added, most famously Beggars Roost (in 1922) and Blue Hills (in 1936), and the Land's End Trial continues to challenge the best trials drivers and cars. Long may it continue. ]]>
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Last year, at 73, I was so fat I couldn't walk round my kitchen island. But now I've lost three stone and cycle five hours a day - here's how. By TV chef ROSEMARY SHRAGER
As you read this, I am somewhere between Land's End and the White Cliffs of Dover, pedalling my heart out on the second day of an 18-day, 450-mile charity bike challenge. I can hardly believe this myself. After a lifetime of despising exercise and struggling with my weight, I've reached a place where I'm reaping the physical and emotional benefits of prioritising my body and health.
BBC News
30-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
The Hull Boy goes the extra miles to set a new record
A 17-year-old known as The Hull Boy has described becoming the youngest person to run the entire length of the UK as "surreal".Marcus completed the journey from Land's End to John O'Groats on raising about £130,000 for a mental health charity, he said the 58 days of running had been "the best months of his life".Marcus – whose nickname comes from his love of Hull City FC – is the first person under 18 to have completed the adventure. The teenager, who lives with his parents in Malton, North Yorkshire, has openly talked about his struggles with his physical and mental health."At the age of 15 I attempted to not be here any more," he said."I was 145kg [22.8 stone], diabetic, struggling badly with depression, anxiety and OCD."As a young carer for his father he felt unable to speak out about his own struggles, so he said he bottled up his started to run one mile a day before taking part in his first marathon in September, accompanied by his friend Russ Cook – known as the Hardest Geezer – who made global headlines after running the length of by Mr Cook, he said his dream was to run the length of the UK, and he hoped to raise £20,000 for the mental health charity said the journey was "very tough" and that at times it was wet, dark and a "lonely adventure".But there were also some unforgettable moments, from running alongside deer to enjoying amazing sunrises and said that running for a good cause brought people together."It's been beautiful. The last few weeks have been surreal," he added. Celebrity attention His challenge caught the attention of celebrities, and on day four of the run he received a special Olympic medal holder Sir Mo Farah posted on social media saying: "Keep going champ! Anything is possible."Former NFL star JJ Watt also sent a message, saying: "Just over a year ago, you began a journey to change your life and along the way, you changed the lives of so many others."Marcus said he met many "incredible" people along the way but one of his best moments was when someone drove four hours to find him on the road and share their story about mental on BBC Breakfast on Friday, he told Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt that he went to use the toilet at a supermarket thinking he had raised £70,000, but by the time he came out he realised he had raised £100, said he would now be doing nothing for a few days apart from resting and spending time with his family and dog Bruce. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
