THE Beaulieu Motor Museum welcomed the first electric car to drive the Route 57 road trip.

Driving the car for the 2,500 mile long trip is motoring journalist Jess Shanahan.

The Kia Soul EV, a fully electric car has been chosen to drive the long route.

Organisers of the Route 57 want to spread the message that eco-friendly road trips can be made possible.

Route 57 planner, Ardziv Simonian, said: “A lot of planning has to go into driving an electric car a long way, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible.”

Advice given for those wanting to attempt the road trip in an electric car is that recharging points should be organised beforehand..

The New Forest was chosen as part of the route because of its natural beauty and wildlife.

Car driver, Jess Shanahan, said: "It's beautiful. I visited last year and I loved it, an amazing place to go walking whatever time of the year!"

Spokesperson from the Beaulieu Motor Museum, Jane Riddiford, said: “The New Forest was the country’s first destination to offer a fleet of electric vehicles and a network of charging points.”

The Kia Soul EV is known to be a comfortable family car.

Road trip organisers hoped that the use of a family car would encourage families to 'give Route 57 a go'.

The idea of the event is to inspire people both locally and nationally to join in with a road trip The road trip visits 57 destinations across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

Route 57 was designed as the UK’s answer to route 66.

A recent survey by the AA suggests that the ‘range’ of an electric vehicle is one of the main reasons people are not buying electric cars.

Readers who were asked thought that eco-friendly cars were a good idea but they can be too expensive and there are not always facilities to charge them up.

The Route 57 campaign hopes to show that today’s ‘green car’ technology can beat these perceptions.

Driver, Jess Shanahan, will be posting updates on the Route 57 website and on social media with the hashtag ‘#route57’.

To find out more about Route 57, visit: https://www.jurysinns.com/route57-roadtrips/.