Long distance
Long-distance moves, both directions
Half this work leaves the county and half arrives in it. The arriving half is busier: London and the Home Counties moving out to a Kent village is the commonest long move we run, and the access surprises are nearly always at this end.
The routes we run most
- London and the Home Counties into KentThe single most common long move we do. The M20, M2 and M25 make the drive easy; the Kent end is where the surprises live — a lane, a gravel drive, a cottage with more staircase than anyone remembered.
- Kent to the West CountryDown the M25 and along the M3 or M4 into Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. A long day's driving with proper rest built in, and access at the far end that is often rural rather than urban.
- Kent to the Midlands and the NorthThe M25 to the M1 or the A1, then north. Straightforward roads, and a destination city that frequently has its own parking and permit rules worth checking before the vehicle leaves.
- Kent to Wales and the South WestAcross the M4 and over the Severn. Distance rather than difficulty, though Welsh valley and coastal addresses can need a smaller vehicle for the last stretch.
- Kent to ScotlandThe longest domestic run we do, planned with driver hours as a fixed constraint rather than an afterthought. Quoted with the route stated so you can see what you are paying for.
One crew, both ends
A long-distance move is not handed to another firm at the destination. The people who wrapped your furniture in Sevenoaks are the people who carry it into the house in Devon, which matters because they know what is in which carton and what came apart on the way out.
It also means the inventory is checked by somebody who watched it being written rather than somebody reading a list for the first time.
Driver hours are a constraint, not a preference
There are legal limits on how long a driver can be at the wheel, and we plan to them. A firm that promises an unloading time which requires those limits to be ignored is either mistaken or is going to disappoint you.
That is why you will not find a transit promise on this page. What you will find on your quote is the route, the plan and the expected window for your specific move, along with what would shift it.
Dedicated or shared
A dedicated vehicle carries your household alone and leaves when you are ready; it costs more and it gives you a firm date. A shared load consolidates with other moves going the same way, so you pay for your share and fit around the other deliveries.
For a full house with a fixed completion, dedicated is usually right. For a part-household, a flat, or a move with a flexible date, shared often makes better sense — and we will tell you which one your job actually suits rather than which one is easier to sell.
Storage in the middle
On a long move the two dates rarely meet perfectly, and driving twice is not sensible. Goods go into store at this end, inventoried, and travel once when the far end is genuinely ready.
Access at the far end
We survey the Kent end properly. For the other end, photographs and a description usually do — the width of the approach, whether there is anywhere to park a long vehicle, how many steps, and whether the last hundred metres is a track. Ten minutes on your phone saves an expensive surprise.
And if the household is leaving the country rather than the county, the European arm is the page you want.
Worth knowing
Long-distance moves, answered plainly
What counts as long distance?
Anything beyond the county and its immediate neighbours, really — the West Country, the Midlands, the North, Wales, Scotland. Practically it means a move where the drive is long enough to shape the plan rather than a detail at the end of it.
Do you deliver the same day, or the next?
It depends on the distance, the load and the access at the far end, and the honest answer is that it goes on your quote for your route rather than as a general claim. What we will not do is promise a schedule that needs a driver to break their hours.
Is a shared load cheaper for a long run?
It costs less than a dedicated vehicle because you pay for your share. The trade is flexibility: you fit around other deliveries and a firm date is harder. For a full house with a fixed completion, dedicated is usually the right answer.
Who unloads at the other end?
The same crew who loaded it. We do not hand long-distance work to a firm at the destination — the people who packed your house are the people who put it back.
Do you move into Kent as well as out of it?
That is the busier direction. London and the Home Counties out to a Kent village or market town is the single most common long move we do, and the access surprises are almost always at the Kent end rather than the London one.
What about Scotland or Cornwall?
Both ordinary, both planned with proper driver rest built in. Long runs get quoted with the route stated so you can see what you are paying for rather than a number with no working behind it.
Send both addresses and a few photographs.
The Kent end we will come and see. The far end we can usually read from photographs of the approach, the door and the stairs.