Route pair
Removals from Loughborough to France
The shortest of the four routes, and one that starts unusually well from here — the M1 is minutes from the door rather than an hour of A-roads away.
A move from Loughborough to France is a long road move with a crossing in the middle, and the Midlands position helps more than people expect. Junction 23 means the loaded vehicle is on the motorway network almost straight away rather than picking its way across country first.
The route
Out of LE11 or LE12 onto the M1 at junction 23, south to the M25, then round to the M20 corridor across Kent — Folkestone for Le Shuttle, Dover for the ferry. On the far side, Calais or Coquelles and the A16 or A26 south, then whichever way the destination takes you: the A28 and A13 for Normandy, the A11 for Brittany and the Loire, the A10 through Poitiers for the Charente and Dordogne, the A7 down the Rhône for Provence.
What changes against a UK move
The packing specification
A load crossing a border travels further, is handled more, and may be opened for inspection. Domestic packing is not built for that. Heavier cartons, moisture protection on upholstery, cases for framed work, crating for stone and glass tops, and an inventory specific enough that an opened carton matches the paperwork.
If you are comparing quotes, check whether the other prices export or domestic packing. It is the commonest reason two numbers differ on a European move.
The paperwork becomes the timetable
Since the UK became a third country a household move to France is a formal customs entry. The driving is predictable; the documents decide when the vehicle can actually leave.
Where deliveries go
- Normandy and the north — Rouen, Caen, Calvados, the Cotentin
- Brittany and the Loire — Rennes, Vannes, Nantes and the coast
- Charente, Dordogne and the Lot — stone houses down long lanes
- Occitanie and the south-west — Toulouse, the Tarn, the Aude
- Provence and the Riviera — Aix, the Var, the Alpes-Maritimes
- Paris and the Île-de-France — apartment deliveries with their own access rules
Customs
A detailed inventory in the form French customs expect, evidence of transferring your normal residence, and the supporting documents for relief on personal effects — the French address, the previous UK address and the timing. We build the inventory at survey and prepare the declaration from it, and tell you at the start which documents have to come from you.
Starting
Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether shared space is an option. We will survey and quote in writing. See European removals for how the options compare.
Route detail
Moving to France — questions
How does the first leg work from here?
Junction 23 is minutes away, so the load joins the M1 almost immediately and runs south to the M25 and out through Kent. That is a cleaner start than from most Midlands towns, where the first hour is A-roads before the motorway even begins.
Tunnel or ferry?
Either — Le Shuttle from Folkestone or the Dover ferry, chosen on the load and the booking. The tunnel keeps the goods aboard the vehicle across the water; the ferry sometimes suits a taller vehicle better.
Can you deliver to a rural French property?
Regularly. The question at the far end is the one we ask in the Charnwood lanes: will the vehicle reach the door, or does the last stretch need something smaller? Photographs of the approach let us plan it.
What does French customs need?
A detailed inventory in the expected form, evidence you are transferring your normal residence to France, and the documents supporting relief on personal effects. We prepare the declaration from the survey inventory.
What about tools, wine and vehicles?
Tools travel with fuel drained. Wine above personal quantities has to be declared. Vehicles and firearms sit outside a household inventory entirely and need their own route — raise either early.
Is shared space worth it?
Often, for a modest load — France is the most frequently run of the four so the wait is shortest. The trade-off is more handlings and a delivery window rather than a named day.
Next step
Moving from Loughborough to France?
Send both addresses, rough dates and a sense of the volume. We will set out the route, the options and the paperwork order.