Route pair
Removals from Loughborough to Spain
A long road move down the length of France and over the Pyrenees. The two things that actually go wrong are the document order and, on a summer job, what heat does to a trailer.
Spain is the most familiar destination and therefore the most under-planned. The driving is well-worn and the vehicles run it constantly. What causes trouble is the document sequence and, in July and August, the temperature inside a trailer.
The document sequence
Relief on household effects entering Spain is routine provided the documents exist in the right order: the NIE first, then evidence you have left the UK system, then evidence you are entering the Spanish one — the padrón at your new address being the proof usually wanted — with a valued inventory alongside.
What delays these moves is almost never the inventory. It is discovering late that a document needed early takes weeks to obtain. So the sequence goes in writing at the start, with the items only you can get clearly marked.
Summer heat
Worth raising because few firms do. A trailer crossing central Spain in high summer gets hot enough to matter to a specific list of contents: wax and candles, some adhesives in older furniture, vinyl records, photographic material, certain varnish finishes.
Not a reason to avoid a summer move — a reason to identify those items at survey and either pack them differently, carry them yourself, or shift the month if your dates flex.
The road
M1 from junction 23, the M25, the Kent crossings, then France end to end. Vehicles for Catalonia and the east coast cross at La Jonquera and run down the AP-7; those for Madrid, the south and the west go via Bordeaux and Irún. Multi-day, under driving-hours rules, quoted with an expected window rather than a promise.
Where deliveries go
- Costa Blanca — Alicante, Torrevieja, Jávea, Dénia, Altea
- Murcia and the Costa Cálida — Mar Menor, Mazarrón, Águilas
- Andalucía — Málaga, Marbella, Nerja, the Axarquía, inland to Granada
- Valencia and the interior — the city and the villages behind it
- Catalonia — Barcelona, the Costa Brava, Tarragona
- The Balearics — Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza, with a mainland ferry leg
Arrival
Spanish apartment lifts are frequently smaller than British ones, and it is the door opening rather than the car that decides whether a wardrobe goes up. Historic centres across Andalucía, Murcia and inland Valencia have streets no wider than the lanes at Mountsorrel, many with timed vehicle access. Photographs of the street, the entrance and the lift resolve nearly all of it.
Starting
Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether the delivery date can move. See European removals for the options and Portugal for the route that continues past it.
Route detail
Moving to Spain — questions
Which crossing does the vehicle use?
Catalonia and the east coast cross at La Jonquera. Madrid, Andalucía and the west go via Bordeaux and Irún. It affects the schedule rather than anything you decide, but we will tell you which applies.
Does anything go by sea?
Only the islands. Mainland Spain is road throughout. The Balearics take a ferry leg from the mainland; the Canaries are sea freight with separate documentation and a different job entirely.
What does Spanish customs need?
Your NIE, evidence you have deregistered in the UK and are registering in Spain — usually including the padrón at the new address — and a valued inventory. The order they are obtained in is what delays these moves.
Will a lorry reach my address?
Coastal apartments usually. Old-town and village addresses inland frequently not, and many have timed access restrictions. Photographs let us plan a transfer for the last stretch.
What if the lift is small or missing?
Then the stairs set the crew size, and it has to be known before the vehicle leaves Britain. An unannounced fourth floor with no lift is the commonest cause of a bad delivery day.
Is shared space sensible?
Often, because the distance makes a dedicated vehicle expensive for a modest load. You trade a named day for a window and accept more handlings.
Next step
Moving from Loughborough to Spain?
Send both addresses, rough dates and a sense of the volume. We will set out the route, the options and the paperwork order.