France
Removals from Northwood to France — Normandy, Brittany, the Charente, Occitanie and Provence, with the customs file prepared from the survey inventory.
France is the most frequently run of our four destinations, and the one where a short crossing persuades people it is a domestic move with a ferry in the middle. The driving is straightforward. The paperwork is a formal customs entry either way.
The route
Loads leave HA6 for the A404 and M25, then round to the M20 or M2 and the Kent crossings. After the crossing it is 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, and the A7 down the Rhône for Provence.
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
What a larger household changes
Not the process, but the inventory. A house of this size travelling abroad produces a long, detailed list, and the declaration is only as good as that list: framed work, instruments, wine above personal quantities and anything of unusual value all need identifying rather than summarising. We build it at survey, in the form French customs expect, and tell you at the start which documents have to come from you.
Customs
A household move to France is a formal customs entry. It needs a detailed inventory in the form French customs expect, evidence you are 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.
Dedicated vehicle or shared space
A dedicated vehicle means your dates and the fewest handlings. Shared space means a lower cost, a delivery window rather than a named day, and more handlings along the way. On a household with pieces you would mind losing, the handling count is a real argument for a dedicated vehicle, and we will make that argument rather than quietly selling the cheaper option.
Starting the move
Both addresses, rough dates, a sense of the volume, and whether shared space is an option for you. We will survey and quote in writing. See European removals for how the four compare.
Moving to France
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 on any tight British lane: 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.
Can you move us back later?
Yes. A return move into the UK is a customs movement in the other direction with its own documentation. Same principle, different forms.
Moving from Northwood to France?
Send both addresses, rough dates and a sense of the volume. We survey, prepare the customs file and quote in writing.