Central London to Edinburgh prices
A dedicated van and crew for your move alone, on the date you booked. Everything below includes VAT, the fuel, the mileage and the Congestion Charge on the London leg.
| What you are moving | Price |
|---|---|
| Single item or a small loadA few boxes, a bed, a sofa | £800 to £1,350 |
| Studio or one bedroom flatTwo crew, two days | £1,650 to £2,600 |
| Two bedroom flat or houseTwo or three crew, two days | £2,300 to £3,600 |
| Three bedroom houseThree crew, two or three days | £3,000 to £4,800 |
| Four bedroom houseLarger vehicle or two, three days | £3,900 to £6,200 |
Why people make this move
- The financial sector and the universities, which move people between London and Edinburgh in both directions all year
- People buying a New Town or Stockbridge flat with what a London deposit was worth
- Returning Scots and families leaving London entirely, which is the largest single group on this route
Loading and unloading
Loading in Central London
The London end matters more here than on any other route because the schedule is longest. We want an early start, everything sealed and stacked before the crew arrives, and a legal loading position with no long carry. Where a suspension is needed we insist on it rather than suggesting it, because there is no slack anywhere in a four hundred mile schedule.
Unloading in Edinburgh
Edinburgh is genuinely difficult and worth understanding before you book. Old Town tenements run four, five and six floors off a common stair, frequently stone, frequently turning tightly, and never with a lift. A two bedroom flat on the fourth floor of a Royal Mile close is one of the hardest unloads in Britain. New Town flats are Georgian and elegant and often reached down a flight into a basement area, with a narrow door at the bottom. Cobbled setts on many central streets make trolleys close to useless. Edinburgh operates a low emission zone across the city centre; our vehicles are compliant so nothing is added to your price. The City of Edinburgh Council runs bay suspensions for removals and wants notice measured in working days. In August the Festival closes streets, fills every space and makes the centre impassable, and we will tell you plainly if your date falls in it.
The journey
M1 to the A1, or the M6 and A74 up the west side depending on conditions, around four hundred miles and seven and a half hours of driving in normal traffic.
Always two days, and three on a large house. We load in London on day one, drive, and unload in Edinburgh on day two, with the van locked and insured overnight. Nobody drives four hundred miles and then carries furniture up a tenement stair, and any quote that promises it should be read carefully.
Tenement stairs, and what they do to a quote
An Old Town or Marchmont tenement is a common stair serving four to six floors, often stone, often turning, with a half landing between each level and no lift anywhere in the building. A third or fourth floor flat means every item goes up it by hand.
We crew for the floor number rather than the room count, which on anything above the second floor means three people rather than two. Tell us the floor when you ask for a price, because it is the single largest variable on this route and the one most likely to break a quote given without it.
August, and why we will ask about your date first
During the Festival the city centre closes streets, fills every parking space and becomes impassable for a van for most of the month. Suspensions are harder to get, the roads are unpredictable, and an unload that takes three hours in October takes all day in August.
If your date falls in August we will say so plainly and price it accordingly, or suggest a date either side. It is not a surcharge we are looking for, it is a genuine constraint on whether the job can be done well.
What two days actually means
Load in London in the morning or early afternoon of day one. Drive. Unload in Edinburgh on the morning of day two. Your things stay in the locked van overnight, covered by goods in transit insurance throughout, and nothing is unloaded into a storage facility and reloaded.
It is quoted as one job with one figure covering both days, the driving, the overnight and the crew. A four hundred mile move priced as a single day is a move where something is being left out, and it is usually the care at the far end.
What makes this move go well
- Tell us the floor number at the Edinburgh end before anything else, since it decides the crew
- Avoid August entirely if there is any flexibility in the date
- Say whether the flat is up a common stair or down into a basement area, because they are different jobs
- Give us a fortnight for a City of Edinburgh Council suspension, and longer near the centre
- Have everything packed and sealed the night before, since day one starts early
Central London to Edinburgh: common questions
How much do removals from London to Edinburgh cost?
A one bedroom flat is £1,650 to £2,600, a two bedroom £2,300 to £3,600 and a three bedroom house £3,000 to £4,800, including VAT. A small load is £800 to £1,350. That covers a dedicated van and crew across two days, the driving, the overnight and the unload.
Why does it take two days?
Four hundred miles is seven and a half hours of driving. Adding a full load and a full unload to that does not fit into one day, and a tenement stair at the end of it certainly does not. We load on day one, drive, and unload on the morning of day two. Anyone quoting a single day is leaving something out.
What happens to my things overnight?
They stay in the locked van, covered by our goods in transit insurance for the whole journey. Nothing is unloaded into a storage facility and reloaded, which is the point at which long distance moves usually pick up damage.
Can you get furniture up a tenement stair?
Yes, and it is most of what we do in Edinburgh. Four to six floors, stone, turning, no lift. We crew three people for anything above the second floor and we dismantle what will not go round the turn. Give us the floor number at the quote stage, because it is the biggest single factor in the price.
Can you move me during the Festival?
In August the city centre closes streets, fills every space and becomes impassable for a van for much of the month. We will tell you plainly whether your address and date are workable and price it honestly, or suggest a date either side. It is a constraint rather than a surcharge.
Do I pay for the low emission zone?
No. Edinburgh runs a low emission zone across the city centre and our vehicles are compliant, so nothing is added to your figure. The fuel, the mileage, the overnight and the Congestion Charge on the London leg are all inside the price.
