Home Edinburgh to London
Moving from Edinburgh to London
The longest regular run from here, and the one that most needs planning. The van can do it; the question is how to make the day work for you and your driver.
The deposit is only a hold on your card until your driver confirms the job.
The route
Drivers usually take either the A1 down the east side through Newcastle and on to the A1(M), or the M74 and M6 down the west and across to the M1. Both are around four hundred miles. Much of it is motorway, where a van can do 70mph, but parts of the A1 north of Newcastle are single carriageway with a 50mph limit for vans.
How long does a man with a van take from Edinburgh to London?
Most of a day. It is about four hundred miles, which is eight hours or more of driving for a van, plus loading, unloading and stops.
Planning the day
Talk the timing through when your driver confirms. Loading the van in Edinburgh the evening before, or arriving the morning after, can be easier for everyone than squeezing everything into one very long day, and it gets you a better time to unload in London.
Choosing the loading time
The price already includes the driving, so the figure you choose in the form is the time for loading in Edinburgh and unloading in London, added together. Be honest about both ends. A top-floor flat with no lift takes far longer than a ground-floor one, and if the job runs over, the extra time is charged at the driver's rate, which you see before you book.
The ULEZ and the Congestion Charge
London's Ultra Low Emission Zone covers every London borough, inside the M25, all day every day except Christmas Day. Vans up to 3.5 tonnes that do not meet its emission standards pay a daily charge. The Congestion Charge is separate and covers central London.
Who pays the ULEZ or the Congestion Charge on a move to London?
Those charges are paid on top of your price, like tolls and parking. A van that meets the ULEZ standard does not pay it, and the Congestion Charge only applies in central London.
What to sort out at the London end
Someone needs to be there with the keys when the van arrives. Check where it can stop: every London borough runs its own parking controls and bay suspensions, and many main roads are red routes where stopping is only allowed in marked bays. If the building has a lift or a loading bay that has to be booked, book it for the time your driver gives you, and put the details in the notes.
Moving out of central Edinburgh? The van has to meet the standard at this end as well: see the Low Emission Zone and your van.
Where this comes from
Checked on 22 October 2026. The council and the universities can change their rules and dates, and their own pages are the ones that count.