Removals from Hammersmith to Spain.
The most travelled British moving route in Europe. The transport is long but entirely routine — it is the Spanish paperwork that decides when your furniture actually arrives.
The NIE comes first
Before dates, before volume, before quotes. Spain is stricter than France about who may import household goods under relief, and the gate is your NIE together with evidence of residence — usually the padrón registration or a residence card — plus the property documents.
We prepare the export side and work with a Spanish agent on the import entry. We cannot obtain your NIE. Start it before you start packing, because it is the single most common reason a Spanish move stalls and it has nothing to do with the lorry.
The route
M4 and M25 to the Channel, then south through France on the western corridor — past Rouen, then the A10 through Bordeaux — to the Pyrenees, crossing at La Jonquera for the Mediterranean or Irún for the Atlantic north.
Destinations
- Costa Blanca — Alicante, Torrevieja, Jávea, Dénia, Moraira.
- Costa del Sol — Málaga, Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola and inland.
- Murcia and the Mar Menor — newer resort developments, easy access.
- Barcelona and Catalonia — city apartments, restricted streets, small lifts.
- The green north — Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria.
- The islands — Balearics and Canaries, each with a sea leg.
Spanish access, which mirrors ours
The casco antiguo of an Andalucian town is, in practical terms, the same problem as the Hammersmith riverside: streets a large vehicle cannot enter, and a carry from the nearest legal stopping point. Hillside urbanizaciones present it differently — a steep private drive with nowhere to turn.
Neither is unusual. Photographs of the approach and the door are the most useful thing you can send.
What we need to quote
Destination town, permanent move or second property, approximate volume, access at both ends, and how firm the dates are. The hub page covers groupage against dedicated transport; Portugal shares most of this route.
Hammersmith to Spain — questions
What actually delays Spanish moves?
The NIE, almost every time. Spain will not release household goods under relief without your foreigner identification number and evidence of residence, and obtaining it is your side of the job. Loads wait on paperwork far more often than on transport.
Which border crossing will our load use?
Destination decides. La Jonquera on the Mediterranean side feeds the AP-7 down the whole east coast — Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Málaga. Irún on the Atlantic side serves the Basque country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia.
How do the islands work?
A sea leg after the mainland run, so both the Balearics and the Canaries are scheduled rather than continuous. The Canaries also sit outside the EU customs union, which changes the paperwork again. Tell us the island at enquiry.
Will a lorry reach the property?
Two recurring problems: old-town streets in Andalucía that a rigid vehicle cannot enter, and hillside urbanizaciones with steep private drives and no turning room. Both are solved with a smaller van and a longer carry, much more cheaply arranged in advance than discovered.
Should we take everything?
Worth a serious evening of thought. Spanish kitchens are often fitted to different dimensions so a British fridge-freezer may not fit the gap, and heavy winter furnishings frequently get shipped and never used. We will move whatever you want moved — it is just worth deciding what earns its place on the vehicle.
Moving to Spain?
Both addresses, the floor at each end, and roughly what is going. That is enough for a real figure.