Removals FAQs, answered straight

Most customers get a written fixed quote back within the hour. If we need to do a video survey first, we'll book that in within a day.

Yes, public liability up to £2.5 million and goods in transit up to £50,000 per load. We can send proof of cover before the move.

Never. Every crew is Marley Moves. The people who survey your move are the people who turn up on the day.

Yes. Our quotes are fixed and written. The only things that change the price are things you ask us to add, or access issues we didn't know about (which we'll always flag before the move).

We take a small holding deposit when you book, usually 10%, to secure the date. The balance is due on the day.

Yes. Our Gillingham storage is clean, dry, and monitored, and we can collect from your old home, store for as long as you need, then deliver to the new one. Priced as one simple quote.

Either. We can do the full house the day before, just the fragile items, or leave it to you entirely. Most customers choose part-packing, we handle kitchen and breakables, you do clothes and books.

Yes. We move anywhere in the UK, London, Cornwall, Scotland, the Lakes. Same crew, same truck, one fixed price including fuel, tolls, and overnights if needed.

A traditional man-and-van service is usually one self-employed driver with a single van, fine for the simplest jobs, but no backup if something goes wrong, and usually limited insurance. We run our man-and-van service with the same in-house Marley crew that handles our full house removals: properly insured (£2.5m public liability, £50k goods in transit), proper kit (blankets, straps, sack barrows, door protectors), and a real removal company behind it. Same care, smaller scale.

Often same-day or next-day, especially inside a 25-mile radius of our Shaftesbury yard. For bookings booked more than a week ahead we can usually slot you exactly when you want. Quotes go out within the hour of your enquiry, by email or WhatsApp.

Single-item collections start at £55 fixed if the item fits a Luton without help and you're inside our regular coverage area. Studio and single-room moves typically start around £180 fixed for defined-volume jobs. We tell you the exact number in writing before you commit, so there's no surprise on the day.

Yes, collections from IKEA, B&Q, John Lewis, Currys, Wickes and the local trade counters are routine man-and-van work for us. We can collect from store, deliver straight to your address, carry inside, and unpack the boxes so the cardboard goes back with us if you don't want it cluttering up your hallway.

Yes, every Marley man-and-van booking carries the same insurance as our full removals: public liability up to £2.5 million, goods in transit up to £50,000 per load. Insurance certificate is in the email along with your written quote. This is typically far higher cover than a self-employed one-man-one-van service offers.

All 16 of our regular Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire towns: Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Mere, Wincanton, Bruton, Warminster, Blandford Forum, Yeovil, Frome, Salisbury, Dorchester, Weymouth, Bath, Bournemouth and Poole, plus the surrounding villages. Outside that band we do longer-distance one-way pickups (collect from London, deliver to Dorset for example) on a fixed-price quote.

We'll do a quick phone survey or a five-minute video walk-through, then send a fixed price in writing with any contingencies spelled out (for example, additional charges if a parking suspension is needed, or if a third drop-off gets added on the day). The price doesn't move unless the job genuinely changes, and we'll always agree any extra in writing before doing the work.

Most local Dorset house moves run £450 – £2,500+ depending on size and access. A 1-bed flat is typically From £600, a 2-bed home From £800, a 3-bed family home From £1,050, and a 4-5 bed home From £1,600. Long-distance UK moves from Dorset (London, Bristol, the Midlands) are quoted as a fixed price per route, typically from £900 depending on volume and destination. We always confirm the exact figure in writing within the hour of your enquiry.

within the hour of your enquiry, by email or WhatsApp, and frequently inside the hour. For 3-bed-plus homes we'll suggest a free pre-move survey (10 minutes on a video call, or in-person if you prefer) so the price we put in writing is the price you pay on the day. No estimator-tool guesswork, no quote that drifts upward as we get closer to move day.

No, we're not a member of the BAR. We carry £2.5 million public liability insurance and £50,000 goods-in-transit cover per load, every quote is written and fixed before you commit, and we have a 5.0 five-star Google rating across every town we cover. If BAR membership is a hard requirement for you, we're not the right firm and we'll happily point you to one. Most customers don't need BAR, they need fixed pricing, proper insurance, and a crew that turns up.

Two reasons: in-house crew and direct access to the owner. National chains quote remotely and dispatch a contractor crew, sometimes very good, sometimes the franchise has subcontracted again. We don't subcontract: every Marley move is run by Connor's small in-house team, the same people who survey it. You also get fixed-price quotes within the hour, against the national chains' typical 24-48 hour turnaround. Pricing tends to be 10-25% below the equivalent national-chain quote.

Yes, listed-building and period-property removals are a substantial part of our Dorset work. We bring runner mats for original timber floors, door guards for painted period frames, blanket-wrap as standard for antique furniture, and we'll spec the right (smaller) vehicle for tight historic-street access. Examples: Cheap Street Sherborne, Gold Hill Shaftesbury, the Bath Georgian crescents, Bruton's Patwell Street. None of those are unfamiliar territory.

All of Dorset, plus Somerset and Wiltshire, 16 core towns with weekly routes: Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Blandford Forum, Dorchester, Weymouth, Bournemouth, Poole (Dorset); Yeovil, Wincanton, Bruton, Frome, Bath (Somerset); Mere, Warminster, Salisbury (Wiltshire). Plus the rural villages around each. Outside that band we run UK-wide long-distance moves from Dorset to anywhere, London, Bristol, the Midlands, the Lake District, Cornwall, Scotland.

Yes, long-distance from Dorset is a regular service. Common destinations: London, Bristol, the Midlands, Yorkshire, the Lake District, Cornwall, Scotland. One in-house Marley crew end-to-end (no handover at a depot), fixed price per route, free pre-move survey for any 4-bed-plus home. Most long-distance moves complete in a single day; multi-day moves use our crew overnighting at the destination so the same hands unload the next morning.

Yes, containerised storage at our Shaftesbury yard, quoted alongside your removal so you only deal with one company and one number. Common scenarios: between-move storage (a few days to a few weeks while completion lines up), and longer-term storage for downsizing or international moves. Insured, monitored, accessible by appointment. From £30 / week / container.

Yes, full or part packing as an add-on to any house removal. Crockery, art, glassware, antiques: proper materials throughout (acid-free tissue, double-walled crates for the most fragile, blanket-wrap on furniture). Most customers add part packing for the kitchen and the breakables and self-pack everything else. Pricing depends on volume, typically from £100 for a 1-bed, £200–£400 for a 3-bed.

Yes, see the 8-week countdown on our /removals/ hub page. Short version: 8 weeks out, get 2-3 written quotes and sort buildings + contents insurance for the new place. 4 weeks out, book us in writing and notify utilities. 2 weeks out, sort parking permits + post redirection. 1 week out, finish all packing except kitchen and bathroom; pack a clearly-labelled essentials box for night one.

From £30 per week per container at our Shaftesbury yard for short-term needs (a few weeks between completion dates). Longer-term contracts (3+ months) drop to around £25/week. Each container holds the contents of roughly a 2-3 bed home, so for a 1-bed flat we'd usually quote a half-container at £20/week. Quoted alongside your removal so you only deal with one company and one bill.

Yes, secure perimeter, monitored on-site, alarmed containers, restricted-access yard. Your contents go into a sealed timber container at our Shaftesbury yard, the seal stays on until you ask us to break it. We carry £2.5m public liability insurance and goods stored on our premises are covered against fire, water and theft as standard.

By appointment, yes, usually with 24 hours' notice so we can pull your container to ground level for easy access. Most customers don't need access during their storage period, so we keep the containers stacked to save you money. If you need self-access daily, a self-storage facility is a better fit than us, we'll happily point you to one in the area.

Yes, items in our containers are covered against fire, water damage and theft as standard, up to a per-container value we agree at the start. For higher-value contents (antiques, art, anything over £50,000) we can extend cover. The insurance certificate ships with your storage quote so you can see the limits before you commit.

One week minimum, no maximum. Short-term storage between completion dates is one of our most common scenarios, pay for what you use, no penalty for ending early or extending. Longer-term storage (3+ months) gets a small discount on the weekly rate.

Self-storage (Big Yellow, Safestore, etc.) suits you if you need daily access, want to drive your own van to the unit, and prefer per-square-foot pricing. Containerised storage (us) suits you if you're storing the contents of a home between moves, don't need daily access, and want the convenience of one company doing the removal AND the storage. We're cheaper for full-home volumes; self-storage is cheaper for single rooms or small loads with frequent access.

Our standard timber containers stay dry and ventilated; for ordinary household contents (furniture, boxed kitchenware, beds, sofas) that's plenty. For art, antiques, musical instruments, or anything with sensitive electronics, we recommend a climate-controlled facility, we'll point you to a partner facility in the area and combine the removal logistics if useful.

from £200 for a 1-bed flat full pack, from £200 for a 3-bed home, from £400 for a 4-5 bed family home. Part packing (kitchen + breakables only, you handle the rest) is typically around half those numbers. Quoted alongside your removal, no double-trip or set-up fees because we're already on site for the move.

Full packing makes sense if you're time-pressed (sale completion week, work commitments), have a lot of fragile contents (collections, art, antiques), or simply want it done properly without the box-cutter stress. Part packing, typically the kitchen and breakables, is what most of our customers add on; the rest of the house is yours to box up at your own pace using materials we drop off.

Acid-free white tissue paper for crockery and ornaments, double-walled cardboard boxes (small for books and breakables, medium for general, large for bedding), bubble wrap and foam for picture frames and electronics, blanket-wrap for furniture, double-walled crates for the most fragile pieces, ratchet straps and shrink film for the journey. All boxes labelled by room.

Yes, collections are routine work for us. Each piece individually wrapped in acid-free tissue, packed standing where possible, framed art double-faced with foam corners and bubble-wrapped flat in custom cardboard sleeves, large framed pieces crated. We carry £50,000 goods-in-transit cover per load and can extend it for higher-value contents on request.

Both options. For a 1-2 bed full pack we usually do it the morning of the move, an hour or two before loading. For 3-bed-plus homes we'll often pack 1-2 days ahead so move day itself is just loading the labelled boxes, much smoother. We work around your schedule; the survey conversation tells us what's right.

Yes, unpacking is offered as an add-on. Most customers want the kitchen and the bedrooms unpacked (essentials in the right cupboards, beds made up that day) and self-unpack the rest at their pace. Full unpacking adds typically from £200 to a standard removal but means you walk into a properly set-up home rather than a wall of boxes.

Yes, we'll supply boxes, tissue paper, bubble wrap and tape at material-cost prices, dropped off a week before move day. Most customers self-pack the books, clothes and non-fragile items and ask us to do the kitchen + breakables. Best of both worlds, lowest total cost.

From £350 for a small flat clearance up to £2,000+ for a 4-5 bed family home. The price depends on the volume to remove, the access (stairs, narrow lanes, parking), the proportion that's resaleable or donatable versus genuine waste, and whether we're co-ordinating with the removal of items you're keeping. We always quote in writing, fixed price, after a free pre-clearance visit.

Yes, probate work is a substantial part of what we do across Dorset. We work to the timeline of the executor or the solicitor, photograph each room before we start, identify any items the family wants kept or rehomed (jewellery, photographs, framed art, documents), separate donatable goods to local charities (Sue Ryder, Salvation Army, Air Ambulance), recycle what can be recycled, and only landfill what genuinely can't be saved.

Yes, we hold an Upper Tier Waste Carriers Licence with the Environment Agency (registration number on file with each quote). That means we can legally remove waste from your property, transport it, and tip at licensed transfer stations. Any contractor who can't show that licence is fly-tipping by definition, and the householder, not the contractor, gets the fine.

Sue Ryder, Salvation Army, the Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance shops are our regular partners, usable furniture, clothing, books, kitchenware all get routed there with a Gift Aid form completed where applicable. We can also direct items to specific charities at your request (a hospice, a local cause). Anything genuinely valuable we'll flag back to you before donating.

Yes, common pattern. We clear the bulk of the contents, identify and set aside items you want to keep (often family photos, jewellery, specific furniture, framed art), and either deliver them to your address or store them in our Shaftesbury yard until you decide. Combining clearance with a smaller-volume removal is one number, one company.

Yes, landlord clearances are quick-turnaround work. You give us the keys, we clear the property to inventory standard, sweep through, photograph the empty rooms for the deposit dispute (if any), and return the keys. Typical 2-bed flat: ~4 hours, from £400. Combined with a deep clean if useful (sub-contracted to our partner cleaners).

All 16 of our regular towns: Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Mere, Wincanton, Bruton, Warminster, Blandford Forum, Yeovil, Frome, Salisbury, Dorchester, Weymouth, Bath, Bournemouth and Poole, plus the surrounding villages. Different councils handle the licensing for each (Dorset Council, Somerset Council, Wiltshire Council, BCP), we hold the relevant references and handle the paperwork.

Typically from £900 fully insured for a long-distance UK move. A 2-bed flat from Dorset to London usually From £1,050. A 3-bed family home Dorset to Manchester or Edinburgh from £1,800. A 4-5 bed home from £2,500. We quote a fixed price per route after a free pre-move survey, so the number doesn't move on the day.

Same crew, end-to-end. We don't operate the depot-handover model that the national chains use (where one crew loads, then the truck goes to a regional depot, then a different crew unloads). Our crew drives the route, sleeps overnight if needed, and unloads at the other end. No handover, no "sorry, that wasn't in our notes" at the destination.

Single-day UK moves: most common, Dorset to London / Bristol / Birmingham complete in a long working day. Two-day moves: typical for further destinations (Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cornwall) or larger 4+ bed homes, we load day one, drive overnight, unload day two. Multi-day: occasionally needed for very large homes or remote destinations; same crew throughout, accommodation factored into the quote.

London (every week), Bristol and Bath (regularly), the M5 corridor down to Cornwall and Devon, the M4 corridor to South Wales and Cardiff, the M40/M1 to the Midlands and Yorkshire, the M6 to Manchester and Liverpool, the A1/M1 up to Edinburgh and Glasgow, the M5/A30 down to Cornwall. We also do less-common routes (Lake District, North Yorkshire, North Wales), fixed-price quote per route either way.

Yes, £2.5m public liability and £50k goods-in-transit cover per load apply identically to long-distance moves. For higher-value contents (over £50k, antiques, art, collections) we can arrange extended cover at quote time. The insurance certificate ships with your written quote so you can verify the limits before committing.

Yes, relocations from London / the South East / the Midlands / the North down to Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire are a regular service. Often we'll combine these with an outgoing Dorset-to-elsewhere route on the same day so you get return-load efficiency on the price. We collect at your old address, drive south, deliver to the new place, same crew throughout.

Yes, common scenario when completion dates don't line up. We collect from your old place, store in our containerised facility at Gillingham (£30 per week per container), and deliver when you're ready. One company throughout, one quote, one number.

Recommended for 3-bed-plus moves; mandatory for 4-5 bed and above. The survey (10 minutes on a video call, or in-person if you prefer) lets us see the volume, access at both ends, and any awkward items. That's how we lock in a fixed price that won't drift. For studios and 1-bed flats we can quote off a phone conversation and a few photos.

Yes, both. Uprights and console pianos: standard specialist work, usually 2-3 crew, slings and a piano dolly, 2-4 hours of careful handling. Grand pianos and baby grands: legs come off, dust-cover wrapped, slings underneath, 3-4 crew minimum. Concert grands by arrangement (we'll quote bespoke after a survey). Insured £50k goods-in-transit per load; higher cover available for instruments worth more.

Yes, antique-furniture work is a substantial part of our Bruton, Sherborne, Bath, Salisbury catchment. Blanket-wrap on every piece as standard, corner protectors, careful handling on listed-building original timber floors, wax-lined boxes for inlaid pieces, double-walled crates for Wedgwood / glass collections. We'll do a free pre-move survey on anything significant so the price reflects the care needed.

Yes, framed paintings and prints get foam-corner protection plus bubble wrap and a flat custom cardboard sleeve. Large pieces and unframed canvases get bespoke cardboard crates. Sculpture (stone, metal, ceramic) custom-crated to size. Climate-aware loading where humidity matters. We've handled gallery installs in the Bruton arts orbit and private-collector moves across Bath and Salisbury.

Piano-only moves: from £250 depending on stairs, access and instrument size. Antique-furniture moves combined with a standard removal: typically a £100 – £300 uplift on the standard price. Art and sculpture: bespoke per-item, quoted after a free pre-move survey. Gallery installs: contact us for a custom quote, depends on the install brief and timeline.

Standard cover is £50k goods-in-transit per load. For higher-value contents (antiques over £50k, art collections, instruments) we can extend cover at quote time, your insurer or a marine-cargo specialist provides an additional certificate that ships alongside our standard one. We'll always raise this proactively at the survey if it looks relevant.

All 16 of our regular Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire towns. Bath, Bruton, Sherborne and Salisbury are our most-frequent specialist catchments, the listed-property and arts overlap drives the volume. Long-distance UK specialist work also offered (Dorset to London, Bristol, the Midlands, the North) at fixed-price-per-route quotes after survey.

Eight weeks before completion is the sweet spot for a typical UK home move. That gives you time to book a removal company while there's still choice, declutter properly without binge-tipping the lot, line up redirected post and utility transfers, and pack methodically rather than in a 48-hour panic. If your timeline is tighter (4 weeks or less) you can still hit every step, you just compress the early phases and lean harder on professional help for packing day.

Across England (excluding London) the average UK house move sits around £8,500 – £12,000 once you add up estate-agent fees (1–2% of sale price), conveyancing (£800 – £1,500), stamp duty (varies), survey (£400 – £1,000), removals (£450 – £2,500 for local; from £900 for long-distance), and the smaller costs (mail redirect, insurance gap, Council Tax overlap, new white goods). Removals themselves are the smallest line item by a wide margin, but the one most people leave to the last minute.

Two weeks before completion is the standard window. Take meter readings on move day itself (photograph them with the date visible) and submit them to your old supplier within 48 hours. For your new place, set up the supply with whichever provider is currently active there (the seller should leave details in the welcome pack), then switch later if you want a better tariff, switching first then moving in often delays the new account.

Pack the 'first night box' (kettle, mugs, tea bags, milk, phone chargers, toilet paper, toothbrushes, pyjamas, fresh clothes for the morning, basic toolkit, important paperwork). Strip the beds, fold the bedding into a labelled bag. Make sure the kettle and one mug per person are accessible, not buried. Put the kettle in the first-night box. Park visitors' cars off the drive so the removal van has access. Get the kids' / pets' move-day plan locked in. Get to bed by 10.30pm, move day is long.

Most people self-pack the books, clothes and bedding (low-risk, low-skill) and add part packing for the kitchen and breakables (where DIY goes wrong in the last 48 hours). A typical part pack adds from £100 to a UK removal, about half the cost of a full pack, and usually saves you 1-2 evenings of stressful kitchen-cupboard archaeology. Full packing makes sense for time-pressed moves (sale completion week, work commitments) and homes with significant antique or collection content.

First week: register at the new GP surgery and dentist; transfer the school place if children are moving schools; update the V5C (vehicle log book), driving licence, and car insurance with the new address; update bank, credit card, mortgage, and any subscriptions still on the old address; tell HMRC if your tax code might shift (different council); register on the electoral roll. Second week onwards: install carbon-monoxide and smoke alarms in every relevant room (legal requirement in England since 2022), test the boiler service date, and locate the stopcock + fuse box.

Honest answer: from £30 per week per timber container at our Shaftesbury yard, no deposit, no padlock fee, no minimum-term contract. A typical 3-bed home fits inside two containers; a 1-bed flat or studio usually fits in half a container. Compared to the bigger national self-storage chains (Big Yellow, Safestore) we're 30–50% cheaper because we run a single small site rather than a 24/7 staffed retail facility, and because most of our storage customers are also using us for their removal, we offer combined pricing that drops the storage cost further. Quoted in writing within the hour. £50k goods-in-transit cover applies to the move-in and move-out legs; secure, monitored, alarmed throughout the storage period.

From £25 a week or £100 a month per standard wooden container, the same rate whether you're in Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Yeovil, Salisbury, Dorchester, Bournemouth or anywhere else inside our 25-mile radius. A standard container holds the contents of a 1-bed flat (about 250 cubic feet); larger homes typically need 2-3 containers and bulk rates apply. Collection and re-delivery are quoted as a fixed price separately based on your distance from the yard. Quoted in writing within the hour.

Packing yourself saves money but takes time, while a trained, fully insured crew packs faster and to a standard built to survive the journey. It is usually worth paying when time is short, the house is large, or you have a lot of fragile and valuable items. For a price built around your actual move, get a fixed written quote within the hour.

Pack one clearly marked box, or one per person, with the kettle, a few mugs, tea, coffee and milk, toiletries, a towel each, phone chargers, any medication and a change of clothes. Load it last so it comes off the van first, and add anything your children or pets need close to hand.

Pack non-essentials first: out-of-season clothes, decorative items, spare bedding and anything in storage rooms. These can be boxed weeks ahead and stacked out of the way, which leaves you a clear run at the rooms you use daily.

Wrap each item individually in plain packing paper, stand glasses upright and stack plates on their edge rather than flat, then fill every gap in the box so nothing can shift. A box that rattles is the one that arrives damaged, so pad the top, bottom and sides and mark it fragile on every side.

Start as soon as your move is confirmed. Begin with the things you rarely touch, such as the loft, the garage, books and spare rooms, and leave everyday essentials like the kettle and toiletries until the very end.

Keep out food and anything perishable, as it spoils or attracts pests. Plants and any living thing cannot survive in a sealed unit. Flammable or hazardous liquids such as petrol, gas, and paint are a fire risk. And keep important documents like passports and house paperwork with you, not boxed away. Restricted lists vary by provider, so we confirm exactly what can go in when we quote your move.

Pack into sturdy boxes, wrap fragiles in packing paper, and take large furniture apart where you can. Label each box by room and contents. When loading the unit, put heavy and solid items in first towards the back, stack lighter boxes on top, keep early-access items at the front, and leave a clear walkway. With Marley Moves, we can collect, store, and redeliver as one removal.

Whether storage saves you money depends on your situation. The cost is driven by two things: how much you need to store and how long you need it. Bridging a short gap between completion dates is a different cost to storing a full home for months. Handling the move and storage as one job can also cut out duplicate handling. Tell us your details and we will give you a fixed quote.

For most people it is the kitchen. It is full of fragile, awkward, and heavy items, from glassware and crockery to appliances and a cupboard of half-used food, and each needs different handling and wrapping. The garage and loft run it close, since both tend to hold years of accumulated odds and ends. Working through one room at a time, kitchen included, keeps it manageable.

Yes. A removal company can collect your belongings, hold them in storage, and redeliver them to your new home when you are ready, all as one job. That means your things are packed and loaded once by the same team, with one point of contact and one set of dates to manage. We offer storage alongside our removals across Dorset, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Get a quote and we will price it with the storage included.

Start about two weeks before you move. Set up Royal Mail redirection first, then tell the council, your bank and your employer. Leave DVLA, your utilities and the everyday accounts for moving week and the fortnight after.

For some things, yes. You must tell the DVLA when you change address so your driving licence and vehicle log book (V5C) are correct, and it is free to do. Updating the electoral roll and your council tax matters too. Most other accounts are not a legal duty, but leaving them out of date causes missed post and renewals.

Royal Mail offers redirection for a set period, usually three, six or twelve months, and you choose the length when you set it up. It is a safety net while you update everyone directly, not a permanent fix, so use the time to work through your list.

Yes. Tell your old council you are leaving so your council tax account closes, and tell your new council you are arriving so a new account opens. Re-register on the electoral roll at the same time.

That is the idea. You look after the paperwork while our crew handles the packing, loading and transport. Tell us your moving dates and addresses and we will send a fixed price within the hour.

Summer is the peak, roughly late June through August, with the end of each month busiest of all because that is when most property sales complete. Fridays are the busiest day. If you can be flexible on timing, midweek or earlier in the month is usually calmer.

As early as you reasonably can. Once you have a likely date, even a provisional one, get in touch so we can hold a slot. Summer dates, especially end-of-month Fridays, book up weeks ahead, so leaving it late narrows your choices.

Your price depends on the size of the move, the distance and the access at both ends, not the time of year. The bigger difference in summer is availability, so the main reason to book early is to get the date you want. Tell us your details and we will send a fixed price within the hour.

Pack candles, aerosols, electronics, records and houseplants so they load last and unload first, and keep anything irreplaceable with you in the car. Let us know in advance if you have items that do not cope well with heat and we will plan the load around them.

Sometimes, yes, especially midweek, though summer is our busiest season so it is never guaranteed. The quickest way to find out is to ask. Send us your dates and we will tell you what we can do and send a fixed price within the hour.

Gillingham in Dorset (postcode SP8) suits people who want village and small-town life but still need to get to a city now and then. It is North Dorset's railway town, with a mainline station, so you keep a fast train link while living among the lanes and fields of the Blackmore Vale. Note it is the Dorset Gillingham, not the larger one in Kent. We cover it as one of our Gillingham removals areas.

That depends entirely on what you want, so we will not hand you a ranked list. Most newcomers looking inland end up around the Blackmore Vale and Cranborne Chase, using market towns like Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Wincanton and Mere for the weekly shop. The honest advice is to spend a few weekends in an area before you commit, then talk to us about access once you have picked your spot.

Quieter and greener than most people expect inland. Dorset is really two places: the coast everyone pictures, and the rolling dairy country of the Blackmore Vale with the chalk downland of Cranborne Chase behind it. Village life runs on the pub, the shop, the church and a weekly trip to the nearest market town. You trade a big supermarket on the doorstep for space, lanes and a slower pace.

Yes. We are village and rural-lane removals specialists, and the same small in-house crew handles your move from survey to unload with no subcontracting. We know the single-track lanes, blind bends, low bridges and tight cottage doorways, so we plan the right vehicle, and a shuttle from the main road where a larger van cannot reach, before the day rather than on it. We cover Gillingham, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Wincanton, Mere, Yeovil and the wider Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire area.

It depends on the size of your home, the distance, and how reachable both addresses are by road. Rather than guess, tell us about your move and we will send you a fixed written quote within the hour. There is nothing to pay to get one, and the price we quote is the price you pay.

They should be, but the level of cover varies a lot, so it is worth asking before you book. On our jobs, goods-in-transit cover up to £50,000 per load is included as standard, along with £2.5m of public liability. For a higher-value exhibition where a single load is worth more than the standard figure, we can arrange increased cover with 14 days of notice to the insurer, so flag the value of the work early.

Goods-in-transit cover protects the items we are carrying while they are in transit on the job. Our standard cover runs up to £50,000 per load and is included rather than charged as an extra, which is not always the case elsewhere. If the value of a single load goes above that, we can put higher cover in place with 14 days of notice so the insurer can arrange it before the move.

A condition report is a written record of the existing state of each piece before it is moved, noting any marks or wear that are already there. We complete a full condition report on gallery jobs before anything is loaded, so there is a clear baseline. Paired with photos taken at each handover, it gives you a documented record of exactly how every piece left and how it arrived.

We handle gallery pieces in cotton gloves so nothing is touched with a bare hand, and we wrap, brace and crate fragile work to suit the specific piece rather than using one standard box for everything. Items travel separated so nothing rests against anything else in the van. Every piece is recorded on a condition report before loading and photographed at each handover.

As early as you can. We run a three-week planning window on event work: a site visit and access check three weeks out, crew and vehicle confirmed two weeks out, and a final walk-through one week out. Booking with that lead time lets us design slack into the timeline and arrange any higher insurance cover, which needs 14 days of notice. We will still help with shorter notice where we can, but early is always better for a fixed deadline.

Yes. We are based in Shaftesbury and cover Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire as our home patch, and we regularly travel for gallery and event work, including exhibitions in and out of Bristol, Bath and London and Frieze London install runs. We do not have a branch in those cities, so that work is travel from our Dorset base, run by the same in-house crews that survey the job.

There is no single going rate, because the price follows the job rather than a flat fee. The main things that drive the cost are how much you are moving (the volume), how far the move is, how easy the access is at both ends, any extras like packing or a piano, and how busy the date you want is. That is why two "3-bed moves" can be priced very differently. The honest way to get a real figure is to tell us what you are moving so we can price the actual job. We give a fixed written quote within the hour, with the full price in writing before you commit. Get your quote.

Fridays, the end of the month and the summer holidays are the busiest windows in removals, so the quietest days are the easiest to book and plan well. There is no secret discount for picking a particular day, it is simply about demand and availability. If you can be flexible on your date you give yourself more choice of crew and timing, but most people have a fixed completion date and we plan around whatever day that is. Tell us your date as early as you can, even if it is only provisional, and we will get a fixed written quote back to you within the hour. Get your quote.

Mostly because they are not always quoting the same thing. One firm may have looked properly at what you are moving and the access at both ends, while another has guessed a number to win the job. Differences in what is included also matter: whether packing is covered, whether the crew dismantle and reassemble furniture, whether insurance is in place, and whether the work is subcontracted out. A very low price often leaves something out that reappears on the day. The fair way to compare is to make sure each quote is in writing and based on the real job. We put ours in writing within the hour. Get your quote.

A fixed price is the safer choice for most moves, because the number you are told is the number you pay. With an hourly rate the meter keeps running if the day overruns, and removal days overrun for all sorts of reasons, from traffic to a slow completion. On a fixed price those delays are ours to manage, not yours to fund, since the figure was agreed before the van arrived. We give a fixed written quote within the hour, so you see the full price in writing before you commit, with nothing waiting to appear at the end of the day. Get your quote.

The classic hidden costs in removals are the ones that turn up after a vague verbal quote: extra hours added because the day ran long on an hourly rate, charges for packing materials that were never mentioned, or fees for stairs and difficult access that nobody asked about up front. You avoid them by insisting on a written quote based on a proper look at what you are moving, and by checking that insurance is named and the work is not being subcontracted. With us the quote is fixed and in writing, we never subcontract your move, and we carry free goods-in-transit insurance up to £50,000 plus £2.5 million of public liability cover. We send your fixed written quote within the hour. Get your quote.

Gently, and at the pace the day needs. We are a family-run crew, so we treat the home the way we would treat our own parents' house. We talk through the plan beforehand, pack carefully, label everything clearly, and let the person say goodbye to rooms without feeling hurried out of them. If an adult son or daughter is arranging it from a distance, one of us will keep you posted through the day. Call Connor on 01747 637070 and we will talk it through first.

There are usually three homes for it: family, charity or storage. We help sort what goes where on the day, and we can clear the rest properly through our house clearance service once the keys are handed over. Nothing has to be decided in a rush, and nothing gets thrown out without you saying so.

Yes. Plenty of people downsize before they have decided what to keep, and that is completely normal. We can hold furniture and boxes in our storage until you are ready, whether that is a few weeks or a good deal longer. It buys you time to make those decisions properly rather than on moving day.

It depends on the size of the home, how much is coming with you, and how much sorting is happening on the day, so we never quote a time blind. Tell us about the move and we will give you a clear, fixed price within the hour with no pressure to book.

We do. Once you have taken what you want, we can clear the remaining furniture and contents and leave the house ready to hand back. It is one of the kindest parts of the job to get right, and it means the family is not left with an empty house and a long list. See our house clearance service or just ask when you call.

As a general rule in the UK, aim to have your movers booked around 4–6 weeks before moving day. That gives you a wider choice of dates and a calmer run-up. In quieter weeks you can often book with much less notice, and if your date has landed last-minute, tell us your situation and we'll do our best to fit you in.

It's fine to get quotes and pencil in a date before exchange, but avoid committing money you could lose, because completion dates often move. The safe approach is to enquire early, get your fixed price, then confirm firmly once contracts have exchanged and the date is legally fixed.

No. You don't legally own the property and can't get the keys until completion has gone through, so your move can't physically happen before then. That's exactly why we hold your date provisionally and only run the move once completion is confirmed on the day.

Practice varies between companies, so always check what a deposit covers and whether it's refundable if your date changes. Because moving dates so often shift, we'd rather you understand the terms before you part with anything. If you'd like our terms in plain English, just ask when you request your quote.

Short-notice moves are common, especially when completion lands sooner than expected, and we'll always try to help. Availability depends on the date, the size of the move and where you're going. The quickest way to find out is to send us the details and we'll come back with a fixed price within the hour.

Yes. Marley Moves handles house clearances across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, from single-room and garage clears to full-property and probate clearances, including hoarder-property clearances handled discreetly. We are a registered waste carrier, so usable items go to charity where possible and the rest is disposed of responsibly. Quoted as a fixed price in writing within the hour, and easily combined with a removal or storage so you deal with one company.

Yes. Full and part packing is available with every house removal, so we are the Dorset home packers as well as the movers on the day. Our crew brings the boxes, paper and protective materials, packs everything from kitchens to fragile china and antiques, and unpacks at the other end if you want. Packing can be quoted on its own or rolled into your fixed removal price, in writing within the hour.

The 3-3-3 rule is a widely used guide for how a pet, usually a dog, settles into a new home. The idea is roughly three days to decompress and feel safe, three weeks to learn the new routine, and three months to feel fully at home. Treat it as a gentle rule of thumb rather than a fixed timetable. Every animal is different, so let yours set the pace and give it time.

Common advice is to keep a cat indoors for a settling period of a couple of weeks before letting it outside, so it learns that the new house is home. Start with one safe room, then let it explore the rest of the house, and only open the door to the garden once it seems calm and confident. The old trick of putting butter on a cat's paws does not actually help it find its way back, so skip it and rely on time and a steady routine instead.

Keep your pet out of the way of the lifting. The safest option is to shut your dog or cat in one quiet, closed room with food, water and a familiar bed, or to leave it with a friend or family member for the day. Doors stay open while a move is underway, and an anxious animal can bolt, so a closed room keeps it from getting underfoot or escaping while everything is being loaded.

A move can unsettle a dog, because the smells, sounds and routine all change at once. Most dogs settle within a few weeks if you keep walk and feed times the same and stay calm and reassuring yourself. The 3-3-3 rule is a useful guide here. If your dog stays anxious well beyond the first few weeks, it is worth a chat with your vet.

It often helps. Packing in advance spreads the disruption out so your pet is not faced with a whole house turned upside down on one day. Our packing service means the heavy, noisy work is handled quickly by the same crew, which keeps moving day shorter and quieter for nervous animals.

There is no single best town, because Poole, Bournemouth and Weymouth each suit different people. Poole works for those drawn to the harbour and boating, Bournemouth for people who want a larger town with full amenities alongside the beach, and Weymouth for a more traditional seaside feel. The right one depends on the life you are after, so it is worth visiting each on an ordinary weekday before you decide.

It is a popular choice for moving later in life, with the sea close by and a calmer pace than a busy inland town. The practical side worth planning for is that coastal homes skew towards flats and converted period properties, so stairs, shared entrances and parking matter more than mileage. If you are downsizing as part of the move, our piece on downsizing later in life covers how to do it without the rush.

Not harder, just different. A seafront flat usually means a shared entrance, a communal stairwell and restricted or permit-only parking, so the loading and carrying take more planning than a house with a driveway. The crew works out the access ahead of the day rather than discovering it on the morning, which is what keeps it straightforward. Our house removals service is built around exactly this kind of planning.

Any time of year is workable, but the coast gets notably busier through the summer season, and the roads nearest the beaches and harbours feel it most. In peak weeks, kerbside space and loading spots are tighter, so an earlier start helps. If your dates are flexible, moving outside the busiest summer weeks can make the access side of the day easier.

Yes. We cover Poole, Bournemouth, Weymouth and the towns between, from our bases in Shaftesbury, SP7 and Yeovil, BA8. Tell us where you are moving from and to and we will talk through the access and send a fixed written quote within the hour.

That is your call to make, and both work, but it helps to plan early either way. Because we give you a fixed quote within the hour, you can know the cost well ahead of time and slot the move into whichever window suits the family best. Get a quote whenever you start thinking about it, and you can plan around a real number rather than a guess.

It depends on how much you own and how easy the access is at both ends, so there is no single figure. What we do is plan the day properly with our in-house crew so nothing overruns. We work out the order of loading, the awkward items and the access before we arrive, so the move runs to a plan rather than running late.

Yes. We carry Public Liability cover up to £2.5m and Goods in Transit cover up to £50k per load, so a bigger house with more to move is covered just as carefully as a smaller one. More boxes does not mean less protection.

Yes. If the new house completes a few days after you have to leave the old one, we can hold your furniture in storage and deliver it once you have the keys. It means a gap in the dates does not turn into you living out of boxes in the meantime.

Start with the number of rooms, then adjust for how many people live there and how much you own. As a rough guide, allow a handful of boxes per small room and more for kitchens, lofts and book-heavy studies. Count each room separately, total it up, then add a few spare. It is always better to have one box too many than to run out on packing day.

A typical three-bedroom home tends to need somewhere in the region of forty to sixty boxes, though the real number varies a lot with how long you have lived there and how much you have accumulated. Treat that as a starting estimate, not a promise. Pack room by room and you will quickly see whether you are running light or heavy.

Use small boxes for heavy items like books and crockery, medium boxes for the bulk of your everyday belongings, and large boxes for light, bulky things like bedding and cushions. Wardrobe boxes hang clothes straight off the rail, and specialist boxes protect things like pictures, mirrors and TVs. Matching contents to the right size keeps every box liftable.

The kitchen is usually the toughest. It is full of fragile, awkward and heavy items, from glassware and crockery to small appliances and a drawer of odds and ends. Give it more time and more small boxes than you think you need, and wrap fragile items individually. If you would rather not face it at all, our packing service can take the whole job off your hands.

In most cases yes. Full drawers and wardrobes are heavy, can spill, and make furniture awkward and unsafe to carry. Light items such as folded clothes can sometimes stay put for short, local moves, but it is best to check with us first. We will confirm what can travel as it is when we quote your move.

For a lot of the people we move, yes. Being a short drive from your children and grandchildren means you can be there for the school runs, the birthdays and the ordinary Sunday lunches, not just the big occasions. It works both ways too, with a second pair of hands close by as everyone gets a little older. It is a personal decision in the end, but it is one of the most common moves we handle, and most people tell us afterwards they wish they had done it sooner.

Not at all. A good number of the moves we do every year are for people in their sixties, seventies and beyond, often relocating right across the country to be near family. The trick is to let someone else do the heavy lifting and the packing, so the day is about arriving rather than carrying. That is exactly the part we take off your hands.

The sooner the better, especially for a long-distance move with a set completion date, as those dates fill up quickly in busier months. As a rough guide, a few weeks of notice gives everyone room to breathe. If your dates are still up in the air, that's fine. Get in touch and we will pencil things in and firm them up later. For costs, tell us a bit about your move and we'll send you a fixed written quote within the hour at /quote.

Yes, and on a long-distance move it is one of the most popular things we do. We can pack the whole house, just the awkward and fragile bits, or anything in between, whatever suits you. You can read more about our packing help. Tell us what you'd like included and we'll fold it straight into your written quote.

Yes. The same small in-house crew that surveys your move is the crew that loads it, drives it and unloads it at the other end. There is no handing over to anyone else along the way, so the people who packed your china are the people who carry it back through your new front door.

Before, every time. Decluttering before you move means you pack and pay to move fewer things, and you unpack into the new home with only what you want. Sorting after the move just means carrying the clutter to a new set of cupboards and dealing with it there. Do the hard sorting in the weeks before moving day.

Give yourself about six to eight weeks and work backwards from moving day. Start with the slow rooms that hide the most (loft, garage, spare room), then work through the everyday spaces, and leave the final week for packing what's left. A little most days beats one exhausting weekend.

Begin with the deep-storage areas: the loft, garage and any spare room. They hold the things you've forgotten you own and need the most thought, so tackling them early stops a last-minute scramble. The everyday rooms (kitchen, wardrobes) are quicker and can wait until the bigger spaces are done.

It can be. A lighter, smaller load is often quicker and simpler to move, so clearing the clutter first is worth doing for the cost as well as the calm. The only way to know what your move will cost is to tell us what you're actually taking and get a fixed quote within the hour.

Use a four-pile method: keep, sell, donate or skip. Keep what you've used in the last year or that has a real job in the new home; sell what has genuine resale value and is worth your time; donate the good, usable rest; and skip (recycling where you can) anything broken or worn out. Decide fast, because the longer you hold an item the more reasons you invent to keep it.

Not always, but it often helps more than people expect. A one-bedroom flat holds more than it looks, and stairs, parking and the state the old place must be left in all add time you may not have planned for. If your load is small with easy access, a man and van may be plenty. If there are stairs, a lot to pack, or a longer distance, a full service is usually worth it. Tell us the detail and get a fixed quote within the hour.

More than it looks while everything is still in place. Once the wardrobe, the kitchen cupboards and the space under the bed are emptied into boxes, a one-bedroom home fills a surprising amount of van. That is the single most common thing first-timers underestimate, which is why a car rarely does it in one trip.

Get boxes and packing materials in early rather than the day before, and pack a first-night box you keep with you: kettle, mugs, phone charger, bedding, loo roll and any medication. Confirm where the van can stop at both ends, and leave time to clean and empty the old place, especially if it is rented and a deposit depends on it.

It depends on the load, the access and the distance. A man and van suits a compact move with straightforward parking and few stairs. A full removals service is better when there is more to move, stairs or a lift-less flat, or a longer journey, and when you would rather hand over the packing too. We will tell you honestly which one your move needs.

Tell us what you are moving, where from and where to, whether there are stairs or awkward access, and how much packing you would like us to do. From that we give you a fixed price, and no move is too small to quote. Get a fixed quote within the hour.

There is no single hardest age, because every child is different. Toddlers and pre-schoolers often find it unsettling because they cannot fully understand what is happening, while school-age children may feel it most keenly because they are leaving friends and a familiar school behind. Babies tend to cope well as long as their routine stays steady. The key is to match your approach to your child's age rather than expecting one plan to fit all.

Explain the move in simple, concrete terms and repeat it often: the new house, the garden, and that their bed and toys are coming too. Let them help pack their own toys so they feel involved, keep a box of their essentials with you rather than in the van, and above all keep their daily routine, feeds, naps and bedtime, as normal as you can either side of the move. Reassurance that the important things are coming with them matters more than any detail about the house.

There is no single right answer, and it depends on your circumstances. Some families prefer to move while pregnant so the new home is settled before the baby arrives, while others would rather not take on a move in late pregnancy or the newborn weeks. Whenever you move, plan to have help on the day so you are not lifting and carrying, and let a removals crew handle the heavy work.

It varies from child to child. Some settle within days, while others take longer and have a few wobbles along the way, often somewhere between a few weeks and a few months. Rebuilding their routine quickly, unpacking their room first and exploring the new area together all help them feel at home sooner. If a child seems to be struggling for a long time, keep talking to them and give the new normal time to take hold.

The safest option for babies and toddlers is to have someone they know look after them away from the move, or in a quiet, gated room out of the loading route. Moving day means open doors, heavy furniture and a van ramp, so keep small children well clear of where the crew are carrying things. Keep them fed, watered and occupied with a bag of snacks and toys, and set a clear rule about which areas are busy and off limits.

Friday is by far the most common moving day in the UK, mainly because completing on a Friday gives you the weekend to unpack before work starts again on Monday. Because so many people want it, Fridays in the busy season are booked up weeks ahead.

With a fixed-price mover like us, no. The price is the same whatever day you choose. We quote a fixed written price based on the size, distance and access of your house removal, with no busy-day surcharge. The real benefit of a midweek move is better availability and a calmer day, not a lower bill.

Be wary of the idea that one day is always cheapest. A genuine fixed-price removals company quotes on the job itself, not the day of the week, so the day should not change the number. Get a fixed quote and compare like for like rather than chasing a 'cheap day'.

As early as you can. Fridays fill first, so the moment your completion date is confirmed, let us know. See our guide on when to book a removal company for the full picture.

Both work, and the right choice depends on your family. A summer-holiday move means no missed lessons and time to settle before September, but summer is the busiest season so dates go early. A term-time move usually has more dates free and a quieter house on the day, at the cost of the school run if you are changing schools. Sort the school place first, then pick the window that fits it.

Not on its own. Moving to a new address does not automatically transfer your child to a nearby school. You apply separately, either through the normal admissions round for a September start or through an in-year application to the council covering your new home. Do this before you fix a moving date.

Contact the council that runs the area you are moving to, not your current one, and ask about their admissions process and deadlines. For a September start you apply in the normal round the year before; to move schools at another time you make an in-year application. Councils usually ask for proof of your new address, so keep that to hand.

The calmest moves happen when children spend moving day somewhere else, with family, a childminder or a holiday club, while we load and drive. Pack a labelled essentials box for the first night with pyjamas, a favourite toy, chargers and snacks, and we will load it last so it comes off first. Older children can help with safe, simple jobs if they want to.

Yes. The school summer holidays are the most popular window for family moves, so it is our busiest stretch of the year and the best dates fill quickly, especially Fridays and month-ends. Once your date is clear, get a fixed written quote within the hour so the day is yours.

For most moves, yes. A fixed written quote tells you the exact cost before the day, so traffic, stairs or a slow load do not add to your bill. Hourly billing leaves those risks with you. We only quote fixed prices, and you can get yours within the hour.

Not for the job you described to us. The only reason a fixed quote changes is if what needs moving changes, for example a lot more to shift than we were told, or access we could not have known about. If that happens we talk it through and re-quote in writing. We never add surprise charges to the final invoice.

Not always. We can quote smaller moves accurately from a good description of the property, the access and what you are taking. For larger homes we offer a free survey, in person or by video, so the fixed price is as tight as possible with nothing guessed.

With a fixed quote, an overrun is our problem to manage, not an extra line on your bill. As long as the move matches what you asked us to do, the price we agreed is the price you pay, however the day runs.

It depends on the size of your home, the access at both ends and any extras like packing or storage, so we do not quote a fixed figure online. After a quick survey we give you a fixed written price within the hour, and it does not change on the day unless the job does. You can ask for a quote here.

The drive is a couple of hours or so on a clear run, but the day is really shaped by loading, London parking and the unload. Most single-property moves are done in a day. We will give you a realistic plan once we have seen what is going.

The congestion charge and ULEZ apply to the vehicle on the roads it travels, not to you personally, and both are published costs set by Transport for London. We build the practicalities into your plan so there are no surprises on the day.

Yes. With us the same crew handles both ends. Nothing is passed to a depot or a different team halfway, which keeps your belongings safer and the unload quicker.

As early as you can, especially in summer when dates fill fast. Once you have a completion date, get in touch. If your date is still moving because of a chain, we can usually hold a provisional slot.

Sherborne is in Dorset. Its DT9 postcode and its position right on the county line, a couple of miles from the Somerset border, mean it is often searched as 'Sherborne, Somerset', but the town is and always has been in Dorset.

It suits people who want a real market town with a station, good schools and a lot of character in a small space. It is not the cheapest part of Dorset, but it offers a genuine town centre you can live around without a car for the everyday, in exchange for prices above the quieter corners of the county.

Yes. Sherborne is on the West of England line, with a direct train to London Waterloo, which is a large part of why the town attracts people leaving the city for more space.

Regularly. We work the town from our Shaftesbury yard and Yeovil base, and we plan access for the honey-stone terraces, the abbey close and market-day parking before the day rather than on it. Tell us your addresses and dates and we will send a fixed written quote within the hour: get a quote.

Yes, and it is how most moves in a chain work. Your sale and purchase complete on the same day, and you move once the keys to your new home are released. The main thing to plan for is the wait between handing over one set of keys and collecting the next.

There is no fixed time. Keys are released once your solicitor confirms the purchase money has arrived, which depends on transfers moving up the whole chain. Late morning to mid-afternoon is common, so it is best not to promise anyone a firm arrival time at the new house.

Your goods stay safely loaded in the van while you wait, usually parked nearby. If there is a chance of an overnight delay, arrange storage in advance rather than on the day. Our crew stays with the move and unloads as soon as the keys come through.

Midweek completions can feel calmer, as solicitors and banks are less stretched than on a busy Friday. We looked at this in our piece on why Friday is everyone's moving day. Whichever day you choose, book early so your slot is secured.

A survey is not required, but it makes your fixed quote accurate and lets us plan for waiting time and access at both ends. We can do it in person or by video, and you then get a fixed quote within the hour with no hourly charges on the day.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the width, how far apart the passing places are, any low bridges, fords or gates, and the surface. Where a large vehicle cannot safely reach the door, we park it somewhere wider and shuttle your belongings the last stretch in a smaller van. We work this out before your move so it is never a moving-day surprise.

Not for the sake of it. Your price reflects the real job, which is why we look at the access as well as the inventory before we quote. If a lane means we need to shuttle or allow a little extra time, that is built into the fixed price you agree up front, with no hidden extras on the day.

That is normal for period homes and we plan for it. We measure the awkward items against the tightest doorway and staircase, take apart what needs taking apart, and protect floors and beams as we go. Now and then the sensible route for a large item is through a wide window or the garden, and we will tell you that in advance rather than find out on the doorstep.

It helps a great deal. A quick look at the route, parking, turning space and the tightest doorway, in person or by video, is what makes a fixed quote accurate. On rural moves the access is the part most likely to change the plan, so a few minutes beforehand is well spent.

We work from our Shaftesbury yard and cover villages across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire, including the lanes around Shaftesbury, Mere, Gillingham, Sherborne and the wider Blackmore Vale. If you are not sure whether we reach your village, just ask when you get in touch.

We are biased, but the people we move here rarely look back. Dorset offers a slower pace, market towns with real high streets, a long stretch of coast, and open countryside within reach of almost anywhere in the county. Most of our retirement customers tell us they wanted somewhere calmer that still had a community around them, and that is what Dorset tends to give them.

There is no single right time, and one advantage of a retirement move is that you are often not tied to school terms or a work start date. That freedom lets us plan around you rather than around a deadline. If you have a preferred week, tell us early, because the calmer midweek dates get booked up through the busy summer months.

Yes. Our packing service can handle as much or as little as you want, from the whole house down to only the fragile and awkward items. For a downsize it often helps to have us pack while you focus on deciding what comes with you. We bring the materials and wrap everything properly.

We do. A lot of retirement moves are long-distance, with people coming down from cities or other counties. The same crew handles the whole long-distance move from start to finish, so nothing is handed to a stranger halfway. Tell us where you are moving from and we will build the plan around the distance.

Gently. A house someone has lived in for decades needs time and patience, not a stopwatch. We give the packing the space it needs, work at a pace that suits you, and treat sentimental items with real care. If it helps, we will do a proper survey first so the day itself is unhurried and everything is planned in advance.

Work in reverse order of how often you use things. Pack the items you can manage without for a week or two first, such as the good dinner service, spare glasses, seasonal bakeware and cookbooks. Leave the everyday plates, mugs and the kettle until last so the kitchen stays usable while you pack around it.

Wrap each glass and plate individually in clean packing paper rather than newspaper, as the ink transfers. Stand glasses upright and pack plates on their edge instead of in a flat stack, because both are far stronger that way. Fill every gap in the box with crushed paper so nothing can shift, and mark the box fragile on the top and sides.

Yes. Turn the freezer off the night before so it has time to defrost, and leave the door open with towels down to catch the water. Run the food down in the weeks beforehand rather than moving a full freezer, which is heavy and can leak. Let both the fridge and freezer stand upright for a while at the new house before switching them back on.

Yes. Our packing service covers the whole kitchen, or just the fragile items if you would rather pack the rest yourself. Trained packers bring the right boxes and materials and wrap, box and label everything properly. You can add it when you get a fixed quote within the hour.

Pack a box you keep with you rather than loading it on the van: the kettle, a few mugs and teaspoons, tea, coffee, milk and sugar, a couple of plates, glasses and sets of cutlery per person, a sharp knife, a pan, washing-up liquid, a tea towel and bin bags. It means you can make a hot drink and a quick meal the moment you arrive.

Summer is the peak, and August is usually the busiest month of all. The school holidays, better weather and property chains all trying to complete before September push a large share of moves into July and August. Within that, Fridays and the end of the month are the most requested slots.

As soon as your date is confirmed. In summer the most popular days, especially Fridays and month-end, are claimed well in advance, so the earlier you get a quote and confirm, the better your chance of keeping your first choice. Tell us your date and we will send a fixed written quote within the hour.

Friday. Most people want the weekend to unpack before returning to work, and completion funds often clear towards the end of the week, so Fridays fill first, especially in summer. A midweek day is usually much easier to book at short notice.

Often yes, particularly on midweek days. Fridays and month-end dates go first, but if you can be flexible on the exact day there is usually room to help. Send us your details and we will quote within the hour and tell you honestly what we can do.

Your fixed quote is based on the size of your move, the distance and the access at both ends, so the figure is set before you commit. Tell us your move and your date and we will send the quote within the hour.

It depends on volume and distance rather than the number of rooms. A single-item collection starts from £55, a studio or single-room move starts from £180, and a full studio or one-bed house removal starts from £600. Tell us the pickup, the drop and your three biggest items and we will put a fixed price in writing within the hour.

Not always. If the load is genuinely small, you have a helper and nothing you own is irreplaceable, a hire van will do. A man and van makes sense when there are stairs, when you are moving alone, or when you want your things covered while they are in transit. Ours carries £2.5 million public liability and £50,000 goods in transit per load.

Yes. This is the most common problem in a first rental move. We can move your things into containerised storage at our Shaftesbury yard, from £20 a week for a half container, and deliver them to the new place when it is ready. There is no minimum term beyond the first week, and storage can be quoted alongside the move.

As soon as your dates are confirmed by a contract. Summer is the busiest stretch of the year for removals, and Fridays and month-ends fill first because that is when tenancies turn over. Most small moves within about 25 miles of our Shaftesbury yard can still be slotted same-day or next-day when there is space, but do not rely on it in July and August.

No. Stair carries are included in the fixed price, so a third-floor walk-up does not attract a surcharge. Tell us about the stairs when you ask for a quote so we can send the right number of crew, and the price we put in writing is the price on the invoice.

Yes. At Marley Moves the crew who survey your home are the crew who load the van and unload it at the other end. Nothing is passed to a stranger on the day, so nobody has to be re-briefed on your access, your fragile items or your dismantling. You get your fixed quote from the people who will do the work.

Some do. Many of the names you find online are booking agents who pass the job to whichever team is free that day, especially in the busy summer season. It is worth asking any company directly whether the crew who quote are the crew who move you, because the answer varies a lot across the trade.

Because no single team then owns your move from start to finish. The people who quoted have not seen your home, and the crew who arrive were not told what to expect. It also muddies who is responsible, and whose insurance applies, if anything is damaged. An in-house crew keeps all of that with one accountable team.

You should always check. When a move passes through a chain of subcontractors, it can be unclear whose cover applies if there is a problem. Our own work carries public liability insurance up to £2.5m and goods in transit cover up to £50k per load, so with us there is never any question about who stands behind the job.

Our own small, in-house crew, the same people across Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire and on long-distance moves the length of the country. We do not hire day labour when we get busy. The team who start your move are the team who finish it.

Some do, we do not. We place your furniture, rebuild the beds and put every box in the room it belongs to, so nothing heavy is left for you. Emptying the boxes into cupboards is left to you, because where things live is a personal decision and it is better made without a crew waiting.

Yes. Anything our crew takes apart to get it out of the old property is put back together at the new one, and beds are the first thing we rebuild rather than the last. Flag any awkward or unusual piece at the free home survey so we plan the right time and tools for it.

Kettle, mugs, tea, coffee, milk, loo roll, hand soap, a towel each, phone chargers, the wifi router, medication, a small first aid kit, a change of clothes and bedding for every bed. Keep it in your own car rather than the van so it is never buried behind forty other boxes.

Label by room name rather than by floor, and write it on the top and one side of each box so a stack can still be read. Tell the crew the room names at the new property before unloading starts. If we do the packing, boxes are labelled by room and contents as they are filled.

That is common with a chain or a delayed completion, and it does not have to hold up the move. Part or all of your belongings can go into secure storage and be delivered on to you afterwards. Mention it at the survey so the quote covers both legs rather than being reworked later.

Most will, and it is worth asking. Furniture dismantling is an option you can add to a Marley Moves booking, and reassembly at the new address is part of a standard house removal: beds rebuilt, sofas in position and dining tables back together before the crew leaves. Say which pieces need it at the quote stage so the right crew size and time are booked.

Yes, unless you have been told otherwise for a specific piece. Loaded furniture is much heavier than it looks and the weight shifts as the piece is tilted on a stair turn, which is what strains drawer runners and carcass joints. Take glass shelves and glass tops out too, and wrap them separately.

Blankets on hard surfaces, stretch film on upholstery, and corners and feet protected first. Do not put tape directly on polished wood, leather, veneer or paint, because it can lift the finish when it is removed. On a Marley Moves job the crew wrap the furniture, film the sofas and lay floor and door protection as standard rather than as an extra.

Often, and that is usually the better option. Chipboard and cam lock joints lose a little grip each time they are dismantled and rebuilt, so an older flat-pack wardrobe may not go back together square. If the piece fits through the doorways whole, move it whole. If it does not, decide before the day whether rebuilding it is worth the effort.

Name it before you are quoted. Pianos, safes, marble tops, American style fridge freezers and genuine antiques change the crew size, the kit and sometimes the vehicle, and they are handled under specialist removals. Marley Moves carries goods in transit cover of up to £50,000 per load and up to £2.5 million public liability, so high value pieces are worth declaring.

Crockery and glassware, by a distance. Plates, bowls and glasses are thin, they are usually packed last when everyone is tired, and they are often stacked flat rather than on edge. Wrap each piece on its own, stand plates upright in a small box, and fill every gap so nothing can slide.

It depends on the cover in place and on who packed the item. Our goods in transit cover is included at up to £50,000 per load and applies to what we pack and load. Boxes packed by the customer are usually treated differently under removals policies, so tell us if something you have packed yourself is fragile or valuable and we will handle it accordingly.

We do. Sofas, chairs, mattresses, tables and anything with a polished surface are wrapped in removal blankets in the room before they are carried out, then strapped inside the van so they cannot shift on the road. You do not need to buy or supply blankets.

No, leave the large items to us. Your time is far better spent on the boxes, because that is where breakages actually happen. If you would rather not do the fragile packing either, add our packing service to the quote and we will take care of the glassware and the china for you.

The kitchen, every time. It holds the most fragile items, the most awkward shapes and the things you still need on the morning you leave. Start it early, keep a separate box of what you need for the last two days, and pack the glassware last so it never ends up underneath anything.