Courier service in Colchester and north Essex
A dedicated van and driver for your Colchester consignment, going straight from collection to the delivery address. Port deliveries at Harwich and Felixstowe, parts for a stopped machine, or documents for London, collected 24 hours a day.
- Harwich and Felixstowe landside
- Dedicated vans into Europe
- Signed proof of delivery
Colchester and the North Sea ports
Most towns of Colchester's size send their urgent freight inland. Colchester also looks east. Harwich International Port, with its ferry route to the Hook of Holland, is around 20 miles away along the A120, and Felixstowe, the UK's largest container port, is about 30 miles north-east via the A12 and A14. A lot of Colchester work involves getting goods to a haulier, a forwarder or a container packing warehouse before a deadline set by a ship.
Each job is one dedicated van and driver, collecting your consignment and driving directly to the delivery address. We confirm an estimated collection time at booking, worked out from the position of the nearest suitable van.
Getting goods to Harwich and Felixstowe
Ports work to their own clock. The sailing or the vessel cut-off cannot move, so the plan works backwards from the time the goods must be with the haulier or forwarder.
- Get the receiving details
Ask your forwarder or haulier for the exact landside address, the booking or job reference and the latest time they can accept the goods.
- Finish the paperwork first
Commercial invoice, EORI number, commodity codes and any export declaration should be ready before the van arrives. The customs agent handles the declarations.
- Book with the cut-off, not the sailing time
Tell us the cut-off when you book. We confirm an estimated collection time and plan the run around the A12 and A120.
- Signed handover
The receiver signs for the consignment, and you get the proof of delivery with their name and the time.
If your goods need to go all the way to the customer in Europe, our European courier service uses one dedicated van for the whole trip. The guide to sending goods to Europe by road after Brexit explains the documents you will need.
The town's own work
Business parks and industrial estates
Severalls Business Park, on the north side of Colchester near junction 28 of the A12, has offices, trade counters and light industry. The Whitehall Industrial Estate on the east side of the town, off Whitehall Road, mixes engineering firms, builders' merchants and storage. To the west, around Stanway and Tollgate near junction 26, are retail parks and trade units that send and receive stock throughout the week.
Typical Colchester jobs from these sites are a pallet that missed a network collection, a replacement part for a production machine, or materials for a building site elsewhere in Essex or Suffolk. Our construction courier page covers deliveries to sites with gate rules and delivery windows.
University, hospital and garrison
The University of Essex has its main campus at Wivenhoe Park, on the south-east edge of the town, with the Knowledge Gateway research and business park beside it. Research equipment, documents and exam material move between the campus and partner institutions. Colchester Hospital, on the north side of the town, is the main acute hospital for north-east Essex, and clinics and suppliers send equipment, records and properly packaged samples between sites.
Colchester is also a garrison town, and military sites have their own access arrangements. If your delivery is to a unit or contractor on a controlled site, give us the gate, the reference and a contact who can meet the driver.
Get a quote for this jobor call 020 4525 2039, any time
Roads and typical journeys
The A12 runs around the north and west of Colchester, linking the town to Chelmsford and London in one direction and Ipswich in the other. The A120 leaves the A12 east of the town for Harwich, and the A133 serves Clacton and the Tendring peninsula. The A12 is the road most likely to cause delays, particularly between Colchester and Chelmsford at peak times.
Approximate road miles from Colchester town centre; exact mileage depends on the addresses.
| From Colchester to | Approx. road distance | Main route |
|---|---|---|
| Harwich International Port | 20 miles | A120 |
| Ipswich | 20 miles | A12 |
| Chelmsford | 25 miles | A12 |
| Felixstowe | 30 miles | A12, A14 |
| Stansted Airport | 40 miles | A120 |
| Central London | 60 miles | A12 |
For Suffolk addresses and more on Felixstowe work, see our Ipswich courier page. Heading down the A12, our Chelmsford courier service covers mid Essex. When you are ready, request a Colchester quote or call 020 4525 2039.
FAQ
Common questions
Can you get goods from Colchester to a haulier at Harwich before tonight's sailing?
Usually, yes. Harwich International Port at Parkeston is about 20 miles away along the A120. Ferry departures are fixed, and the haulier's cut-off is earlier than the sailing, so tell us the haulier, the meeting point and the time they need the goods. Customs documents must be complete before collection, and we deliver landside to the point you are given.
We have pallets for a container being packed near Felixstowe. Can you deliver them today?
Yes. Felixstowe is roughly 30 miles from Colchester via the A12 and A14. Many containers are packed at forwarders' warehouses rather than on the quay, so give us that warehouse address, the booking reference and its delivery hours. We send a van sized for the pallet count; our pallet delivery page explains how many pallets each van takes.
Do you deliver to the University of Essex campus at Wivenhoe Park?
Yes. Give us the building, the department and the goods-in or reception point, plus a named contact and a mobile phone number. The campus is large and has its own internal roads and parking rules, so precise directions avoid the driver searching for the right entrance.
We are a food producer near Tiptree. Can you take chilled stock to a London customer today?
Yes. Tiptree is a few miles south-west of Colchester, and central London is roughly 55 to 60 miles away down the A12. Book a refrigerated van and tell us the temperature range, the number of cases or pallets and the customer's delivery window; we agree the exact range with you when you book. If the customer needs a temperature record on arrival, say so, as it depends on the vehicle.
Can you collect from Clacton, Frinton or the villages on the Tendring peninsula?
Yes. Clacton, Frinton, Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea and the villages in between are covered in the same way as Colchester itself. The A133 is the main road out and can be slow in summer, so give us the latest acceptable delivery time and we will plan around it.
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