Same-day courier service in Exeter
Exeter is where the M5 ends and the A30 and A38 begin, which makes it the natural starting point for urgent work into Devon and Cornwall. We send a dedicated van that collects your consignment and drives straight to the delivery address.
- Where the M5, A30 and A38 meet
- Science park and airport sites
- Signed proof of delivery
Three roads out of one city
Look at a road map of the South West and Exeter is the knot in the middle. The M5 arrives from Bristol and the Midlands and stops at junction 31. From there the A30 heads west past Okehampton to Cornwall, the A38 runs south-west to Plymouth, and the A380 drops down to Newton Abbot and Torbay. For a courier, that means Exeter is both a destination in its own right and the gateway for almost every job heading further west.
It also means the M5 junctions around the city carry a huge amount of traffic. Junction 29 serves the airport, Skypark and the science park; junction 30 serves Sowton and the eastern side of the city; and junction 31 is where the motorway becomes the A30 and A38. Planning around them is most of the job.
We work in a simple way. You tell us what is going, where and by when. We find the nearest suitable van, confirm an estimated collection time, and the driver goes directly from your door to the delivery address with no other consignments on board.
Who sends urgent consignments in Exeter
Four groups send most of them: science and technology organisations around the Met Office and Exeter Science Park, the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and the university, law firms and the court centre in Southernhay, and the trade, motor and distribution businesses at Marsh Barton, Sowton and Matford.
Science, weather and technology
The Met Office headquarters is on the eastern edge of the city, and Exeter Science Park nearby houses research, data and environmental science businesses. Their urgent consignments are usually high-value and delicate: computing hardware, sensors, field instruments and prototypes. These go in a van with the load secured and the recipient named. Exeter Airport and the Skypark business park sit alongside, along with the new town of Cranbrook.
Hospitals and the university
The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital at Wonford is the main acute hospital for the city and East Devon. Medical supplies, loan surgical kits and correctly packaged samples move between it, other hospitals and laboratories. The University of Exeter's Streatham and St Luke's campuses generate research and departmental deliveries. Our medical and pharmaceutical courier page explains what senders need to prepare.
Offices and courts
Southernhay is Exeter's professional district, with law firms, accountants and property consultants, and the Exeter Combined Court Centre sits on Southernhay Gardens. Contracts, completion documents and court bundles often need to be somewhere specific by a fixed time. A document courier booking puts them in a van that goes nowhere else.
Trade, distribution and manufacturing
Marsh Barton Trading Estate, south-west of the city centre, is the city's largest concentration of trade counters, car dealers and light industry. Sowton Industrial Estate and Matford Business Park add distribution and wholesale. A builder's merchant short of a delivery, a motor dealer needing a part from another branch, or a wholesaler that missed a network collection all fit a same-day van. Where the cost of waiting is a stopped job or a lost sale, our urgent courier service is the usual booking, and for pallets the pallet delivery page explains how many fit in each van.
Getting a Marsh Barton collection away quickly
Marsh Barton's internal roads and the Alphington Road approaches are slow at peak times. Have the goods packed, labelled and at the front of the unit before the van arrives, and let us know if the collection is from a rear yard or a different entrance from the shop front.
How far is it from Exeter
By road, Exeter is roughly 33 miles from Taunton, 44 from Plymouth, 80 from Bristol, 87 from Truro, 160 from Birmingham and 170 from central London. Those figures are approximate: the actual mileage depends on the collection and delivery addresses at each end.
| Destination | Approx. distance | Main route |
|---|---|---|
| Taunton | 33 miles | M5 |
| Plymouth | 44 miles | A38 |
| Bristol | 80 miles | M5 |
| Truro | 87 miles | A30 |
| Birmingham | 160 miles | M5 |
| Central London | 170 miles | M5, A303 or M4 |
London is usually reached either up the M5 and along the M4, or across country on the A303, which is shorter but has single-carriageway sections, including past Stonehenge. We choose on the day.
Westward from Exeter
Jobs into Cornwall and the far west of Devon are often long. A collection in Exeter for Penzance is well over 100 miles of A30, which is a normal day's work. A collection in Leeds or Glasgow for delivery in Cornwall is a different matter, and may need a second driver or an overnight plan to stay within drivers' hours rules. We set that out at booking.
For the A38 corridor and the city at its end, see our Plymouth courier page. Our Devon courier service covers the rest of the county, from Barnstaple to Torbay.
FAQ
Common questions
We are on Sowton Industrial Estate. How quickly can a van reach the M5?
Very quickly: Sowton sits beside junction 30 of the M5, so a van leaving your yard is on the motorway within minutes once it is loaded. The slow part of most Exeter journeys is the approach to the junction at peak times, not the motorway itself. We confirm an estimated collection time when you book, based on where the nearest suitable vehicle is at that moment.
Can you take court bundles from a Southernhay firm to a hearing in Bristol today?
Yes. Bristol is about 80 miles up the M5, so bundles ready in the morning normally reach a Bristol court or chambers well within the working day. Tell us the hearing time, the exact delivery point and the name of the person who will receive them. Our legal courier page explains how we handle signatures and deadlines.
Can you deliver equipment to a unit at Exeter Science Park or Skypark?
Yes. Both are on the eastern side of the city near the airport and the A30. Science park buildings often have a single reception or goods-in point, so give us the building name, the contact and any delivery time window. Sensitive instruments should be packed in their transit cases; our IT equipment courier service suits servers, computers and lab electronics.
How do summer weekends affect a Saturday delivery to Exeter?
They can add a lot of time. The M5 south of Bristol and the junction 30 and 31 area are among the busiest holiday routes in the country on summer Saturdays and bank holidays. We work 24 hours a day, every day of the year, so if the deadline allows we may suggest an early morning or evening run to avoid the worst of it.
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