What is Berkhamsted like to move in and out of?

Berkhamsted is a long, thin town squeezed into the valley of the River Bulbourne between the Chiltern slopes, and almost everything runs along that valley: the High Street, the Grand Union Canal a few yards north of it, and then the railway. The High Street is the old road from London to Aylesbury and, until the bypass opened, it carried all the through traffic. It is narrow, lined with Georgian and Victorian buildings, and has flats above the shops reached by a door between two shopfronts and a staircase, or by a yard at the back. Parking on it is in marked bays, and loading in front of a shop needs thought.

Between the High Street and the canal, and on the far side of the canal around Castle Street, Lower Kings Road and Gravel Path, are terraces and cottages of the nineteenth century, some built for the canal and the railway, some for the town's trades. Many open on to the pavement, and the streets between them are the width they were when a horse and cart was the largest thing using them. Berkhamsted is in Dacorum, so Dacorum Borough Council deals with any bay suspension.

What about the hills?

Both sides of the valley are steep. Roads climbing north towards the common and south towards Shootersway have semis and detached houses of the 1920s onward, often with a steep drive, a flight of steps from the pavement to the front door, or a garage below the house at road level. A lorry on a gradient is harder to load, heavy items have to come down steps, and some of the newer closes on the slopes were built with turning heads that a large lorry struggles with. Describe the approach in the enquiry: steps, slope, and whether a lorry can stop at the gate or has to wait at the bottom of the road.

Are there any older or protected buildings?

The centre of Berkhamsted is a conservation area and many buildings on and around the High Street are listed. Moving out of a listed house needs no permission, but a crew needs to know about an old staircase that cannot be scuffed, a low beam, or a front door narrower than a modern one. The castle ruins and the earthworks around them are in the care of English Heritage, and the homes on the roads around the site are reached by streets that were never meant for lorries.

What is Northchurch like?

Northchurch, at the western end of HP4, has an older village centre on the same road and canal, with cottages close to the street and twentieth-century estates behind. Beyond are the lanes to Potten End and the common, where houses sit down tracks and a lorry may not reach the door. Say if the house is reached by an unmade road or a shared drive.

Do I need to think about the canal?

Only if your home is beside it. Homes with the towpath at the front or the canal at the back have one approach, the road on the other side, so there is no second door for the awkward pieces. A few canal-side cottages are reached on foot from a bridge or along the towpath, and a crew will then be carrying some distance. Narrowboats moored at Berkhamsted are a different case; people do move on to and off boats, and if that is your move, say so, because the firm needs to know what the lorry can and cannot get near.

What about the newer homes?

Berkhamsted has grown along the valley and up the slopes with developments of the 1960s onward, and more recently with flats and townhouses on former industrial land near the station and the canal. The newer townhouses put the living space on the first floor and the bedrooms above, and the flats have the usual lift, fob and barrier questions. Tell the firm which it is.

What should a Berkhamsted enquiry include?

whether the home is on the High Street, in the terraces by the canal, up the hill or in Northchurch
steps, slopes and the width of the road outside
whether the building is listed or has anything a crew should protect
the floor and the access route, if it is a flat above a shop
your HP4 postcode and the date

With your consent the enquiry reaches one local removals firm that covers HP4, if there is one.

Who you will hear from

We pass your enquiry to one local removals firm, if one covers your postcode. It is never sent to a list of companies. If nobody covers your postcode, we will tell you and will not pass your details on.