Devon is a long way from the deep-sea container terminals and it has the most consistently difficult local access of any English county we deliver into. Neither of those makes it a problem — we deliver into Devon regularly and delivery is free — but both are worth being honest about up front. The motorway ends at Exeter. Beyond that everything is trunk road, and beyond the trunk road the county is famous for exactly the kind of lane that a loaded articulated lorry cannot negotiate.
Delivery to Devon is free: the price shown against a container is the total payable, with nothing added at checkout. Offload by HIAB or crane is agreed in writing before delivery.
Ports serving Devon
- Plymouth (Millbay and Cattewater)
- Teignmouth
- Exmouth
- Bideford and Appledore
Devon has working harbours but no deep-sea container terminal. Plymouth is a substantial port dominated by ferry and naval traffic; Teignmouth handles modest commercial cargo. In practice containers reaching Devon owners have entered the country at Southampton, Felixstowe or London Gateway and travelled west by road, which is simply how container distribution to the South West works and is already accounted for in the price you see.
Roads into Devon
The M5 ends at Exeter, and from there the A38 Devon Expressway carries traffic to Plymouth and the A30 runs west across the north of Dartmoor towards Cornwall. Both are good dual carriageway for most of their length. The A361 North Devon Link Road serves Barnstaple and the north coast from the M5 at Tiverton; it is single carriageway for much of its length and it is the only quick way into North Devon. The A39 runs the north coast, the A377 links Exeter to Barnstaple, and the A303 feeds in from the east. Beyond these the network turns into the lanes described above very quickly indeed.
Areas we deliver to in Devon
- Exeter
- Plymouth
- Torbay (Torquay, Paignton, Brixham)
- Barnstaple and North Devon
- Bideford and Torridge
- Newton Abbot and Teignbridge
- Totnes and the South Hams
- Tiverton and Mid Devon
- Exmouth and East Devon
- Tavistock and West Devon
- Okehampton
- Honiton and Axminster
Site access in Devon
Devon’s defining constraint is the sunken lane. Large parts of the county are served by roads set below field level between high earth hedgebanks, often single track, with bends that a rigid 16.5-metre vehicle physically cannot get round and banks that leave no room to reverse out of a mistake. This is not an occasional rural inconvenience here; it is the normal condition of the minor road network across the South Hams, Torridge, mid Devon and the fringes of both moors. Add steep gradients and it is common for a site half a mile from a good A-road to be unreachable by artic. Where that is the case there are usually options — a shorter rigid vehicle, a different approach, or offload at an accessible point — but they have to be worked out in advance rather than discovered by a driver at the end of a lane.
Check the approach against our guide to delivery access, craning and ground preparation before you order.
Planning permission in Devon
Devon contains Dartmoor National Park in full and a substantial part of Exmoor National Park, both of which are their own planning authorities with tighter control than the districts around them. It also has an unusual number of National Landscapes: the North Devon Coast, South Devon, the Tamar Valley and part of the Blackdown Hills. Between the two National Parks and the four National Landscapes, a very large proportion of Devon carries a landscape designation, and a container that would be unremarkable behind a barn elsewhere may need consent here. Check with the National Park Authority if you are inside a park boundary, and with your district council otherwise.
See also our guide to planning permission for a shipping container in the UK.
Delivery timing
Devon is a long road leg from the container terminals and the local access frequently needs planning, so this is a county where telling us the postcode and describing the approach early makes a real difference. The distance itself is our problem and is included in the price; the last half-mile is the part we need your help with.
Our general estimate is 7 to 10 days from cleared payment — an estimate given in good faith, not a guarantee.
Stock is held at third-party depots around the country, so a Devon delivery is despatched from wherever the right unit is. Viewings are by appointment — see our contact page.
Containers available for delivery to Devon
See what size you need and the condition guide.
Delivery across South West England
Devon sits within our South West England delivery region; all delivery areas covers the rest of the UK.
Request a quote with your postcode and a note on the final approach.