Packing to a market-day clock in the yards and folds

The old core is gritstone terraces, yards and folds with narrow frontages and no rear access, so every box comes out of one front door onto a street that is parked on both sides and tightly junctioned. On a market morning there is no kerb to work from at all. We pack the day before and aim the load at an early start on a non-market day, which is the difference between an hour of carrying and a morning of it.

Up on the Chevin side the problem changes shape. East Chevin Road climbs about 167 metres in a little over two kilometres with nowhere to turn, so a loaded long-wheelbase van approaches those addresses from the top and parks where it can get out again. Retirees coming down off those big stone houses into a flat near Market Place are the commonest local pack, and most of that work is fragile-only or kitchen.

What Otley packing service usually involves

Market days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, so old-core packs are timed to put the load on a Monday, Wednesday or Thursday morning wherever completion allows
The town-centre council car parks are short-stay, which is another reason the boxing is finished before the van turns up
Otley Bridge is a narrow seven-span stone crossing and the only real link to Newall, so anything going over it is packed to travel in as few trips as possible
Chevin-side addresses are approached from the top rather than up East Chevin Road, and the carry down a drive is worked out before we start filling boxes
Boxes are labelled by room and the fragiles marked, because a load coming out of a fold gets stacked on the pavement before it goes in the van

Where in Otley we work

Kirkgate and Bondgatenarrow-fronted terraces and folds where the market clock sets the loading day
West Chevinlarge stone detached houses, full packs approached from the top of the hill
Newallover the narrow bridge, so fewer and better-packed trips are worth planning for
Garnett Wharfenewer riverside housing on the old mill land, straightforward carries and quick packs
Weston and Cambridge estatesinterwar and post-war semis, the standard two- and three-bed family packs
Westgatehouses and flats heading out towards Menston, usually packed the day before

If your street isn't listed it's almost certainly still covered, Otley and the surrounding LS21 postcodes are all inside our normal working area.

Common Otley runs

Otley → Bradfordtwelve miles over Hollins Hill on the A6038, close enough to pack one day and load the next
West Chevin → Market Placethe downsizing move, a big stone house packed into a small flat
Otley → Guiseley or Menstona short Wharfedale hop, one full pack and a two-trip load

What it costs

The price follows the number of rooms packed and how much of it is fragile, with the loading day chosen around the market rather than charged for. There's no travel surcharge for coming to Otley from Bradford, and you get the price before we set off, not after. See how we quote for the full breakdown.

Frequently asked questions: packing service in Otley

Can you pack an Otley town-centre house on a market day?

Packing on a market day is fine — it is the loading that is not. Market Place and lower Kirkgate are given over to stalls on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and on the Friday and Saturday the stalls run up to the church. So we would pack then and put the van in on a quieter morning.

Do you pack houses up on the Chevin?

Yes, and we come at them from the top of the hill. East Chevin Road is a long steep climb with no turning space, so a loaded van has no business on it. Give us the address and we will work out the approach and where the van sits beforehand, so the carry is known rather than discovered.

How much of the house do I have to pack myself?

None of it if you would rather not. Most Otley bookings sit in the middle: we do the kitchen, the glassware, the pictures and the ornaments, and you do books, clothes and bedding at your own pace. That split suits the downsizing moves, where the sorting is half the work.