Live loads on this route
There are no live loads from Ireland to United Kingdom on GigFreight right now. Loads appear here as soon as brokers and shippers post them. Meanwhile, browse the Europe board or post your own load.
Distances
- Dublin → Holyhead (ferry), then Holyhead → Birmingham: about 250 km
- Cork → Rosslare: about 210 km
- Holyhead → Manchester: about 160 km
- Holyhead → London: about 430 km
Transit time
Dublin → Holyhead takes roughly 3 to 3.5 hours by conventional ferry; most Irish loads reach central England the same or the next day.
Main ferry routes
- Dublin → Holyhead
- Dublin → Liverpool (Birkenhead)
- Rosslare → Pembroke Dock
- Rosslare → Fishguard
Typical freight
- Food and drink, including chilled and frozen (reefer)
- Pharmaceuticals and medical products
- Consumer goods
- Empty-leg backloads for UK hauliers
Tolls, bans and documents
Customs after Brexit
Since 2021 Great Britain and Ireland are on different sides of the EU customs border. Each load needs an export declaration on one side, an import or transit declaration on the other, and an advance safety and security declaration.
UK import controls and GVMS
Since 31 January 2024 goods imported directly from Ireland into Great Britain go through UK import processes, and each lorry or trailer checking in for Great Britain needs a valid Goods Movement Reference (GMR) from the Goods Vehicle Movement Service.
Cabotage in the UK
An EU-registered truck that arrives laden may do up to two cabotage movements in the UK within seven days of unloading; GOV.UK has the current rules.
Tips for carriers
- Line up the Irish return load before you sail out, so the truck does not come back empty.
- Reefer hauliers: Irish food exports often need temperature control — check the ATP class.
Questions
What does a truck need to sail from Ireland to Great Britain?
The customs declarations for the goods and a Goods Movement Reference (GMR) from the UK’s Goods Vehicle Movement Service, presented at check-in.
Is a load from Dublin back to England a return load or cabotage?
For a UK haulier it is an international return load, not cabotage.
Carriers and brokers on this route
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