Man and Van in Wallisdown

Campus accommodation empties on a timetable, which makes Wallisdown unlike anywhere else we cover. For a few days either side of the end of term the halls are full of families with cars, one lift is serving a whole block, and the accommodation office wants keys back by a fixed hour. Booking a week ahead is worth more here than any other kind of planning, because the slots at the front and back of those days go first.

Purpose-built blocks have a sign-in desk, a service door and often a single goods lift, and none of it is yours alone on a moving day. We check where the van is allowed to sit, whether there is a barrier, and how far the door is from the lift before we arrive. On the controlled stretches of Wallisdown Road we take the nearest legal stopping point and keep the carry short.