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My wife's grandparents moved from the valleys to England just before lockdown and, as they knew the person who bought their house, left a lot of stuff in the garage.
The house is now being sold and we need to get their belongings.
Would we get turned around at the border?
My parents drove to their friends in Chepstow last week and didn't have a problem. They drove across the bridge
You'll be getting into a grey area. Non essential travel is not allowed. Eskays parents trip for example. If they had been stopped then they would have been likely sent back and possibly fined. There aren't border guards though so it is pot luck. Whether moving some furniture would be classed as essential if you did get stopped is another matter.
It's a grey area, but collecting belongings or risk losing them strikes me as fairly essential.
Enforcement depends entirely on Police resources of course
https://gov.wales/coronavirus-regulations-guidance#section-39239
To me that sounds like it’s not allowed. Unless I have misunderstood the house is only going on the market, and that it’s not sold.
My brother's been into Wales a few times for work and delivered and collecting some specialist kit to sites. His view was that he felt that he might have been stopped in his camper, but no chance in his works van.
I'd say if your folks paid a man with a van to do a job like that, then it's obviously work that can not be done from home.
Be that man and a van.
I'd say a slim-to-none chance of being stopped and turned around (had to make several trips across the bridge over the last few weeks myself but all essential work travel and can't even remember seeing any police let alone people being stopped). Your case doesn't really sound essential though unless the new owner is about to dumb the loft contents onto the street.
Sounds fine to me.
Reasonably essential job, with very low risk.
Hire a van, fill up before Wales, take food and drink with you rather than hit the local shops. Looking at infection rates in various parts of South Wales, that's for your local community's protection, rather than theirs.
Sound like an essential journey to me, times were stored during the tighter restrictions now they’re relaxed and the garage must be emptied it seems reasonable. Of course goes without direct to the house collect items without close contact to others outside your bubble and then back.
theres a specific exemption "to move house" in the Scottish regs I suspect it will be similar in Wales. Find the regs, (legislation.gov.uk) print off the relevant section (probably called offences and penalties) highlight the exemption. Put it in glove box, if stopped POLITELY explain what you are doing and if there is any doubt on the officers part produce the legislation.
We have a facility in Wales and our staff have been stopped travelling to that facility (legitimate essential work). They all have a letter from HR explaining what the facility is for and why that staff member needs to attend site. They have all been politely dealt with and left to complete their journeys. Anecdotally the people getting stopped are those in flash cars; and most have not even got as far as producing the letter - speak politely and non-confrontationally to the officer with a sensible reason for travel and off you go.
You'll more than likely be fine doing it, against rules, but these are being flouted more and more IMO. I know of someone who lives in Bridgend but has been visiting the Bristol Ikea...
Would we get turned around at the border?
No, there are no border check-points, there's in fact no obvious border for the majority of it apart from the Bridges of course.
I've never been stopped driving anywhere (I'm still driving a bit for work), I'm told if you want to avoid having a chat with the Police about your movements, avoid Service Stations, or using the A470 as it passes through Brecon / Storey Arms.
Saying that the Housing Market is officially still closed in Wales so there shouldn't be an urgent need to do it, as they wouldn't be allowed to sell, or even arrange viewings at the moment. Not that it seemed to stop the letting agent Letting my late FILs flat a few weeks ago.
I have seen videos of people getting stopped in chepstow by police and turned back if their journey was non-essential.
Sounds like your trip is low risk and likely okay but as above the housing market is still closed in wales so I'm not sure of the urgency.
I also wouldn't pop over to bridge to go mountain biking for example, I know a few people have and as well as the risk of getting stopped by police, they've gotten grief (understandably!) off the local riders, so I'd stay away for now.
Mother in Prestatyn would love to drive over to Wirral to see my sister, hasn't socialised with anyone since 23rd March, but she's paranoid about being stopped on the way over or on the way back.
I've got some annual leave coming up after a couple more shifts and I'd love to travel up to see her for a few days on the train and take my road bike to climb Gwaenysgor's insane ~33% cat3 hill, along with some other tasty climbs around there such as the ~1400 foot "Road To Hell" heading south from Denbigh... But neither of us think it's within the rules.
The only way I can think of doing it "legally" would be to "bubble" with my sister in Wirral for a few days and then cycle over myself to see mother in Wales before returning to Wirral before day is over.
Or simply see if things change next month, when I've more leave booked.
I descended an off road hill today onto a road and accidentally went 20m over the border Into wales. I didn’t get stoped or fined by the police unsurprisingly and there was obviously no one there stopping me.
I’d say for something like that you’d be fine.
Looking at infection rates in various parts of South Wales, that’s for your local community’s protection, rather than theirs.
The stats in Wales are pretty representative of any area with a large population. But here in Swansea (ABMU health board with a catchment population of 400,000 approx) we had less than a handful of new confirmed cases last week, and no deaths. A friend who works in one of the local hospitals said that they had 6 Covid patients last week.
On the other hand a house nearby had its roof blow off by lightning last week. What are the chances, eh?
Wales has significantly more cases per 100,000 population than anywhere in England. I recall that, by local authority, the valleys had some very high rates - 6-700 per 100,000. Welsh boroughs had most of the top ten spots at that point.
It's good news that the number of confirmed cases is dropping everywhere, including Wales, but the level of community infections lingering on is still likely to be higher than neighbouring regions.
Having said that, chances of getting it anywhere are probably as low now as they're likely to get this summer. Still more than getting struck by lightning, statistically speaking 🙂
We've just had a letter from the Councillor for the town, who's been in touch with the police, to say that it is OK to go and collect the stuff.
Straight there, load up, straight back..no stops on the way.