New research reveals the hardest to reach locations for delivery this Christmas and the additional time and cost sanctions issued by couriers for parcels to reach loved ones on time
The top 24 most difficult locations for couriers to deliver parcels to this Christmas has been revealed, with the Isles of Scilly and regions in Scotland leading the charts.
Individuals planning to send gifts to loved ones in the Hugh Town area of the Isles of Scilly [Postcodes TR21 – 25] the Outer Hebrides [Postcode HS], Highland, Moray [Postcodes IV 1-56], the Highlands [Postcodes PH 30 – 50], Renfrewshire [Postcode PA80] and the Shetland Isles [Postcodes ZE 1-3] not only need to plan their festive deliveries further in advance, but they will also need to fork out extra fees to ensure parcels reach loved ones on time.
Couriers Yodel and DPD advise of an additional 5 and 3 – 5 working days respectively to complete deliveries to these regions, with DPD charging an additional £21.50, Amazon requesting £18.95 and Hermes £2.40.
Those trying to reach loved ones on the Island of Guernsey [Postcode GY 1 – 10], Isle of Man [Postcodes IM], Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire [Postcodes KA 27 – 28], Orkney Islands [Postcodes KW 1 – 17] and Perth and Kinross [Postcodes PH 10 – 26] have a similar challenge, but with Yodel only requesting an additional 1-day in delivery time.
Both Amazon and Hermes drop their additional delivery charges for Towns and Villages under the postcodes AB 30 – 32 and AB 41 – 43 in Aberdeenshire and postcodes G 63 and G 83 – 84 in Dunbartonshire, with locations in Carlisle, Angus & Dundee, Dumfries & Galloway, and Tees Valley free of additional time and cost sanctions, despite being under the top 24 hardest to reach locations.
Towns and Villages in Northumberland and Tyne & Wear, North Yorkshire, Carmarthen, and Pembrokeshire in Wales also made the list, which has been compiled by Quote Goat, an insurance, finance, and energy comparison site for both consumers and businesses.
Despite the additional time sanctions issues by the UK’s top courier services, the Royal Mail has advised deliveries to the listed remote locations will not be treated any differently this Christmas, with the last Special Delivery Guaranteed service provided on 23rd December, regardless of the parcel’s destination. However, the official Royal Mail site does state these times could be subject to change.
In discussing the research, Michael Foote, founder of Quote Goat, said: “Christmas is always an incredibly busy time for parcel delivery, and it’s not widely known what additional time and cost sanctions will be applied when trying to reach loved ones in more remote locations.
Although we very much expected areas like the Hebrides and Shetland Isles to be on the list, it was interesting to see how additional time and costs differed between locations and that areas in Pembrokeshire – a common UK holiday destination – also made the list.”
Compiled in November 2021, the full list of the UKs hardest to reach locations can be seen here: