NEC Birmingham · B40 1NT · March · Four days
Crufts: tell us about the dogs
Crufts fills the NEC for four days in March, and a significant share of the people travelling to it are bringing a dog. That is not a footnote to the booking, it is the booking, and it needs establishing before anything else.
How many, what size, crated or not, and how long they will be in the vehicle. Two and a half hours each way with a dog is a different journey from two and a half hours with a passenger, and it has to be arranged rather than assumed.
What we need to know
Please raise this at the enquiry stage. It determines whether we can help and with what vehicle.
And what breeds or sizes
A pair of terriers and a pair of wolfhounds are not the same request.
We will usually need crated
For the dog's safety and everyone else's over a long journey.
Two and a half hours each way
Which needs planned stops, water and a realistic schedule.
Crates, bedding, grooming kit
Exhibitors carry a great deal. It all needs space alongside the dogs.
Kent to the NEC
Round the M25 and up the M40. A run we make regularly for exhibitions.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Each way |
|---|---|---|
| Bromley & Orpington | 136 miles | 2h 35m – 3h 15m |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 139 miles | 2h 40m – 3h 20m |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 142 miles | 2h 45m – 3h 25m |
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 147 miles | 2h 50m – 3h 30m |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 152 miles | 2h 55m – 3h 35m |
| Rochester & Chatham | 157 miles | 3h – 3h 40m |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 181 miles | 3h 25m – 4h 10m |
Exhibitors and spectators
Two entirely different bookings sharing a postcode and a week.
| Type | What it involves |
|---|---|
| Exhibitors with dogs | Crates, grooming kit, early arrivals and usually several days |
| Spectators | A normal day out. Straightforward, and often a single day |
| Trade visitors | The shopping is substantial. People leave with a great deal |
| Groups from a club | Multiple pick-ups across Kent, one vehicle |
| Tell us which | Because the vehicle and the timings differ completely |
Planning a Crufts trip
Ask us about dogs before you plan anything else
We would rather have an honest conversation in January than let someone assume and then discover otherwise in March. Tell us how many dogs, what size, and whether they will be crated, and we will tell you plainly what we can accommodate. It is a question we are asked every year and it is much better answered early.
A crated dog travels better over that distance
Two and a half to three and a half hours each way is a long time for a dog in a vehicle, and a crate is safer for the animal, for the driver and for everyone else aboard. Most exhibitors travel this way as a matter of course. It also means planning a stop, water and a realistic schedule rather than driving straight through.
Spectators have a much simpler day
If you are going to watch rather than to compete, this is an ordinary NEC booking: two and a half hours up, a day at the show, home in the evening. Our NEC page covers the venue itself and the general arrangements, and none of the dog logistics on this page will apply to you.
Everybody comes back with more than they left with
The trade stands at Crufts are enormous and people buy a great deal, from equipment to bedding to food in quantity. Worth mentioning at the booking stage if you expect to shop seriously, because it affects how much room we leave in the back.
Crufts questions
Dogs, exhibitors and spectators.
Can you carry dogs to Crufts?
Tell us at the enquiry stage how many, what size and whether they will be crated, and we will confirm plainly what we can accommodate. It is much better established early than assumed.
Do dogs need to be crated?
For a journey of two and a half hours or more we will usually need them crated, which is safer for the dog, the driver and everyone else travelling.
How long is the journey?
Around two and a half to four hours each way from Kent, on the M25 and M40. With dogs aboard we plan a stop and a realistic schedule rather than driving straight through.
What if we are just spectating?
Then it is an ordinary NEC day out. Two and a half hours up, a day at the show and home in the evening, with none of the dog arrangements applying.
Can you carry crates and grooming kit?
Yes, and exhibitors carry a great deal of it. Tell us what is coming so we size for the equipment as well as the dogs and people.
Is it a day trip or an overnight?
Spectators usually do a single day. Exhibitors are often there for several, in which case we drop and collect rather than running daily.
Will we need space for shopping?
Almost certainly. The trade stands are enormous and people buy heavily. Mention it and we will leave room.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking, including any additional stops planned for the dogs.
Shows and the midlands
Country and consumer shows.