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@spindrift
I've just had my bike shipped 2000 miles.
I used Parcel Hero but it was carried by TNT, you can track it the whole way.
It was packed in a large triple-layer cardboard box from Send Bike on Amazon, pedals off, bars turned, front wheel off. cardboard was wedged down the sides and bubble wrap protected the parts. It arrived with damaged mudguards, bent handlebars and a buckled wheel. I paid €15 to true the wheel and the bent bars I can live with, but the force needed to bend handle bars must be pretty big, like maybe 300 pounds in weight stacked on top of the box.
Cost me £120 to ship. I can't get a bike as good as mine where I am and to get a UK bike shipped over would cost 40% of the cost of the ike in customs fees so I'm pretty happy. I just wish I'd paid £70 to carry the bike with me on Jet2 with much less chance of damage.
If you choose to do it I don't reckon any amount of packing would protect it fully from the way it's handled.