Last updated: 23 June 2023
The Postal Museum and the Mail Rail are the two most recent additions to the ever-expanding list of London historical and cultural attractions. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peak and get up close and personal with an important piece of London’s past that few were aware of… until now.
The ambitious Postal Museum project became a reality after it was unveiled earlier this week. The Postal Museum opens for visitors on Friday 28 July 2017, with the Mail Rail opening on 4 September 2017.
The Postal Museum
Branding itself the “first social network”, the museum aims to bring to life five centuries of the postal service and the impact it had on the entire country.
Converted from an old printing factory, the new museum site incorporates the Mail Rail and The Postal Museum located just near the Royal Mail Mount Pleasant mail sorting centre in Clerkenwell.
Guests pass through the newly created welcome space before entering the surprisingly vast museum which winds visitors through five brightly coloured zones, chronologically stepping through the history of mail.
Between displays, information boards, multimedia exhibits and the knowledgeable staff visitors can get answers to even the toughest questions. Have you ever wondered how mail was delivered during some of the world’s most significant historical events?
How was mail was delivered to soldiers in trenches during WW1?
Did the mail service stop when the bombs rained down on London during The Blitz?
There’s even a section on the Titanic where visitors can read about telegrams which were sent in the moments after the fatal iceberg collision. I felt like I was reading a series of tweets because the telegrams were a series of short messages providing updates. Updates that included the collision, the presumption that everything was OK, to the realisation that the Unsinkable Titanic was going to sink… a sobering read during your visit (the original telegrams exist in the museum’s archives but aren’t currently on display).
The hands-on museum provides interactive exhibits for people of all ages. The use of models and multimedia to tell stories like the lioness that escaped the circus and attacked a Mail Coach, or the history of the Post Horn. Adults and kids alike can dress up as a postman in the uniforms that have changed over the centuries.
There’s also a section for the code curious, where they can decipher Morse code at a 1930s writing bureau or write a message and send it through the system of pneumatic tubes that run across the museum’s ceiling.
Ever collect stamps as a kid? Perhaps you were after the rarest of them all. At The Postal Museum, there’s a priceless intact full sheet of the world’s first stamp, the Penny Black. There are only a few full sheets still in the world today, and they’re all held by The Postal Museum.
Did you know?
England is the only country in the world that doesn’t need to list its country on the stamp? The monarch’s head is all that’s needed. So it’s not surprising that the plaster cast of the Queen’s head has been reproduced over 220 billion times! The original is on display.
At a bare minimum, visitors should allow two to three hours for the museum alone. The combination of activities and fact can keep even the most restless adult entertained for hours.
The Mail Rail
The hotly anticipated Mail Rail, the centrepiece of the Postal Museum experience has finally arrived (opening on 4 September 2017).
There are a series of subterranean tunnels that you’ve likely never heard of, which criss-cross their way under the city for 22 miles from Paddington to Whitechapel since 1927. In its heydey, the network hub functioned 22 hours a day and employed 220 people of various trades (plumbers, engineers, carpenters and electricians) on hand ready to repair anything on the network before being closed.
Closing in 2003 after being deemed too expensive to maintain compared to road transport. The Royal Mail railway left behind tracks and tunnels that would lie dormant for decades, and with just 3 remaining staff to maintain the integrity of the tunnels and tracks.
In contrast to the original purpose of the Mail Rail, from 4 September, the railway will carry visitors along a dedicated track through the tunnels. Audio commentary throughout the glass roofed modern equivalent of a Mail Train, which is not dissimilar to a miniature Tube and will stop at two platforms with audio visual entertainment to provide context and bring the stations back to their 1930s prime.
The tunnels are much narrower than their Tube cousins, with the width of just 7ft in the narrowest part of the tunnel. That’s an average sized male stretching his arms fingertip to fingertip.
For riders, two brand new battery-powered “trains” will carry up to 32 passengers on a journey of 1km, 70 feet underground for about 20 minutes. Given the space constraints, realistically that number will be lowered to about 18 depending on size of riders. Able to carry up to 300 people per day, tickets will be timed to manage the demand.
After the Mail Rail ride, visitors will be able to visit the adjacent refurbished former engineers workshop. Display boards tell the history of the vast cavern with spotlighted stories on workers who gave much of their lives to the system. Original cranes, pulleys and platforms remain, alongside a Victorian pneumatic rail car, the predecessor to Mail Rail.
For those with a competitive spirit, there’s even more hands-on experiences including racing pneumatic cars using wheels. Or for the authentic experience dress up in a dust jacket and cap and sort mail in a replica of a real-life Travelling Post Office complete with shaking floor.
Additional tactile exhibits include shunting mail trains around a model size track and looking into the past on a Timescope which shows what the space looked like before the renovations.
Allow at least an hour for this section to get the most out of the experience.
Sorted!
This is kids play areas done well. Two dedicated areas for kids aged 0-8, here you can find everything a budding young postal worker could want in our hands-on mail-themed play space.
Interactive opportunities for kids to play postman in a mini neighbourhood, or weigh and sort mail in the office. Use pulleys, chutes, slides and trolleys to sort parcels.
Access to Sorted! is either via a dedicated ticket (£5) or a combined General Admission + Sorted! Ticket (£11.75). Entertainment for parents is in the form of comfortable seating, a coffee cart, designated toilets and changing facilities, lockers and parking for buggies.
The Essentials | The Postal Museum
- Where: Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DA
- Nearest Tube Stations: A good ten minute walk from Russell Square, Chancery Lane or King’s Cross/St Pancras Underground stations.
- Tickets:
It’s possible to visit The Postal Museum and not ride the Mail Rail. In my opinion, what’s another fiver for another 20 mins of unique fun. The Postal Museum is open from 28 July 2017 with the Mail Rail starting 4 September 2017.
| Adult | Child | Concession | |
| General Admission to The Postal Museum and Mail Rail | £16.00 | £8.00 | £13.00 |
| The Postal Museum only | £11.00 | N/A | £9.00 |
| General Admission plus access to Sorted! | N/A | £11.75 | N/A |
Sorted! Only | N/A | £5.00 | N/A |
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This does look fun, I’m going to have to tell my Dad about this as well, he used to work for the Royal Mail years ago, so he’ll find it very interesting. Have you been to Postman’s Park in the City, it’s just north of St Paul’s? It’s a small peaceful place, and has quite a moving memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice.Thanks for sharing
Really fun Janis! It might be nice to surprise him with a ride on the Mail Rail too? Yes of course Postman’s Park is just near St Barts, I really love the memorial tiles. Nice little hidden wonder of London that one 🙂
I love London’s museum scene, so it’s nice to know about two new spots to visit when we head back. Being in Australia, much of our postal history is very tied to the postal culture in London / Britain, and I’m really fascinated by it as my grandfather was a post master for 70 years in Hobart, so we grew up hearing his various stories about how mail delivery had evolved over the years. Every time I watch a war movie I actually do wonder how they got mail to the soldiers, so I’m glad to know the museums answer my nagging questions! Thanks for the heads up about the openings – so awesome that you had the chance for a sneak peak!
Wow Meg, I didn’t know that about your family. Is your grandfather still with us? Maybe you can show him some of the many posts and press releases on the Mail Rail and Postal Museum, it might be of interest. If you’re interested in going, be sure to get your tickets well in advance, they’re being snapped up like hot cakes at a fete!
Thanks for sharing this cool experience! I am ready to book my tickets for the Mail Rail and Postal Museum. I’m always looking for fun, interactive ways to engage my kids in learning – Mail Rail & the museum look like a winner.
Great news Nancy! You’re right, it’s a winner for fun and education. Please give us some feedback on your experience once you’ve visited!
That is a really cool museum. I got hooked on postal museums in Singapore. They have a nice small one with some interesting historical stuff. Stockholm has one too. Obviously, the London one is humongous in comparison. I would love to ride the train :). Thank you for sharing.
Fascinating Elena, I didn’t know about Singapore or Stockholm! Things you learn hey?!
The Postal museum is fascinating. The Mail Rail is something that brings alive the romance of the postal system of the last century. In these days of email and whatsapp communication, the museum would be a fascinating journey into the past.
Absolutely Sandy, an important piece of British history is now available for everyone to experience.
We love learning about history by visiting interactive museums like this! Both of these museums look really neat! The Mail Rail ride looks so interesting–I’d love to get a peek into the tunnels like that. Will have to check both of these spots out!
Great Jenna, let us know if you go, and what you thought of it!
I love that you can take a ride on the mail rail! Seems like such a fun but unique experience!
So unique! I don’t think there’s anything quite like Mail Rail!
I had no idea that this was even a museum. I\’d love to ride the mail rail. Such an interesting part of history!
Yep! The museum just opened Paige, Mail Rail coming in September. There’s still tickets available. *wink wink
I’m ready to book my ticket. The postal museum looks fascinating and a must-do while in London. Seems like a lot of thought was put into the exhibits and stories of the past, like the lioness that escaped the circus and attacked a Mail Coach?! The train ride and visiting the tunnels would be a highlight as well. Thanks for the thorough review.
Please let us know what you think of the museum and Mail Rail if you go Heather. Surely we can’t be the only ones to love it!
Thanks for sharing, that’s a pretty good price! Did you design your own stamp?
I did Michael! Stupidly I didn’t email it to the correct address so I have nothing to show for it. That’s a tip I should include in the post isn’t it? – Be sure to spell your email address correctly!
Looks like a pretty cool experience to ride those little trains! I’m a frequent London visitor but had no idea about this new museum! Thanks for sharing!
Well Kristof if you’re interested there’s still tickets available for the Autumn if you’re planning to be in London then?
So very cool! I’d be in line for the Mail Rail tour on my first day in London. Love the underground areas of urban centers.
Thanks Elaine, best to buy your tickets in advance if you can. London being London things sell out SOOOOO quickly!
This place looks pretty cool. I’m sure it is a lot of fun exploring the postal museum. Thanks for sharing this.
Very cool indeed Indraneil, thanks for your comment 🙂
Wow! this is such a cool place to check out!! i’d love to visit it once in London. Pinning so i don’t forget 🙂
Brilliant Baia, glad you’re able to pin this for later. We love Pinterest too!
Just wow! I\’m a huge history nerd and this looks like an absolute historical paradise. I\’m now dying to visit London just for this museum. Such an incredible trip through the past from the various wars to the Titanic. And completely love that they\’ve branded themselves as the original social media platform. Thanks for sharing this!
I loved the ‘original social media’ concept too, completely original, I’ve not seen that before. Highly recommend the experience Kate if you’re in town, book your tickets early 🙂
Now this I would love to do. But where does the rail go to? I know the old line used to run from Mt Pleasant sorting office (not far from Farringdon) to Paddington I think it was. I am actually interested in this. 😀
I can see you and Clare doing this Danik. The Mail Rail ride is actually a 1km loop so I suppose technically you don’t really go anywhere?! The whole track ran from Paddington to Whitechapel which is pretty darn impressive!
I’m so jealous! I wish the postal museum was around when I lived in London! It sounds like so much fun, and I’m a sucker for nostalgia, I still send hand-written letters.
Come back for a visit Katherine, I’m sure it’ll be standing for a long time to come.