London / Travel / United Kingdom

Day Out at The Postal Museum

The Postal Museum is a new heritage museum in Clerkenwell, London. It first opened its doors on Friday 28th July 2017 behind the Mount Pleasant sorting office which previously operated as one of the largest in the world.

At First Glance

The main entrance had a big sign on top of the building, so we easily spotted this. However, upon entering, we thought we had arrived at a cafe with lots of parents and little children. The main entrance housed the cafe and museum shop, so during our half term visit, it was buzzing! Behind this was the main exhibition area.

Main entrance of The Postal MuseumDay Out at The Postal MuseumGift Shop & Cafe at The Postal Museum

I wasn’t able to purchase tickets prior to our visit and therefore only got them on the day. This did not change the amount I paid, however, I would suggest you pre-plan and book in advance as the Mail Rail and Sorted! sections of the museum are timed activities. This meant that we stayed in the museum and surrounding areas for 4+ hours instead of the 2 hours that would have been plenty for a relatively small museum and a 2-year-old.


The Exhibition

The museum is well organised and provided many interesting information and artefacts about the history of GPO (General Post Office). If you really want to dig in and make the most of your trip there, I would recommend you go during nonschool holidays or weekends. Although we visited quite early in the day, as it was during the school holidays, it was full of parents and children, which made the museum quite noisy.

Dressing up at The Postal MuseumDressing up as Post Boy at The Postal MuseumA bombed George V Pillar Box at The Postal MuseumStory of delayed post at The Postal MuseumRoyal Mail Couch

The museum is very child friendly. In fact, so child-friendly that if you’re there to enjoy the peace you expect from a museum, then you would be sorely disappointed. I personally found the museum a very lovely place, but would have preferred if there was less reading (or if I went by myself!). However, they have managed to balance this out with some interactive displays. So as a parent, walking through ‘boring‘ parts of a museum with a toddler was made a bit more bearable when he was pre-occupied with big cats roaring or letters zooming pass in pneumatic tubes.

Before Air Mail - Map of the worldA Toddlers love for the Royal Mail Post BusA golden celebration for the UK and Royal Mail. 2012 OlympicsWriting a love letter on Valentines Day at The Postal Museum


Mail Rail

The Mail Rail Ride was the highlight of our trip. This was closed in 2003 and has been well preserved and maintained. The carriages originally only carried mail and has since been converted to carry people along a mile stretch along the London network. The underground ride is approximately 15 minutes and to those who are claustrophobic, this might sound like a long time to be cramped in such a small space. But I urge you to try this out, you will find out so much more about the postal system and what it went through over the decades.
Access is in a different building just a few minutes walk from the main exhibition.

Mail Rail at The Postal MuseumMail Rail Exhibit and resting area at The Postal MuseumWaiting for our Mail Rail Ride underground at The Postal MuseumBye Mail Rail!!! We had a great time today! So much that #JasperBean doesn't want to leaveHolding on in the Mail Rail Ride, of course it's an emergency! We're underground in a tiny tiny train!Mail Rail London RouteMail Rail Underground exhibits, at The Postal Museum


Sorted!

A 0-8 year old interactive play area in the Mail Rail building where children can dress up as posties. I would recommend it for 1 to 5 years olds, as the space is quite small and I think even 5 year olds would probably get bored pretty quickly.

Sorted! my shift at the post officeSorted! Sending my Valentine love to overseas family and friendsResting and reading area for adults and little ones at Sorted!Play area with sorting station, The Postal Museum Sorted!The happiest delivery driver you will ever meet! at Sorted!Sending love to Mummy, Daddy, Granny and Grandpa at Sorted!Second shift at the Post Office! A Postman's job is never done. Sorted! at The Postal MuseumParcel delivery by footA big boys job is never done! Block building my own city at Sorted!

Value for Money

I did find the admission fees a bit steep for such a small museum, especially when you compare it to the abundance of free good quality museums available in London. However, the Mail Rail Ride was worth it for the smile and neverending questions from my little boy. Experience is priceless.

General Admission (Mail Rail and Exhibitions)
Adult  – £17.05
Child – £10.45
Child with Sorted! – £11.95
Concession – £15.40
Disabled adult + carer – £17.05
Disabled child + carer – £10.45
Royal Mail Staff – No charge

Exhibitions only
Entry to all exhibitions including Accessible Mail Rail Show only.
Adult – £11
Child – No charge
Concession – £9
Disabled adult + carer – £11
Disabled child + carer – No charge

Sorted! The Postal Play Space only (45-minute session)
Child – £5

Open every day from 10.00 to 17.00

Location: 15-20 Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DA

Have you visited The Postal Museum before? Or is there anything like this in your city?

Thanks for reading and until next time…

Love, MsMamaBean x


Comments

20 February 2018 at 12:40 pm

Looks like a great day! #dreamteam



EmmaMc
20 February 2018 at 1:42 pm

That does look fun! Think my 3yo would enjoy exploring the museum – prices are quite steep though! #dreamteam



20 February 2018 at 6:19 pm

This sounds great! I’ve never heard of a postal museum but it sounds like a great activity to do with Kids! Fun and educational !



hal
20 February 2018 at 6:38 pm

this looks like such a cool place to visit – I wish they had something like this in the states where I live – ps I love your son’s winter hat – so cute!



20 February 2018 at 8:43 pm

A postal museum, in theory, sounds like one of the most boring inventions. But this looks adorable and I love how interactive the exhibits are! The open set up is also wonderful. If I’m ever that way, I may have to check this out!



Emily
20 February 2018 at 10:13 pm

It looked like you had a lot of fun! I never would have thought this was a thing, but it really is interesting!



Brenda Burns
21 February 2018 at 1:23 am

This looks like so much fun! I love the children’s area!



21 February 2018 at 4:04 am

oh my goodness!!! we have a postal museum here in Washington DC and it is NOT as cool as this! I’m super jealous! this looks like an amazing time!



21 February 2018 at 9:14 am

What a great day out! We will be definitely up for this! #familyfunlinky



22 February 2018 at 3:08 pm

I love snail mail. This would be such a fun place to visit.

xo
Taylor
http://www.reeseshardwear.com



22 February 2018 at 3:30 pm

What an adorable museum!!!



22 February 2018 at 4:07 pm

Your son is adorable, and anything with a train and costumes is a lot of fun! Great pics! #familyfunlinky xo



22 February 2018 at 5:21 pm

Aw this looks like so much fun! I had no idea this existed!



22 February 2018 at 6:35 pm

What an awesome day out! Looks like you all had a fab time. this is great to take the kids along to x



23 February 2018 at 6:23 am

I have never heard about Postal Museum but it looks like such an interesting place!



24 February 2018 at 9:46 am

Oh my children would have absolutely loved the interactive play area – they love that sort of thing. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a postal museum but it looks like a great day out. Thanks for joining us at #familyfun



25 February 2018 at 3:51 pm

I’ve not heard of the postal museum before! What a fab little find. It looks like a really interesting day out and that mail rail does look like fun. We might just have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing with the #DreamTeam x



26 February 2018 at 3:18 pm

What a cool museum! I’m not a kid anymore, but I so see myself going there! By the way, those adorable outfits just made my morning.



26 February 2018 at 3:48 pm

OMG I want to go here now! How cool! #travelin5years



Emily Anne
27 February 2018 at 1:57 am

Oh wow! This looks like so much fun!! I absolutely love museums especially interactive ones!



HighEnd Pennies
27 February 2018 at 4:47 pm

What a fun museum! Your family is absolutely adorable.



Corretta Cannon
27 February 2018 at 7:42 pm

How cool! Ill definitely have to check this museum out when I go to London one day!



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