The Postal Museum and Mail Rail

In London even the least interestingly sounding museums are created in a super engaging and interactive way. The Postal Museum is no exception. The biggest fun is obviously the underground ride in a tiny little train on the same tracks that for decades Royal Mail used to deliver letters across the city. It’s 15 minutes long and if you start here, you learn the last part of the history on this stretch, so I suggest starting with the exhibition in the other building. Here you learn that it was Henry the 8th who first set up a postal service for himself and that it was here in the UK where the first stamps were introduced. For me the biggest curiosity was the pneumatic post which I though only exists in the movies. The last room is quite emotional. It shows a story of Gairsoppa a British India ship drowned by the Nazis in 1941. Among the war supplies and other goods it was carrying a big number on letters. Recovered only in the recent years, the treasures are still being conserved, here we can see a part of a truly thrilling story, in letters. 

The 'postal museum and mail rail' is a great way to spend an afternoon. At £17.05 for adults the price is possibly more than you'd expect but this comes down to an incredible £6.25 if you have the National Art Pass. 

You'll first be guided out of the museum, across the road, to the Mail Rail. This was the highlight for me. A ride on a tiny tube running through the old Rail Mail passages that connected the major London hubs and helped post get around more efficiently than being driven across a congested inner city. If you're 6' 5", like me, then it is a little bit of a squeeze but well worth it for the 15 minute ride (which does include stops to watch short videos in old abandoned sorting stops).

After the ride you are taken through a short exhibition about the Mail Rail with lots of interactive areas for the children (and grown ups who love trains!). It is then time to return to the Postal Museum.

The museum itself takes you on a journey through time, exploring how the postal service was created and how it evolved to what we recognise today. It's not the longest but it keeps you engaged well and it again well designed for younger visitors too. 

If you haven't had enough, between Tuesday and Saturday you can also pop into the Discovery Room, which if free to enter, where you can delve into the archives, microfilms and reference library. It is well worth a visit on its own!

This is one not just for the kids, but for the whole family! It is definitely on the pricey side for a fairly small venue, but the amount of history and the interactivity means that there is so much to do and see packed into a small space! And hey your ticket price is contributing to the preservation of an extremely vital (if you go you will be told why) function for the past century! 

The exhibition is split into two parts:

1. The museum (similar to standard museums) with a number of activities that really get you involved (think dressing up as postal workers from different eras, or creating your own digital stamp etc.) I must say I never received that digital stamp in my email though... 

2. The mail rail which is a short but cool ride underneath the tunnels that used to transport mail. It is not for the claustrophobic at all, but it is a highly unique experience and one that will be hard to match. Kids will definitely love it and will remember it for a long time. The augmented reality used on the videos shown at each stop is very well done and helps to bring life to what could have been an otherwise monotonous ride.

Overall it is definitely an interesting day out for the family and I would recommend it!

The highlight is definitely the Mail Rail, no matter your age. The narration and projected images are slightly corny, but endearingly so. The tunnels themselves, and the history associated with them, are fascinating. But the train compartments are small, so they're not a good bet for someone with claustrophobic tendencies.