Hidden London

SECRET SPOTS YOU SIMPLY HAVE TO DISCOVER

- CLAUDIA COCKERELL

The Postal Museum

15-20 Phoenix Place, WC1

As a child growing up in London I became slightly jaded by the big South Kensington museums. I went on interminable school trips to the Science Museum, spent hours traipsing around the Ancient Egypt wing of the V&A, and stared apathetically at the Natural History Museum’s animatronic T-rex as it roared in my face for the 12th time. I was a brute. In an ideal world I would never set foot on Exhibition Row again. The museums were too big, their contents too varied. I wanted tight curation! No crowds! I didn’t want museum feet!

The other day I discovered The Postal Museum in Clerkenwell and thought how much the young me would have loved it. Founded in 2017, it tells the story of the post and how it has evolved over five centuries, from horseback couriers to Royal Mail. It’s a family-friendly museum, but as a solo geriatric child I found there was much to be amused by. The highlight is a 15-minute ride on an underground railway network which was used to transport letters across London, called the Mail Rail.

All aboard the tiny train!