Furthest Royal Mail Journey for a Letter in the UK

[Butts]

I wonder what the furthest journey a letter could make in the UK is ?

Would it be from somewhere on The Scilly Isles to the most Northerly address in The Shetland Islands and how long would it take ?

How would it get there - Road and Air ?

For 60p First Class thats got to be a bargain

 

[transmanche]

Would it be from somewhere on The Scilly Isles to the most Northerly address in The Shetland Islands and how long would it take ?

How would it get there - Road and Air ?

That was the subject of a Top Gear race a couple of years ago.



(Spoiler: The Royal Mail won.)

 

[Butts]

That was the subject of a Top Gear race a couple of years ago.



(Spoiler: The Royal Mail won.)

That was to Orkney not the Shetland Islands but gives some insight

 

[telstarbox]

Which air routes do Royal Mail regularly fly mail on? Do they always use passenger flights or are there some dedicated mail-only flights?

 

[Butts]

Which air routes do Royal Mail regularly fly mail on? Do they always use passenger flights or are there some dedicated mail-only flights?

I believe they have a hub at East Midlands and have a small fleet.

Some BA Planes used to have a small Royal Mail Logo near the rear call sign as they transported mail don't know if they stilldo.

 

[transmanche]

Which air routes do Royal Mail regularly fly mail on? Do they always use passenger flights or are there some dedicated mail-only flights?

They do use dedicated planes - some even in Royal Mail livery. I think East Midlands Airport is a bit of a hub.


Titan B733 G-ZAPV by vaughaag, on Flickr

 

[starrymarkb]

Mail only flights. Usually operated by Titan and Jet2 Cargo 737 Classics. (Example pictured here)

I can't speak for elsewhere but from Exeter Titan go to Stansted and Jet2 to East Midlands usually departing around 11-11:30pm from Exeter. You can usually spot them on Flight Radar around that time (I usually hear them go out if they overfly the city)

 

[Butts]

They do use dedicated planes - some even in Royal Mail livery. I think East Midlands Airport is a bit of a hub.


Titan B733 G-ZAPV by vaughaag, on Flickr

I'm sure I've seen Royal Mail liveried planes at EDB - Scotland has got to be one of the obvious destinations for RM Air services.

 

[starrymarkb]

I believe they have a hub at East Midlands and have a small fleet.

Some BA Planes used to have a small Royal Mail Logo near the rear call sign as they transported mail don't know if they stilldo.

BA have the contract for international mail (and yes the new 787 and A380s do have the Royal Mail logo by the Registration) Most long haul BA flights will have at least 1 container of mail onboard.

Titan Airways operate the aircraft in Royal Mail colours

 

[Butts]

Mail only flights. Usually operated by Titan and Jet2 Cargo 737 Classics. (Example pictured here)

I can't speak for elsewhere but from Exeter Titan go to Stansted and Jet2 to East Midlands usually departing around 11-11:30pm from Exeter. You can usually spot them on Flight Radar around that time (I usually hear them go out if they overfly the city)

Is this Exeter jaunt done for speed or is it more economical than sending it up by road ?

 

[starrymarkb]

Speed. At that time of night it's 45 mins to EMA or STN, a truck would be looking at around 4-5 hours. Also Exeter handles mail from Cornwall, Devon and Probably a big chunk of Somerset and Dorset (Penazance to Exeter by truck would be 4-5 hours on it's own!)

And here's the EDI-EMA - http://fr24.com/EXS12A
And EDI-STN - http://fr24.com/EXS10J
And BFS-EMA - http://fr24.com/EXS1C

 

[Butts]

Going back to the most southerly postbox in England to work out my original question I am led to believe it is at Lands End. Is that further South than the Scilly Isles - my geography must be askew

 

[starrymarkb]

Going back to the most southerly postbox in England to work out my original question I am led to believe it is at Lands End. Is that further South than the Scilly Isles - my geography must be askew

Will probably be on the Lizard

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Bear in mind that mail doesn't always follow the most logical route; in the old days a local letter posted in a town would be sorted within that town.

Now... well.... a local letter in Epsom will be taken to Feltham, sorted there and then returned to Epsom a day or two later for delivery! Mail from Epsom for further afield will reach the PRDC via Feltham and, I am told*, one other centre en route... :roll:


*By a local postie.

 

[Eagle]

Will probably be on the Lizard

Most of St Mary's and all of St Agnes are south of the Lizard.

This is the southernmost postbox in the UK.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The small postbox in Haroldswick on the isle of Unst in the Shetland Isles must be a contender for the most northerly place to post a letter in Britain.

 

[Butts]

Most of St Mary's and all of St Agnes are south of the Lizard.

This is the southernmost postbox in the UK.

So if a letter was posted at this St Agnes Post Office destination Unst in The Shetland Islands how would it get there ?

Ferry to the mainland and then what - would it arrive in a day ?

 

[starrymarkb]

So if a letter was posted at this St Agnes Post Office destination Unst in The Shetland Islands how would it get there ?

Ferry to the mainland and then what - would it arrive in a day ?

The southern half...

Boat to St Marys
Skybus to St Just
Van to Truro
Truck to Exeter Airport
Flown to East Midlands

I suspect from there it will head for Edinburgh then either direct to Shetland or to Inverness then Shetland

Either way weather permitting (the Island boats/small aircraft are weather dependant) it should be next day!

 

[Greenback]

The southern half...

Boat to St Marys
Skybus to St Just
Van to Truro
Truck to Exeter Airport
Flown to East Midlands

I suspect from there it will head for Edinburgh then either direct to Shetland or to Inverness then Shetland

Either way weather permitting (the Island boats/small aircraft are weather dependant) it should be next day!

This sounds right to me. I am a bit rusty on the mail network having not worked for Royal Mail since 1997, but in the early 1990's mail from south Wales to the north of Scotland would travel by air between Cardiff Airport and Edinburgh Airport.

Dedicated mail aircraft were used for the route, and the Skynet (which is what the domestic airmail network was called) operated on a hub and spoke basis.

I can't remember the details, but my feeling is that all the mail for the islands like Shetland, Orkney and Hebrides would be sorted and flown on direct from Edinburgh Airport to the respective islands airports for further sorting and delivery to the main and outlying islands. Delivery would be expected to be on the following working day (including Saturdays) for first class mail.

Some of the TPO's I remember despatching mail to from Swansea Mail Centre in the early 1990's include:

South Wales TPO (obviously!)
Derby - Penzance TPO
Mid North TPO
Dover - Manchester TPO
East Anglia TPO
Cardiff - Glasgow TPO

(These were the destinations printed on the bag labels, and may not have been the official names of the TPO services themselves!)

 

[Butts]

If a letter posted in the Scilly Isles arrives in The Shetland Isles the next day that is certainly good value for money at 60p.

I wonder how many letters a year make such a journey - if any

 

[Greenback]

If a letter posted in the Scilly Isles arrives in The Shetland Isles the next day that is certainly good value for money at 60p.

I wonder how many letters a year make such a journey - if any

I doubt there would hav ebeen many even before the internet age! But on the flight from Exeter to Edinburgh there would have been all the mail form all of Devon and Cornwall going to the whole of Scotland (except, perhaps, for some fo the areas around the borders).

I always found the mails network fascinating. It came as a bit of a shock to em when I started in 1988 to learn that a second class letter posted in Fishguard, and destined for a couple of street away, came up to Swansea and was then sent back to Fishguard again!

In July 1993, all the west Wales first class letters also started coming to Swansea, when Carmathen stopped despatching first class mail.

Before mechanisation in the 1970's and 1980's, even the smallest sorting office would have despatched their own collections. The advent of automated sorting machinery made it cost effective to concentrate the work where the machines were introduced.

 

[Butts]

I doubt there would hav ebeen many even before the internet age! But on the flight from Exeter to Edinburgh there would have been all the mail form all of Devon and Cornwall going to the whole of Scotland (except, perhaps, for some fo the areas around the borders).

I always found the mails network fascinating. It came as a bit of a shock to em when I started in 1988 to learn that a second class letter posted in Fishguard, and destined for a couple of street away, came up to Swansea and was then sent back to Fishguard again!

In July 1993, all the west Wales first class letters also started coming to Swansea, when Carmathen stopped despatching first class mail.

Before mechanisation in the 1970's and 1980's, even the smallest sorting office would have despatched their own collections. The advent of automated sorting machinery made it cost effective to concentrate the work where the machines were introduced.

Forget e-mails there is no substitute for a real letter, I get most disappointed on days I receive no post. :cry: (excluding junk mail).

Did you have exposure to mail trains as they would still have been running when you started ?

 

[Liam]

The southern half...

Boat to St Marys
Skybus to St Just
Van to Truro
Truck to Exeter Airport
Flown to East Midlands

I suspect from there it will head for Edinburgh then either direct to Shetland or to Inverness then Shetland

Either way weather permitting (the Island boats/small aircraft are weather dependant) it should be next day!

Shetland mail goes through Aberdeen. AB and ZT postcodes are mixed in together until it reaches Aberdeen Mail Centre. There might be a chartered cargo flight from Aberdeen to Sumburgh, else it will go in the cargo hold of a passenger flight.

Royal Mail used to use RAF Kinloss for Highlands and Orkney Mail, then truck it to either Inverness Mail Centre for further sorting to local DO's or Inverness Airport onto passenger flights to Kirkwall. However, around the same time as Kinloss closed, Inverness Mail Centre was downscaled to a Delivery Office and Aberdeen now handles most Inverness/Highland mail. Glasgow Mail Centre handles the Inner Hebrides mail (Islay, Jura, Gigha, Mull, Coll, Tiree (PA postcodes)) Gigha and Mull will have all mail carried by road and ferry, second class mail will also go by ferry to the other islands. All Camlac ferries have a padlocked locker reserved for carrying mail. I assume Aberdeen now handles the Outer Hebrides (HS postcodes).

In Scotland there are only 4 main hubs. Almost everything by road goes into the Scottish Distribution Centre at Wishaw then to, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Mail Centre's, then to local DO's

All British Airways aircraft carry a small Royal Mail badge somewhere on the fuselage.

 

[transmanche]

AB and ZT postcodes are mixed in together until it reaches Aberdeen Mail Centre.

They must be, alphabetically, the first and last district codes!

 

[Liam]

I doubt there would hav ebeen many even before the internet age! But on the flight from Exeter to Edinburgh there would have been all the mail form all of Devon and Cornwall going to the whole of Scotland (except, perhaps, for some fo the areas around the borders).

I always found the mails network fascinating. It came as a bit of a shock to em when I started in 1988 to learn that a second class letter posted in Fishguard, and destined for a couple of street away, came up to Swansea and was then sent back to Fishguard again!

In July 1993, all the west Wales first class letters also started coming to Swansea, when Carmathen stopped despatching first class mail.

Before mechanisation in the 1970's and 1980's, even the smallest sorting office would have despatched their own collections. The advent of automated sorting machinery made it cost effective to concentrate the work where the machines were introduced.

There's a massive Amazon warehouse near me at Dunfermline, all their Yodel deliveries go to either Manchester or Droitwich for sort before heading out to there local delivery centres. So I order something from amazon, it might go from Dunfermline, all the way down the M74/M6 to Droitwich, back up to Edinburgh or Perth, then out for delivery...

 

[Butts]

There's a massive Amazon warehouse near me at Dunfermline, all their Yodel deliveries go to either Manchester or Droitwich for sort before heading out to there local delivery centres. So I order something from amazon, it might go from Dunfermline, all the way down the M74/M6 to Droitwich, back up to Edinburgh or Perth, then out for delivery...

I quite often drive past that Amazon "Dunfermline" place, I take it deliveries handled by Royal Mail and not a courier would enter the postal system in the normal manner.

 

[Liam]

I quite often drive past that Amazon "Dunfermline" place, I take it deliveries handled by Royal Mail and not a courier would enter the postal system in the normal manner.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think 1st and 2nd Class goes to SDC first, Special Delivery's will probably go to Edinburgh MC to get scanned into their network, if it's not done on site at Amazon.

Citylink does it best I think. One of their Aberdeen>West Midlands trunks goes via Glenrothes depot, where Scottish parcels are unloaded and put on other lorries for their other Scottish sites and the same on the way back North, so Scottish parcels tend to stay in Scotland.

 

[142094]

For a while 1st class mail in York would be sent to Leeds, before being sent further. There was a lot of protest from local councillors when Royal Mail said they would start doing the same with 2nd class and do away with Leeman Road sorting centre.

 

[Greenback]

Forget e-mails there is no substitute for a real letter, I get most disappointed on days I receive no post. :cry: (excluding junk mail).

Did you have exposure to mail trains as they would still have been running when you started ?

The only exposure I had was in sorting the mail into the fittings that were, sometimes, labelled with the name of a TPO, and making up bags of mail to be sent to that TPO.

I had the option to apply to work on the South Wales TPO, but in those days I enjoyed socialising too much to work permanent nights and spent time away from home, which was necessary on that particular run.

IIRC, you booked on at 1730 on a Monday and travelled passenger up to paddington, to work the train back to Swansea. You then worked the service up to London (booking on around 2110) on Tuesday and Thursday, working back on Wednesday and Friday.

I decided it wasn't for me! Most of those who worked the TPO were older gentlemen, but it was a sought after position for some because of the additional money in the form of Night Duty Allowance, and the subsisdence payments for being away from home. Once they got on the trains, very few came back into the office!

Shetland mail goes through Aberdeen. AB and ZT postcodes are mixed in together until it reaches Aberdeen Mail Centre. There might be a chartered cargo flight from Aberdeen to Sumburgh, else it will go in the cargo hold of a passenger flight.

Royal Mail used to use RAF Kinloss for Highlands and Orkney Mail, then truck it to either Inverness Mail Centre for further sorting to local DO's or Inverness Airport onto passenger flights to Kirkwall. However, around the same time as Kinloss closed, Inverness Mail Centre was downscaled to a Delivery Office and Aberdeen now handles most Inverness/Highland mail. Glasgow Mail Centre handles the Inner Hebrides mail (Islay, Jura, Gigha, Mull, Coll, Tiree (PA postcodes)) Gigha and Mull will have all mail carried by road and ferry, second class mail will also go by ferry to the other islands. All Camlac ferries have a padlocked locker reserved for carrying mail. I assume Aberdeen now handles the Outer Hebrides (HS postcodes).

In Scotland there are only 4 main hubs. Almost everything by road goes into the Scottish Distribution Centre at Wishaw then to, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen Mail Centre's, then to local DO's

All British Airways aircraft carry a small Royal Mail badge somewhere on the fuselage.

I knew I was a bit out of date! Thanks for the update!

There's a massive Amazon warehouse near me at Dunfermline, all their Yodel deliveries go to either Manchester or Droitwich for sort before heading out to there local delivery centres. So I order something from amazon, it might go from Dunfermline, all the way down the M74/M6 to Droitwich, back up to Edinburgh or Perth, then out for delivery...

I believe the Royal Mail has dedicated Amazon facilities? Or did I dream it? I suspect that the Manchester and Droitwich hubs are dedicated, do you know if that is correct?

There is an Amazon warehouse in Swansea, Apparently it is not a good place to work...

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Did you have exposure to mail trains as they would still have been running when you started ?

Many of us may have done things in our youth of which we would rather not be reminded.