London’s newest heritage attraction, The Postal Museum and Mail Rail has confirmed it will finally be opening its doors to the public in the second half of July, with tickets due to go on sale shortly.
Celebrating the post’s unexpectedly quirky history, the Clerkenwell museum is split into five interactive zones taking visitors through five centuries of the mail before heading underground into the old engineering depot of the 100-year-old Post Office railway.
Here the Mail Rail miniature train winds through stalactite-filled tunnels stopping at the platforms of the original Mount Pleasant station, showing how the original social network functioned with post moving through the capital for up to 22 hours per day.
There’s also a separate children’s play zone, called Sorted! Visit postalmuseum.org for more details or to sign up to the newsletter.
Shakespeare comes back to life
Who better to guide you through Stratford-upon-Avon than William Shakespeare himself, the man who draws the majority of visitors to the historic town.
A new free app has been designed to bring the story of William Shakespeare’s New Place to virtual life, taking visitors back in time and discover more about the man, including his entrepreneurial streak and networking skills.
The app, England’s Historic Cities, will be available in a total of 12 historic towns and cities — including Stratford-upon-Avon — to bring local characters to life, providing specially created augmented reality content at the various heritage sites. An introductory video will also help set the scene and provide context.
The other destinations involved are Bath, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chester, Durham, Greenwich, Lancaster, Lincoln, Oxford, Salisbury, and York.
The app can be downloaded from the App store or Google Play as well as via www.historic-cities.com/stories
Take the plunge
The UK’s only Grade II listed lido is reopening on June 17 after a multimillion pound restoration programme.
The Saltdean Lido, near Brighton, has been called one of the finest remaining examples of modernist lidos in the country, and will have a refurbished 40 metre adult pool, as well as a new children’s paddling pool and changing room. Both will have heated water for the first time since it was closed in 1940.
There are also plans for a second phase project, restoring the main building to include community spaces, along with café/restaurant and events space by 2020, subject to council funding.
Opening times and ticket prices are set to be announced this month at saltdeanlido.co.uk
