Royal Mail Sorting Office

The last tour bus I was on drove straight past the sorting office and down to the ocean terminal. I soon sorted this out by visiting the office on foot.

It is worth it! The Sorting Office has a collection of post box decorations from every era. Don’t be tempted to pinch any of the paraphernalia, security is tight and replicas are reasonably priced in the gift shop. Don’t go on a Saturday though, the queue is always very long. Bloody tourists.

The fourth most common question I get asked as an Edinburgh resident is:

“Why does the royal mail sorting office on Brunswick road, just off Leith walk near the Tesco metro, have three huge red chimneys?”

Some people have suggested that the chimneys are red to match the royal mail, whilst others argue that the royal mail chose to be red as to match the chimneys. Well, you always get the the truth with wood, so let me begin.

The factory used to produce large quantities of lipstick, until demand dropped during the recession and the company went under. The Royal Mail moved to Edinburgh and fell in love with the factory, this was largely due to the fact that the chimneys looked like three elongated post boxes, that the chimney’s represented three dots from above.

I realise the majority of you already made the Morse code connection when you saw the photo. But, for those who did not:

dot dot dot = ‘S’

dash dash dash = “O” (the dashes are written on the roof)

Sorting Office

I have written a letter to the Tour Bus company stressing the importance of the Sorting Office. The Royal Mail’s fate is in its own hands now.