Poste Restante

As Liveaboards we do not have a home on land. One of the things that we had to arrange was an address for our post to be sent to; despite this so-called "paperless world", a surprising number of companies still send things through the post rather than making them available on-line. Sometimes it is also necessary to provide paper proof of identity. e.g when hiring a car. Yes, credit card and mobile phone bills can be printed out from the internet and we do so, but we also receive bills, statements, receipts and invoices through the post. I expect you can think of other "papers" and magazines that you would need posted.

So we have an address - and our friends keep in contact via email regarding what arrives for us through their letter box. The post that we need sent on to us, that cannot wait until we see them, is packaged up and sent to the nearest post office we identify that will take "Poste Restante" mail.

Although POs are "required" to accept poste restante by the Post Office, not all comply due to "storage problems". Mostly this is sub-post offices that are a franchise. All main Post Offices seem to comply, but you do need to phone ahead to check. We use the Post Office Branch finder for the address and we have put the phone numbers for the sub-POs on the relevant page. Otherwise, contact the PO Help line 02074 902888  or this 08457 223344 (N.B. some mobile phone providers charge for 08457 numbers)

So we have created this list to help any of you that are in the same position. It does involve a bit of planning to make sure that you are in the right place at the right time, but POs will keep the mail for 2 weeks before returning it. Full instructions are on the Post Office website.

We will update it as we discover more or find they no longer exist. If you too know of any to add or delete, please do let us know, by adding a comment to this page or the relevant waterway's entry. Thanks!

P.S.: Some boating businesses will take in mail for you - but NEVER assume, always ask. The same applies to friendly pubs and other land based friends who may be near your planned destination.