Post Office has unveiled a list of its most romantic branches, celebrating its often-overlooked role as a romantic hub for Valentine’s Day gifts and letters.
“These Post Offices have been carefully selected and are some of the quirkiest, fun and most charming branches in Britain,” Kristian Latham, head of letters and parcels at the Post Office commented.
“A lot of people don’t realise how diverse the Post Office network is or how much of a role postmasters play at the heart of communities for events such as Valentine’s Day. We have post offices in churches, pubs, restaurants, chocolatiers, gift shops and florists, so these are places you can date, buy gifts and even marry in!”
Britain’s top five most romantic Post Office branches, selected on their charm, quirkiness and offerings, are as follows:
- RedH Bar, Haslemere Post Office – bar and restaurant.
- Castle Cary Post Office– premium florist.
- Birnam Post Office – Gift shop and tea-room offering breakfast, lunch and homemade cakes
- Barton Seagrave –high-end gift shop
- Blaby Post Office – Gift shop partnered with Thorntons
“Our post office is joined with our bar & restaurant, so you can have a drink, buy gifts produced at our distillery and then post them to your loved ones,” Andrew Robinson, Manager at RedH in Haslemere, said. “I’ve run our branch for a couple of years now and found it to be a winning combination for our regulars who are preparing ahead of Valentine’s Day”.
Kelly Annets, postmistress at Birnam Post Office which doubles up as the Chattan Tea Room and gift shop said: “I love this time of year and it’s a fantastic opportunity to decorate my business and bring some romance to an area which is already a popular hot spot for weddings. My gift shop will be very busy as we approach Valentine’s Day and I can always tell when a customer is on a first date in our tearoom from the way they look at each other.”
Dilesh Naran, postmaster at Blaby Post Office which is partnered with Thorntons said: “I’ve been running the Blaby branch for 17 years and our ability to personalise gifts for people’s loved ones has proved very popular in the run up to Valentine’s Day. Whether it’s a bath bomb gift set, heartwarming card or box of chocolates, I love helping customers to pick the perfect gift and I can provide the same level of support for online customers too through our new website.”
Dhaval Gosaliya, postmaster for Barton Seagrave which includes a high-end gift shop, commented: “I’ve been running our branch for six years and enjoy seeing the same customers coming in to buy and post gifts each year. We love to get involved with helping people to find the perfect card and gifts. This year we have taken great pleasure in helping our customers choose from our new range of high-end jewellery and accessories.”
The list is unveiled along a new research by Post Office, which found that the Brits feel it is more important than ever to show loved ones that they care this Valentine’s Day, as half say meaningful gifts which require greater thought have become more valued since the pandemic.
This has led to just under one in five (18%) to spend more on cards and gifts this year than they have done previously, with men likely to spend more than previous years compared to women.
Whilst 41 per cent plan to pen a card to their partner, one in six say they will send one to their family or friends (16%).
Younger generations reported the greatest enjoyment of Valentine’s Day with 16–24-year-olds liking it the most (43%). Whereas middle-aged Brits reported the greatest dislike of the day, with nearly a third feeling this way (31%).
