A visit to Tintagel and Lundy

Discovering Cinderellas in Devon and Cornwall

The MS Oldenburg, Lundy's passenger ship

Last week I went on holiday with my family. We stayed in Exmouth and used it as a base to explore Devon and Cornwall.

During the week we went to two places which may be of interest to all of you with knowledge of stamps and local postal services. I learned a few things about Cinderella stamps, which I didn't really know much about before. Lundy Island

On Wednesday we visited the island of Lundy. The island is in the Bristol channel and has a very long history. We mainly went because my parents are interested in wildlife and Lundy is very famous for its bird life. There is a large puffin colony in Lundy and it is also home to a large number of Manx Shearwaters (I didn't know what they were either).

We sailed to Lundy on the MS Oldenburg, which itself has a fascinating history. For a 66 year old boat it is in good order.

Lundy Island

Some of you will know all about Lundy's stamps. It probably isn't why you would go to the island because it would be a long and expensive trip just for a presentation pack, but they were a nice extra and something I thought I should write about. Lundy has been issuing stamps since 1929 and you can buy the more modern sets in the island's shop and post office. I bought a set marking the golden jubilee of the Landmark Trust, which manages the island. I thought these were quite nice and they showed island scenes. The three stamps on the bottom row show the Old Light (a Georgian lighthouse), the ferry port and St Helen's Church. I went to all of these. I also saw some puffins but I was not close enough to get a good photograph.

The Golden Jubilee set

It's important to say that these are not stamps as such. They are a category of Cinderella stamps called "local carriage labels". They pay for carriage from the island to the mainland. They are valid for postal use and I paid 75p each for some definitive stamps to send some postcards to my family - I didn't need to add any UK postage because this is covered in the price. Lundy's Post Office must have some agreement with Royal Mail.

The current definitive stamps have pictures of puffins.

2nd class definitive

I posted these postcards on the island. Lundy postboxes aren't red, they are blue. All the mail is collected once a day, stamped on the island and then sent to the mainland on the MS Oldenburg. I saw a lot of people buying stamps and sending postcards so I would imagine these have an appeal beyond stamp collectors.

Posting a postcard in a Lundy post box

There is also a postbox on the MS Oldenburg. On the way home I bought a postcard to send to myself. The advantage of posting mail on the boat is that it is handstamped by the crew with a very decorative postmark. On the minus side, it has to go back to Lundy's Post Office and so it takes a lot longer to reach its destination.

The Oldenburg postmark

There are a variety of local Lundy stamps on sale in the shop. My dad bought some older sets featuring Lundy wildlife (2010) and the 50th anniversary of the Oldenburg (2008). The sets are quite cheap, at least compared to Royal Mail!

Lundy is a fascinating place and is worth a visit if you like walking or wildlife. The local postal service is an extra attraction.

Tintagel Old Post Office

On the previous day we had been to Tintagel Castle. Some people think it was once the home of King Arthur. I don't know about that. We were in the village when we came across Tintagel Old Post Office, so of course we decided to go in.

Tintagel Old Post Office is managed by the National Trust. It has been used as a Post Office since Victorian times but the building is much older and was originally a 14th century house. Even now it is so much more than just a Post Office. It has a post room but also a house and a garden.

Tintagel Old Post Office

It is a very interesting building because of its long history and different uses over the centuries.

When you go into the Post Office you are given a small ticket. These can be date-stamped on the back to be kept as a souvenir of the visit.

Old Post Office ticket

The shop sells Cinderella stamps. I didn't know about this and neither did my dad, who normally knows a lot about Cinderellas. He had never come across these before. The stamps are for sale for 30p each, or you can buy a first day cover for £1.

I bought some to use on postcards.

These are not local carriage labels like the Lundy stamps. They do not provide any postal purpose at all. They are simply decorative labels, and very nice they are too. You can add them to your postcards and put them in the box outside the Post Office, and they will be handstamped with the "National Trust - Tintagel Old Post Office" postmark. You will need to add a UK postage stamp as well.

There are two stamps issued by the Old Post Office. You can see these on the postcards below (address has been removed). The first is self adhesive, while the second comes in sheets of 30 with lickable gum on the back. I think I prefer the second stamp. They're fundraisers for the National Trust and probably not real stamps as such, but for 30p they're not expensive and they will look good in my collection.

I don't know if I will start collecting Cinderellas but the Lundy and Tintagel Old Post Office stamps are definitely interesting. I didn't expect to be writing a blog about my holiday but I thought these were too good not to tell you about them!