Royal Mail has confirmed a full suspension of deliveries and collections across the vast majority of UK postcodes on Monday, August 31. The announcement affects customers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland, where no letters or parcels will be delivered or collected as the country marks the Summer Bank Holiday.
Which areas are affected?
In a statement, Royal Mail said: "There will be no deliveries or collections of mail in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland on Monday, August 31 (Summer Bank Holiday)."
Some Scottish postcodes will, however, still get mail delivered. Areas continuing to receive deliveries include: DG13, EH43-EH46, G, HS1-HS3, HS6, KA (excluding 6, 7 and 8), KW15-KW17, ML1-ML12, PA1-PA20, PA22-PA28, PA30-PA35, PA37-38, PA42, PA45, PA60, PH1, PH2, PH14, TD3, TD4-TD6, TD10-TD12, TD14 and ZE1-ZE2.
When does normal service resume?
For everyone else, the wait continues until Tuesday, September 1, when normal service resumes. Under its standard schedule, Royal Mail delivers letters and smaller parcels six days a week, Monday to Saturday. First Class items are typically delivered the next working day, including Saturdays, while Second Class post generally arrives within two to three working days.
When deliveries are running, posties can be out and about from as early as 7am right through to 4.30pm, giving recipients around a nine-hour window. Timing can vary depending on your local delivery route and how busy things are.
Parcel delivery times and future bank holidays
Parcels, in particular, can sometimes arrive even later, with Royal Mail's own guidance suggesting some packages may not turn up until around 6pm. During exceptionally busy periods, such as Christmas, or in more remote locations, deliveries can run later still.
Though Sunday is not officially part of Royal Mail's standard delivery schedule, some services such as Tracked 24 do offer Sunday parcel deliveries in certain areas.
Looking further ahead, the next bank holiday affecting postal services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland falls on Christmas Day, Friday, December 25. Collections and deliveries will also be suspended on Boxing Day, Saturday, December 26, and on the substitute bank holiday, Monday, December 28.
Scotland has several further disruptions before Christmas due to local public holidays. On Monday, September 21, no collections or deliveries will take place in the KA1-KA5, KA6-KA8 and KA16-KA18 postcode areas.
A wider set of Scottish postcodes — including G, KA9-KA15, KA19-KA30, KW15-KW17, ML1-ML12, PA1-PA13, PA20-PA28, PA30-35, PA37-38, PA42, PA45, PA60 and ZE1-ZE2 — will see services halted on Monday, September 28. Finally, posties covering the PH1, PH2 and PH14 areas will take their local holiday on Monday, October 5.
