Post Building roof garden

The building previously operated as a postal sorting facility and its basement contained one of the Mail Rail stations. When the building was being converted into an office building, its planning approval came with the requirement that a rooftop public space be made available to the public and this has led to the creation of a 700m² (7,500 sq ft) rooftop garden.

Although isn’t much of a garden, it does have quite a few nice seating areas and would be a lovely place to visit on a sunny day.

While the rooftop is only on the ninth floor, you don’t need to be high up to get a great view, particularly when there aren’t many other tall buildings nearby. The building’s central location gives you an excellent vantage point over the West End, Bloomsbury, Holborn and The City. The roof garden directly overlooks the British Museum and it is a great spot to appreciate the immense size of this museum.

Visiting the Post Building roof garden

The Post Building is on New Oxford Street, only a five-minute walk from Tottenham Court Road tube station (on the Central, Elizabeth and Northern lines). It’s easy to miss so keep your eyes out for the small sign indicating the public roof garden.

The Post Building roof garden is open between 10am until either 7pm or dusk, whichever comes first. However, it is also subject to random closures for reasons like maintenance or poor weather conditions.

It is free to visit the roof garden but this involves speaking to someone at the building’s main reception desk, showing ID and going through security screening.

You’re also not allowed to bring large bags (there are lockers on the ground floor) and you can’t bring food up here either, which is a shame as it would be a lovely spot to eat your Sainsbury’s meal deal.

The roof garden is wheelchair accessible with stairlifts to get you between the different levels; however, the stairlifts are right on the edge of the building and not everyone will feel comfortable using them.