We send thousands of parcels every single year and each one goes on its own journey from the moment it’s posted.
From the darkest depths of the mail box, to postal bags, aeroplanes and vans, a parcel sees an incredible amount of the world on its way to its destination.
Here we take a look at just what a package might see on its trip from A to B.
First of all, a parcel needs to be wrapped. From brown jiffy bags to wrapping paper or plain envelopes, there are plenty of options.
Paying for postage is vital to making sure a parcel is delivered without a hitch and that means attaching the necessary postage.
Of course, if your parcel is going by courier then additional charges may be incurred. These would need to be paid before the transport of any packages takes place.
It’s then time to post a parcel or have it collected.
It’s at this point that a parcel experiences its first taste of the back of a delivery van. Some will have friends in the form of other parcels stacked in the back, while others will face a lonely journey to the sorting office.
For longer distance trips, the parcels might be loaded on to a plane, ready for the next stage of their trip. A package will be transported from a sorting office to an airport before being loaded on to a courier plane.
Here, a package gets to see the world from a great height and this is possibly the most exciting part of the journey (assuming the parcel doesn’t hate flying!)
Should no longer journeys be required one the plane lands, the parcel will make its way to another sorting office where it will be readied for delivery.
A courier will then pick up their daily schedule of deliveries, of which a parcel may the first, last or somewhere in between.
The courier will then register the items they have, and set off on their merry way...
While the darkness of the back of the delivery van is not too exciting, the views on offer for the driver as he weaves his way across the country are a lot more exciting.
From the urban sprawl to the middle of the countryside, delivery drivers have seen nearly every location, come sun, snow and rain!
At which point a package is signed for, or left in a safe location, such as with a neighbour. It’s journey is complete!
Well there you have it, the journey of a parcel from the moment it is wrapped to the point of delivery – a journey that could take in many different parts of the country (or countries if posting internationally!)