Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Antarctica Antarctic Exploration Museum & Post Office

Antarctic Exploration Museum & Post Office

The best place to send your postcards home from Antarctica.

Antarctica

Added By
Annetta Black
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
Port Lockroy Museum & Post Office   Apcbg / CC BY 3.0
Port Lockroy post office   Butterfly voyages Serge ouachée / CC BY-SA 2.0
Penguins & Port Lockroy   Jitters / Atlas Obscura User
Kitchen   Tarmo / Atlas Obscura User
  Tarmo / Atlas Obscura User
  Tarmo / Atlas Obscura User
Port Lockroy abandoned in 1962   Harley D. Nygren
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located on remote Goudier Island on the Antarctic Peninsula, a former British research base now operates as a modest museum, gift shop, and post office.

The buildings first served as the base for the WWII "Operation Tabarin" in 1944, a British military mission to monitor enemy activities in the extreme south following Germany's airdrop of swastika-decorated leaflets across Queen Maud Land.

Researchers worked out of the base until 1962. They then sat abandoned from that time until restorations in 1996 under terms of the Antarctic Treaty, which declared the buildings Historic Monuments and required that they be renovated. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) undertook the restoration and then opened the site up to visitors during the Antarctic summer.

Port Lockroy was first discovered in 1903 by Jean-Baptiste Charcot's French Antarctic Expedition and was named for one of the expedition's backers. Of the six British Historic Monuments on the peninsula (Damoy, Detaille Island, Horseshoe Island, Port Lockroy, Stonington Island, and Wordie House), Port Lockroy is the only one fully restored.

Most of the current research revolves around the local gentoo penguin population and observing the impact of humans on their environment. Proceeds from rare Antarctic stamps and the gift shop pay for the upkeep of the buildings.

Related Tags

Exploration Museums Collections Dead Explorers Polar Week

Community Contributors

Added By

Annetta Black

Edited By

michelle, Blindcolour, Jitters, Tarmo...

  • michelle
  • Blindcolour
  • Jitters
  • Tarmo
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

November 5, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.ukaht.org/port-lockroy.html
  • http://www.antarctica.ac.uk//about_bas/our_history/stations_and_refuges/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Lockroy
Antarctic Exploration Museum & Post Office
Port Lockroy
Goudier Island
Antarctica
-64.816667, -63.5
Visit Website

Nearby Places

Cairn at Port Charcot

Antarctica

miles away

The Bar at Vernadsky Research Base

Antarctica

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Antarctica

Antarctica

Antarctica

Places 40
Stories 65

Nearby Places

Cairn at Port Charcot

Antarctica

miles away

The Bar at Vernadsky Research Base

Antarctica

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Antarctica

Antarctica

Antarctica

Places 40
Stories 65

Related Stories and Lists

The Loneliest Post Office

Podcast

By The Podcast Team

Letters from the Loneliest Post Office in the World

politics

By Andrew Avery

10 Post Offices Worth Writing Home About

List

By Isaac Schultz

Photographs of the Futuristic Antarctic Ice Station That Can Move On Skis

antarctic

By Anika Burgess

Chill Out at These 9 Antarctic Outposts

antarctic

By Eric Grundhauser

Related Places

  • Inside the museum.

    Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Museo Robert Brady

    An incredible little museum of interior design full of artifacts collected from around the world.

  • One of the museum’s dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

    Birchington-on-Sea, England

    Powell-Cotton Dioramas

    An English explorer's vast natural history collection has the first realistic dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

  • Bicycles in the Deke Slayton Space & Bicycle Museum. (Kiersten Gray/Atlas Obscura)

    Sparta, Wisconsin

    Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle Museum

    Small-town museum dedicated to outer space ... and bicycles.

  • Modern view of the Cape Royds Hut.

    Antarctica

    Shackleton's Antarctic Hut

    Nimrod Polar Expedition base, and home to hundred-year-old frozen whisky.

  • Oslo, Norway

    Kon-Tiki Museum

    Across the Pacific in a raft, a museum dedicated to Thor Heyerdahl's now legendary expedition.

  • Oslo, Norway

    Fram Museum

    Housing the famous Norwegian ice-defying 19th century polar exploration ship.

  • Key moments of the multi-day fight are recreated in the museum’s diorama.

    Monterrey, Mexico

    Museo de la Batalla de Monterrey (Battle of Monterrey Museum)

    This museum tells the story of a decisive battle in the Mexican-American War.

  • Play vintage pinball machines and video arcade games at the Appalachian Pinball Museum.

    Hendersonville, North Carolina

    Appalachian Pinball Museum

    This hands-on museum houses roughly 80 vintage pinball machines and arcade games.

    Sponsored by Henderson County Tourism Development Authority
Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.