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Original poster

Do you know where your nearest public telephone box is?

79 replies

Loubiemoo · 02/10/2021 16:44

Watching Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy atm and one of the characters goes and uses a telephone box. Got me thinking that I don’t actually know where my nearest is? I live in a village so not very big.

Last time I actually used one was probably in the early 90’s?

OP posts:
AlfonsoTheDinosaur · 02/10/2021 18:55

Central London.

RedMarauder · 02/10/2021 19:02

I have 3 within 10 minutes walk.

Apparently I pass two of them most days.

But then I'm in London...

Seeingadistance · 02/10/2021 19:11

I have no idea!

NoraLuka · 02/10/2021 19:15

I know of 3 within about 10 kilometres but they are all book exchanges. I have no idea where the nearest working one is, at a guess maybe in the hospital 25 kilometres away.

Bullsh · 02/10/2021 19:23

It's now a defibrillator and it's at the other end of the village.

NoraLuka · 02/10/2021 20:50

I was curious about this and looked up the nearest telephone box, apparently there are only 26 still working in the whole of France (where I live) and none of them are anywhere near me!

MustDust · 02/10/2021 21:01

The one in our village got lifted away last year. The same happened to the one in our nearest city not long ago too. I'm pretty sure I know where one is in the nearest town but that's a mile and half away, not much good in an emergency!

HarrisMcCoo · 02/10/2021 21:05

Think it's in the town centre. Hardly see anyone using one these days!

smallandimperfectlyformed · 02/10/2021 21:05

I'm in London, there's one outside my local church and tbh it's only been used for drugs I think. There's another one on the way to Sainsbury's past the petrol station and it's got a note on it saying noone uses it, BT are thinking of removing it and we should go online to register our disapproval if we think it should stay. Never seen it used!

bloodywhitecat · 02/10/2021 21:10

Not a clue and Google wasn't helpful either, the one in the village is a book exchange.

stayathomer · 02/10/2021 21:13

No and my phone died the other day when I was getting collected by dh and kids and I suddenly wondered if he wasn't in the place I assumed he'd be what I'd do!!!

EastWestWhosBest · 02/10/2021 21:15

The one that was near me went a few years ago.
I’ve looked it up and there are none in my town at all, which it crazy because it’s the largest town for about 20 miles.
The nearest one is an a village about 15 miles away.

Back about 20 years ago I would have always known where the nearest one was.

Hellocatshome · 02/10/2021 21:17

There is one at the end of my road, opposite the fish and chip shop. I'm not sure if it works though.

FWBNC · 02/10/2021 21:18

No idea! Off to Google...
But funny you should mention it! I was watch location location location & they were doing updates & in one of them it went back to a search Kirsty was doing & she didn't have any mobile coverage, so used a phone box!! It was a real blast of the past! & actually not that long ago- things have moved fast!

A friend & I travelled around Europe pre mobiles & the only way to contact home (NZ at the time) was from a phone box and between that & the time difference it was a right bloody mission! (& expensive!!)

I can't find out, how to find out!!

SunShinesBrightly · 02/10/2021 21:19

Yes, it’s a two minute walk away. It’s full of damp mouldy books.

purplesequins · 02/10/2021 21:19

no idea.
at the train station possiby

DerAlteMann · 02/10/2021 21:40

Yes, but I had to think about it. Ten years ago, I have known automatically.

SourMilkGhyll · 02/10/2021 21:46

Nearest one is 4 miles away.

Used to drive the teenagers past one very regularly, I asked them one day if they recognised the 'box' and they had no idea what it was.

SourMilkGhyll · 02/10/2021 21:48

To be fair to them though, they did know what an old fashioned red booth was though (even though it had been converted to a library. It was the modern ones they didn't recognise.

BakingOfTheFoodCats · 02/10/2021 23:06

Local town centre one mile away has a few actually but can’t remember seeing anyone using them anymore

LadyCatStark · 02/10/2021 23:27

I haven’t seen one in our village but there used to be one in our nearest city. I don’t know if it’s still there though, I can’t say ive noticed. We do have 3 defibrillators though in our very small village but they’re not in phone boxes. I do wonder what that says about our population!

Frannibananni · 02/10/2021 23:33

I can see one from my house, there aren’t as many now but I know the ones in my neighbourhood just from walking the dog.

Hen2018 · 02/10/2021 23:39

I imagine there must be one in our nearest town, 12 miles away. Ours has a defibrillator in now.

OhLordyWhatNow · 02/10/2021 23:41

I searched Google maps for my nearest BT phone box, apparently it's 23 miles away. Handy!

I live in a county in the South West.

Hen2018 · 02/10/2021 23:44

I’ve now googled and ours is 27 miles away. So that’s nice.