Britain’s iconic red phone booths are still standing, but they are becoming less common. Locals, who have a nostalgic attraction to them, are finding other creative ways to keep them in use. Friends here report that phone booths are being turned into Wi-Fi hot spots, tiny lending libraries, coffee huts, and even defibrillator stations. People buy them on eBay and take them home to use as shower stalls and garden decorations. Prostitutes use them as a place to post their little ads. And some people actually use them to make telephone calls to other human beings. Have you heard of any other creative uses of the beloved red English phone booth?
For this bride and groom, a wedding photo with a red English phone box is a dream come true.
While prostitutes can’t openly solicit on the streets, they can post ads for their services — and phone booths are handy targets. This booth next to my hotel was full of ads each evening. Someone cleaned them off every morning, but the booth was full of ads again each evening.
For me, England wouldn’t be quite the same without its red phone booths.
Hi Rick, I agree England would not be the same without phone booths. My wife’s mother lives in Llandaff North, Cardiff Wales. Heidi tries to visit her mum each year she is 90 years young, still drives and is a great person. Heidi was born near Prague during WW2. Her mum at 19 years old had to escape Prague to Berlin with Heidi being 3 months old. When they hid Heidi was overdosed with drugs to keep her quiet. This was in June/July 1944. They went to Cardiff in 1950 on a return flight of the Berlin airlift.
Heidi became a nurse, married a G.I. and moved to Beaver Dam,
Wisconsin. Heidis husband passed away in 1989 and we met in 2002 and were married in 2003. I am the lucky one with with Heidi as my wife.
Heidi would ask you to do a program on Cardiff and the area nearby.
Greetings, Rick!!
Keep and eye out for a blue police call box!!! You’ll have something travels to write about that are out of this world!
Hi Rick, we’re vacationing in Tuscany right now and in Barga, there’s a red telephone booth right at the entrance to the old part of town. It’s a free lending library, but more importantly for the tourist, it’s a fabulous location marker to get your bearings.
I find it shocking and sad to see these old-fashioned symbols of England filled with sleezy ads for prostitutes every night. Perhaps they will have to be put inside of locked buildings at night to preserve their character. How about using them as charging stations for cell phones with dead batteries with a coin-operated system?
ATMs! We could not find the ATM (cash machine) in Conwy, Wales, until our B&B host pointed out that it was at the phone booth.
While traveling on one of your tours in Scotland this year, we noticed the red phone booths there on the street near the “Royal Mile”. We were very surprised that they still existed! We love reading your blog, and your children’s blog. Thank you
Last year we made sure we got pictures in the red phone booths in London! May be the last!
Hi Rick,
Just a suggestion. How about a Jick Steves booth filled with top tourist information. Great for getting tourist bearings and also for ifo about update of places to see. The booth could have a numbers lock that a Rick Steves tour guide could i phone you or at your web site. Might show these Yanks really do care about the Red Phone Booths.
Got our Rick Steves London book and we’re headed there on Friday! Can’t wait.
Hi Rick,
I just returned from a visit to the Tuscany region of Italy. We were in Barga and there was one of the Red telephone booths there doing double duty as a reference point for going into the old town and also as a Free Lending Library. When we got lost walking around, we just found our way back to the red telephone booth!