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If you want to know the what's what and the 'How do I do it?' part of stamp collecting then this section is for you. It is quite a lot to digest at one go which is why we have made this part of the site like a café so you can come and have some brain food whenever you like.
WHAT IS STAMP COLLECTING?

Look at the letters you receive at home each day. Many will have a stamp on them. The stamp shows the amount of postage that has been paid, and the country the stamp came from.

Many stamps are bright and colourful - they have an exciting story to tell. It’s great fun to collect these stamps.

    

You could collect stamps from one country - maybe somewhere you went on holiday, or you might find collecting by 'theme' fun - do you like birds? Aeroplanes? Flowers? Here are some stamps with a 'Butterflies' theme

Or what about hobbies that are also easily found on stamps - football, tennis, cycling or horse riding? They are all on stamps and many more as well!

When you are taking a stamp off an envelope, do be very careful. First cut the stamp off the envelope, leaving a good margin of envelope (at least 2cm) around the stamps.

You then place the pieces of envelope with stamps still attached face up in a small bowl of water. After a while, the stamp will come away from the envelope. Do allow plenty of time - never force the stamp off the envelope.

You can then dry the stamps between pieces of clean blotting paper: it is often a good idea to place a heavy book on top of the blotting paper, as this will help keep the stamps flat.

Once they are dry, the stamps are ready for your collection.