- The stamps capture the power and character of some of the UK’s most dramatic natural landscapes
- The 10 stamps feature waterfalls from all four home nations
- The stamps and a range of collectible products are available to pre-order from today (18 June) at www.royalmail.com/waterfalls and by telephone on 03457 641641
Royal Mail has today unveiled images of 10 stamps that showcase some of the UK’s most enchanting and spectacular waterfalls.
The stamps feature photography of waterfalls from all four nations of the UK, capturing the power and beauty of some of Britain’s most dramatic natural landscapes.
Shown on the stamps are:
– Rogie Falls
– Pollnagollum Cave
– Aysgarth Falls
– Pistyll Rhaeadr
– Becky Falls
– Hardraw Force
– Rhaeadr y Graig Lwyd / Conwy Falls
– Fairy Pools of Glen Brittle
– High Force
– Ess-na-Larach
David Gold, Director of External Affairs & Policy, Royal Mail, said: “The British Isles are rich in natural beauty and these stamps highlight some of the UK’s most striking waterfalls in all four nations. They showcase the richness of our natural environment which has been shaped by water over thousands of years.”
Waterfalls:
Waterfalls are among nature’s most awe-inspiring spectacles: an explosion of power as a river suddenly loses height.
Many of the falls found in the UK are the result of differential erosion of horizontal bands of rock – where an upper, harder rock type withstands the erosive force of the water but a lower, softer layer is steadily worn away, creating a point where the river has to ‘step’ down.
In some places, glaciation has created hanging valleys, which act in a similar way, causing watercourses to plunge over their edges.
Variations in rock types and geological processes mean that no two waterfalls look the same. Some, like Hardraw Force in North Yorkshire, form single, slender ribbons of white water; others cascade over tiers of rock or create curtains covering a cliff. Several are found along the UK’s coast; some form underground.
Features common to most include plunge pools at their bases, famously at Glen Brittle’s Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye.
The names given to waterfalls often reflect their location, including ‘force’ (from the Old Norse ‘foss’) in the north of England, ‘rhaeadr’ in Wales and the Gaelic word ‘eas’ (or ‘ess’) in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The stamps, and a range of collectible products, are available to pre-order from today (18 June) at www.royalmail.com/waterfalls and by telephone on 03457 641 641. A Presentation Pack including all 10 stamps is priced at £14.45. The stamps go on general sale from 23 June.
Stamp-by-stamp:
FAIRY POOLS OF GLEN BRITTLE – Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland
The Black Cuillin, one of the UK’s most spectacular mountain ranges, form the dark backdrop to the waterfalls and plunge pools along the Allt Coir’ a’ Mhadaidh. With the sawtooth ridge rearing up behind them, the crystal-clear pools are popular with cold-water swimmers. In 1601, the glen was the site of a battle between two Skye clans, the MacLeods and the MacDonalds – with fighting so fierce, locals claim, the river ran red with blood.
ROGIE FALLS – Highland, Scotland
Travellers on the road between Inverness and Ullapool find it hard to resist a side trip to the Rogie Falls. Here, in a dramatic forest location, the Black Water comes crashing down tiers of jagged rock. Hiking trails and a suspension bridge are provided for human visitors while the salmon have a fish ladder. From June to October, the fish throw themselves up the cascades on their arduous journey from the North Sea to their Highland spawning grounds.
POLLNAGOLLUM CAVE – County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
There is something magical about this waterfall hidden away in County Fermanagh’s forests. From the cave’s strange-sounding name – which translates from Irish to ‘hole of the doves’ – to the way the stream tumbles over the fern and moss-cloaked limestone cliff and vanishes into the dark cavern below, it exudes mystery. It is maybe not surprising then that Pollnagollum Cave was used as a setting in the TV fantasy series Game of Thrones.
ESS-NA-LARACH – County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Ess-na-Larach consists of two slender ribbons of white water, one above the other, punching their way through a narrow cleft in the almost-black rocks – one of many waterfalls associated with the streams emanating from Glenariff’s basalt escarpment. This ancient valley, known as the ‘queen’ of Antrim’s nine glens, was deepened by the action of ice during the last glacial period. It is now home to lush woodland, where ferns, mosses and liverworts thrive.
HIGH FORCE – County Durham, England
As the River Tees comes hurtling down from its North Pennines source, it plunges about 21 metres over an almost vertical cliff. After heavy rain, the peat-laden river splits, forming two falls divided by a protruding buttress, but even this rock can be covered in exceptional weather. England’s most powerful waterfall in terms of volume, High Force is slowly moving upstream as it erodes the sedimentary rocks beneath the Whin Sill – the hard-wearing layer of rock over which the River Tees initially flows.
HARDRAW FORCE – North Yorkshire, England
Reputedly England’s highest single-drop, above-ground waterfall, Hardraw Force plummets more than 30 metres over a limestone lip, eroding softer rocks below to create an overhang. In 1799, William Wordsworth described the resulting recess as “lofty and magnificent”. Today, visitors to this dark amphitheatre are warned not to walk behind the veil of water because of the precarious nature of this overhang.
AYSGARTH FALLS – North Yorkshire, England
Aysgarth Falls form as Wensleydale’s River Ure spills down tiers of rock formed from horizontal layers of hard Carboniferous limestone alternating with bands of softer shale. The river’s sudden drop in height is a result of differential erosion caused during the last glacial period. Sketched by JMW Turner, visited by William Wordsworth and used as a setting in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the falls remain a popular Yorkshire Dales attraction.
CONWY FALLS – Conwy, Wales
On the eastern edge of Eryri (Snowdonia), where the volcanic rocks of the mountains give way to a gentler landscape associated with sandstones and other sedimentary rocks, the River Conwy forces its way through a narrow, snaking gorge. It splits as it loses height, the two white-water arms of Conwy Falls divided by a chunk of rock – hence the Welsh name, Rhaeadr y Graig Lwyd, which translates as ‘Falls of the Grey Rock’.
PISTYLL RHAEADR – Powys, Wales
Plunging from Y Berwyn (the Berwyn range of hills), Pistyll Rhaeadr consists of three falls dropping a massive 75 metres in total. Birch, oak and pine trees cling to the steep cliffs, while the base of the waterfall is littered with boulders that were dropped, according to legend, by a giant called Cawr Berwyn. One of Pistyll Rhaeadr’s most unusual features is the eroded rock about halfway up, forming a natural ‘bridge’ across the stream.
BECKY FALLS – Devon, England
Becka Brook is a tributary of Dartmoor’s River Bovey, located in ancient oak woodland that is home in springtime to dazzling bluebell displays. Just before entering the river, the brook tumbles down a boulder-filled section of this enchanting side valley. It splits on myriad occasions as it flows between the enormous, moss-clad lumps of granite spread across the 10-metre-wide channel.
