Tomorrow, June 23rd, Royal Mail will issue a set of 10 stamps depicting Waterfalls across the United Kingdom. The set consists of 5 each of 2nd class and 1st class stamps.
A celebration of some of the UK's most enchanting and spectacular waterfalls from across the four nations of the UK.
So that describes what we see, and indeed it is true that we are attracted to waterfalls, the sound and sight of water gushing over a precipice or rocks as sometimes thousands of gallons a minute hurtle past us on the way to the sea, even though they pale into insignificance when compared to some of the giants of the world. Alongside is one that we found near Crossconnell in the Republic of Ireland, that was well worth the short walk. (And I can recommend The Rusty Nail in the village for a good meal and a good pint!)
Attractive stamps and if they are used some people will recognise places that they have visited, while others my be inspired to visit locations that they have never been to, even though they may live not far away. The key there is, "if they are used" - please report any non-philatelic usage you see!
The stamps
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| 5 x 1st class, 5 x 2nd class stamps depicting waterfalls issued 23 June 2026. |
Details
2nd class: Rogie Falls: Near Contin, Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands, Scotland. On the River Blackwater, famous for salmon leaping the falls.
Pollnagollum Cave: Enniskillen, Northern Ireland. Pollnagollum Cave Waterfall is a small waterfall within the Belmore Forest. Polnagollum Cave was a filming location for Game of Thrones.
Aysgarth Falls: Lower Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, England. A series of broad stepped waterfalls on the River Ure within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Pistyll Rhaeadr: Near Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, Powys, Wales. Often cited as the tallest single-drop waterfall in Wales.
Becky Falls: Dartmoor National Park, Devon, England. A woodland waterfall trail with granite cascades.
1st class: Hardraw Force: Hardraw, near Hawes, North Yorkshire. England's highest single-drop waterfall on Hardraw Beck.
Rhaeadr y Graig Lwyd (Conwy Falls): Near Betws-y-Coed, Conwy, North Wales. A powerful waterfall on the River Conwy, just downstream of Fairy Glen.
Fairy Pools of Glen Brittle: Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. Crystal-clear pools and cascades on the Allt Coir' a' Mhadaidh below the Cullin mountains.
High Force: Upper Teesdale, County Durham. One of England's most dramatic waterfalls, on the River Tees.
Ess‐na‐Larach (Eas na Larach): Scottish Highlands. A lesser-known Highland waterfall; the name is Gaelic and may appear with slight spelling variations depending on map/source. My thanks to KW for pointing out an error here, which is confirmed by Royal Mail's own map: Ess-na-Larach is in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Technical details and acknowledgements
Studio Mean is responsible for the design of the 37 x 35 mm stamps which are printed in litho on gummed paper by Cartor Security Printers in sheets of 50, perforated 14½ x 14. The 2nd class have a single central phosphor band and the 1st class two bands.
Rogie Falls, photograph © Simon Hird, featured with kind permission of Forestry and Land Scotland; Pollnagollum Cave, photograph © Ken Stone, featured with kind permission of Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark. Aysgarth Falls, photograph © Robin Weaver/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority; Pistyll Rhaeadr, photograph © Alan Williams/naturepl.com, featured with kind permission of Phillip Facey and January Elwood; Becky Falls, photograph © John Coombes/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Becky Falls Ancient Woodland Park; Hardraw Force, photograph © Stuart Hodgson, The Hiking Photographer, featured with kind permission of Hardraw Force Heritage Centre; Conwy Falls, photograph © Simon Stapley/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Conwy Falls Forest Park; Fairy Pools of Glen Brittle, photograph © George Maciver/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of the MacLeod Estate; High Force, photograph © steven gillis hd9 imaging/Alamy Stock Photo, featured with kind permission of Raby Estates; Ess-na-Larach, photograph © Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Locations, from the FDC filler card:
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| Locations of waterfalls shown on the stamps. |
Products available
Set of 10 stamps, first day cover, presentation pack, stamp cards, framed set of mint stamps.
Coming up
News about the next stamp issue, Moths, should appear here around 2 July.
Ess‐na‐Larach is in Northern Ireland, not the Scottish Highlands ;)
ReplyDeleteSeems like they are popular - RM website says it has only 9 half sheets of 25 "in stock". I am off to town now!
DeleteHmm, someone has listed the Moths postcards, envelopes and inserts on Vinted, with a second class moth postcard pictured in the listing. I know you can't comment much... but I know you like nature, so perhaps you could say how many of the moths you've actually seen.
ReplyDeleteAs for waterfalls, picked up a half-sheet of 2nd class, and 5 stamps of Conwy Falls. Out of the waterfalls depicted, have been to only two - Conwy Falls, and High Force.
I'm not sure I have seen any of the moths in real life though some are not unfamiliar. I have seen humming bird hawkmoth but that's not included.
DeleteI have certainly seen more butterflies.
Quite a handsome set! Nice to see some more 2nd class varieties...
ReplyDeleteAs long as they do not all get moth eaten before we can use them...
DeleteI got to TG Jones (ex WHS) in Canterbury nice and early to see if they actually had the waterfall stamps on the day of issue. Both the 1st and 2nd class sheet had been broken up, presumably to fit in the book on the counter, so you could get a row of three and a pair of each. I bought them anyway as getting commemoratives anywhere is so touch and go these days. The young woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted an envelope to put them in: I said "Yes please!" and she gave me , free of charge, a blank Waterfalls First Day Cover. Evidently they don't sell many FDCs at Canterbury these days. Their beautiful old Post Office on the High Street used to have a Post Shop in the 1980s and I remember getting the River Fishes set there, with the FDC autographed by the stamp designer while I waited. Those were the days!
ReplyDelete