[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
New Stamps Celebrate the Wildlife of the UK’s Rivers

• Issue date: 13 July
• The stamp images celebrate many of the birds, mammals, insects and fish that inhabit the UK’s rivers and streams
• Featured on the stamps are the: Beaver; Atlantic Salmon; Kingfisher; Beautiful Demoiselle; Water Vole; Grey Wagtail; Common Mayfly; Otter; Brown Trout; and Dipper
• The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/riverwildlife, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK

Royal Mail has issued a set of 10 stamps that celebrate the diversity of birds, mammals, insects and fish that inhabit the UK’s rivers and streams.

Featured on the stamps are the: Beaver; Atlantic Salmon; Kingfisher; Beautiful Demoiselle; Water Vole; Grey Wagtail; Common Mayfly; Otter; Brown Trout; and Dipper.

The physical geography of the UK, coupled with its maritime position and high rainfall, have combined over geological time to create an extensive and diverse network of flowing waters.

Over 380,000 kilometres of streams and rivers range from the becks, burns and rills rising in cooler mountain landscapes, to large, lowland rivers such as the Thames, Severn and Trent.

Across the four UK nations, famous rivers such as the Clyde, the Bann, the Tyne and the Wye bring cultural identity, landscape character and a window into a world of freshwater nature.

Royal Mail worked with Professor of Ecology at Cardiff University Steve Ormerod on the stamp issue.

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy, said: “The UK’s rivers and riversides are beautiful to look at, but how many of us stop to think about how they came to exist in the first place? In these stamps we celebrate our unique natural environment with a strong focus on the rich variety of creatures that live in and alongside our rivers.”

Professor Steve Ormerod, of Cardiff University’s Water Research Institute and School of Biosciences said “These stamps are a timely reminder of the special, highly adapted, and diverse array of animals that need our streams and rivers to be in healthy condition. This is such a wonderful way to celebrate the UK’s rivers and to send a message – quite literally – of why they are important.”

The stamps are available at www.royalmail.com/riverwildlife, by telephone on 03457 641 641 and at 7,000 Post Office branches across the UK. A Presentation Pack including all 10 stamps in the set is priced at £10.15.

[VSC notes: Other products include first day covers with either a Tallents House or Ottery St. Mary’s postmark; picture postcards; a Collector Sheet (right), which “includes all 10 new stamps paired with labels containing alternative images of the creatures featured;” framed stamps; and full- and half-sheets of the stamps. The latter are grouped by the denomination.]Other individual stamp images: