Two Yorkshire Dales waterfalls feature on a new set of Royal Mail stamps celebrating some of the UK’s most spectacular natural landmarks.
Aysgarth Falls and Hardraw Force have been chosen as two of ten waterfalls from across the UK to appear in the special collection, which showcases dramatic landscapes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The stamps highlight the beauty and geological significance of the country’s waterfalls, with the Yorkshire Dales locations recognised alongside famous sites including High Force in County Durham, the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye and Pistyll Rhaeadr in Wales.
Aysgarth Falls, one of the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s best-known attractions, features for its broad series of cascades where the River Ure tumbles over layers of Carboniferous limestone.
The falls have inspired artists including JMW Turner, were visited by William Wordsworth and famously appeared in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
Hardraw Force, near Hawes, is celebrated as England’s highest single-drop above-ground waterfall. The spectacular 30-metre cascade plunges over a limestone cliff into a natural amphitheatre that Wordsworth once described as “lofty and magnificent”.
David Gold, Royal Mail’s director of external affairs and policy, 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.”
Royal Mail said the collection celebrates the variety of Britain’s waterfalls, which have been formed over thousands of years through erosion, glaciation and differing rock formations.
The names of many northern English waterfalls, including Aysgarth and Hardraw, use the word “force”, derived from the Old Norse word foss, reflecting the region’s Viking heritage.
