Sussex's South Downs On New Stamp Issue

Tuesday, 29 December 2020 09:18

By John Warburton @Warblefly

The Seven Sisters, in the first special stamps for 2021 (Image: © Royal Mail)

Sussex has a big role to play in the Royal Mail's first special stamps issue of 2021 — which celebrates the 70th anniversary of the founding of Britain’s first National Parks.

The stamps include an image of East Sussex's world-famous Seven Sisters' coastline, part of the South Downs National Park, among other pictures of the UK’s most popular and visited landscapes.

Other loations included are the Peak District, the Lake District, Snowdonia, Dartmoor, North York Moors, The Broads, the New Forest, the Pembrokeshire Coast, and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs.

The collection covers a range of natural environments, from Sussex's gigantic sea cliffs to rolling chalk hills, from cold tundra to temperate rainforest, from razor-sharp mountains to marshy wetlands.

They are described as places where people have lived, worked, worshipped, farmed and traded for centuries, in ways that have shaped — and been shaped by — the surrounding environment.

The National Parks were created after decades of public effort to open up the countryside to ordinary people, and were formed in the same post-war rebuilding effort as the NHS.

Next year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the UK’s first four National Parks – the Peak District, the Lake District, Dartmoor and Snowdonia.

Sussex's South Downs National Park followed, with its designation on March 31, 2010.

In the late 19th century, the limited access ordinary people had to the countryside gave rise to the “right to roam” movement, and in 1932 the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District galvanised public opinion after five protesters, including the leader Benny Rothman, were given prison sentences.

Royal Mail’s Philip Parker said:

“Ten spectacular National Parks have been captured in stunning photographs that reflect their diversity and splendour.

“We are proud to be able to share the beauty of these parks on stamps at a time when so many of us have had our travel restricted.”

The stamps will be on sale from January 14 and will be available at https://www.royalmail.com/nationalparks, by phone on 03457 641 641 and in Post Offices across the UK.