Coastlines

First class special stamps

Europe's longest coastline has been brought into focus by Royal Mail across ten first class special stamps. Coastlines, which goes on sale on March 19, uses spectacular aerial photography to create ten snapshots capturing some of Britain's 7,000 miles of richly diverse coastline.
No one in Britain lives further than 75 miles from the sea, but very few people will ever have seen its entire coastline – which also boasts 1,000 islands and islets.

Photographer Richard Cooke

One person who has is photographer Richard Cooke, who spent months surveying the shorelines of all four countries of the British isles from a helicopter. This huge undertaking resulted in ten stamps that successfully capture the magnificence of the British coast; encompassing tiny fishing ports, sweeping bays, dramatic rock formations and ancient harbours.

Influence on the coast

From South Harris in the remote and exposed Outer Hebrides of the north west, to the famous cliffs of Dover in south east England, the stamps also demonstrate the unique interaction of sea meeting land, as well as man's influence on the coast.