New stamps celebrate famous bridges around Britain

Image source, Royal Mail

Image caption, The bridges are from locations across the UK

A new set of first class stamps show 10 of the most amazing bridges around the UK.

Some are ancient ones made out of stone, hundreds of years old, while others are famous for their huge size and design.

Image source, Royal Mail

Image caption, Tarr Steps dates back to before the 1600s, while Row Bridge was built in the 1700s

The oldest bridge is the Tarr Steps, over the River Barle in Exmoor National Park.

The most recently completed is the Peace Bridge, across the River Foyle in Northern Ireland, finished in 2011.

The ten bridges from oldest to youngest:

  • Tarr Steps (pre-1600s) - Exmoor, south west England
  • Row Bridge (1700s) - Lake District, north west England
  • Pulteney Bridge (1774) - Bath, south west England
  • Thomas Telford's Craigellachie Bridge (1814) - Moray, north east Scotland
  • Pont Grog y Borth/Menai Suspension Bridge (1926) - Anglesey, North Wales
  • Robert Stephenson's High Level Bridge (1849) - Newcastle/Gateshead, north east England
  • Royal Border Bridge (1850) - Berwick-upon-Tweed, north east England
  • Tees Transporter Bridge (1911) - Middlesbrough, north east England
  • Humber Bridge (1981) - east Riding of Yorkshire
  • Peace Bridge (2011) - Northern Ireland

Royal Mail, who make the stamps, say The Menai Suspension Bridge, which links the island of Anglesey to the mainland in North Wales, is one of the most breathtaking ever built in Britain.

Image source, Royal Mail

Image caption, Some of the bridges are railways for trains, some roads for traffic; but the High Level Bridge in north east England carries both

Andrew Hammond, head of stamps and collectibles at Royal Mail, said: "These new stamps celebrate 10 beautiful and ground-breaking landmarks that span centuries of our history".