By Tim Binnall
The legendary Loch Ness Monster is featured on a new stamp issued by Britain's Royal Mail as part of a collection celebrating "fabled figures from popular folklore" in the United Kingdom. The fantastic set, reportedly drawn by artist Adam Simpson and revealed on Thursday, highlights what the postal service describes as eight "timeless tales from our mythology." Standing head and fins above the crowd is, of course, Scotland's beloved 'monster,' which is depicted as a serpentine creature emerging from the waters of Loch Ness with the iconic Urquhart Castle in the background.
Other legendary creatures showcased alongside Nessie in the set are the shapeshifting Selkie, an infamous 'demon dog' dubbed the Black Shuck, and an unsettling supernatural entity known as the Grindylow. In addition to these 'monsters,' are folkloric figures such as apocryphal Irish warrior Finn MacCool, the Welsh goddess of flowers Blodeuwedd, and the nightmarish Grendel from the Beowulf epic. The new postage stamp is not the first time Nessie has been celebrated in such a fashion as, in 2018, the Royal Mint included the cryptid in a set of coins commemorating "quintessentially British" icons.