Myths and Legends - Royal Mail : 2025

Royal Mail celebrates mythical creatures and legendary figures from different regions of the UK, including Blodeuwedd (Wales); the Loch Ness Monster (Scotland); Beowulf and Grendel (England); Black Shuck (East Anglia); Selkie (Orkney & Shetland); Cornish Piskies (Cornwall); Fionn mac Cumhaill (Northern Ireland); and Grindylow (Yorkshire/Lancashire). Artist Adam Simpson’s beautiful and evocative illustrations bring to life these fabled figures of folklore in vibrant, enchanting detail. 

Grindylows are supernatural creatures that appear in the folklore of England, most notably the Lancaster area. They are described as diminutive humanoids with scaly skin, a greenish complexion, sharp claws and teeth, and long, wiry arms with lengthy fingers at the end. They are said to dwell in ponds and marshes waiting for unsuspecting children, which they grab with their shockingly strong grip, and then drag under the surface of the waters. Grindylows have been used as shadowy figures to frighten children away from pools, marshes, or ponds where they could drown.

Beowulf is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines, contained in the Nowell Codex. The protagonist Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of the Danes, whose great hall, Heorot, is plagued by the monster Grendel. Beowulf kills Grendel with his bare hands, then kills Grendel's mother with a giant's sword that he found in her lair.