I’m delighted to be able to share a sneak preview of the new Barbados definitive stamps, which are scheduled for release in the next few weeks.

The new set, The Gullies of Barbados, will replace the current Builders of Barbados definitives, first issued in 2016 and in use for the past eight years. The new Gullies set consists of eleven portrait stamps, ranging in value from 10c to $10. The full list is as follows:

• 10c – Blackmans Gully Bridge
• 25c – Russia Gully
• 65c – Welchman Hall Gully
• $1 – Welchman Hall Gully
• $1.40 – Coffee Gully
• $1.50 Layne Bridge Gully
• $1.80 – Russia Gully
• $2.20 – Welchman Hall Gully
• $2.75 – Turner’s Hall Woods
• $5 – Blackmans Gully
• $10 – Welchman Hall Gully

Gullies are described on the Government Ministry of Environment and National Beautification website as:

“…trenches in the ground carved by fast running water over time and are characterised by being heavily wooded, generally dry but have flowing water in times of heavy rainfall and being anywhere from 6 metres to more than 30 metres deep. They are located in nearly every parish, but begin in the central highland areas and spread out towards the coastline.”

The stamps have avoided the simple trap of just photographing the landscape at a wide angle; the designers have focused on features in each of the gullies, principally the flora but on the 10c stamp they also feature a bridge.

On the first view of these stamps, they appear to be a worthy replacement for the Builders set, focusing as they do on an important feature of Barbados’ life and culture. The gullies are home to many exotic species of plants and trees and are spectacular natural environments, the larger of which attract many visitors every year.

I’m looking forward to seeing these first-hand and seeing them used in the mail. When my set arrives in the UK I will give this set a much fuller write-up and share much bigger images. Until then, here are the pre-release images of each of the values: