Sundials, narrow boats and windmills: British passport is turned into a picture book

The venerable inscription is still in place on the new passports, but is now accompanied by a friendly image of a row of rustic cottages

It began as a handwritten note from the King himself and has remained a reassuringly imposing booklet ever since. But passport holders will soon find themselves handing over a document with a little less pomp - and a few more quaint depictions of rural scenes.

The UK passport has been redesigned in the style of a picture book to include scenic images of country life and national landmarks that make it harder to forge.

Its inside page features a row of cottages and some oak leaves alongside the familiar royal request for safe passage. Another double page bears a depiction of one landscape from each nation of the UK: the White Cliffs of Dover, Ben Nevis, the Giant's Causeway and the Gower Peninsula.

Tourists happily sunning themselves abroad will find a reminder of the dank and dreary weather they left behind - with a hologram of a weather forecast symbol on every page.

Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said: 'What we're not trying to do is represent every single aspect of Britain today.

'We've deliberately chosen scenic Britain, the images you're seeing are representative of that aspect of Britain.'

Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, holds up an example of the new 'two picture' passport

Other images show a woodland with a dry stone wall, a lake scene with a brown trout, a row of beach huts and the gardens of Blenheim Palace. The holder's picture and personal details now run over two pages with two pictures and have been moved to the front of the book, to follow other European countries.

The new design will be launched in October and will cost the same as the current document, £77.50 or more if it is needed at short notice. An electronic chip carrying the holder's biometric data is buried in the lining making it more difficult to remove and replace.

The original biometric passport with its distinctive bird design

That chip was introduced in 2006 and was the latest innovation in the passport's security features since its beginnings as a handwritten royal note in 1387. John Swan, vicar of St Paul's, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, was the first person given a 'Royal License' to let him to travel to Rome.

The exterior of the passport is virtually unchanged, but the main ID section has been moved to the front page, rather than languishing at the back as in former designs.

During the reign of Henry V in the 15th century, notes promising 'safe conduct' were issued to anyone wanting to travel abroad. The need for an original royal signature ended in 1794, when the Secretary of State began issuing passports and the first booklet with a picture was issued in 1914. It was a folded cardboard document which became the blue passport after the First World War. Numerous security modifications led to today's burgundy document being introduced in 1988.