Inspired By Nature, National Parks Photography Competition 2020

The UK National Parks and Campaign for National Parks are delighted to announce the winner, runner up and shortlisted entrants for our joint photography competition underscoring the importance of nature in our national parks.

The competition, around the theme of ‘inspired by nature’, drew about 1,700 entries via social media. Outstanding wildlife shots, landscapes and portraits from across the 15 national parks in the UK blew away the judges.

The dramatic winning shot from Peter Stevens depicts a rare osprey swooping in on its prey in the Cairngorms national park.

Winner. Breakfast to take away, Cairngorms national park, by Peter Stevens: “This image was taken at Gordon MacLeod’s osprey hide in Aviemore, about 6am in July 2019. The local ospreys take fish from the loch to feed their young, before the long journey back to Africa at the end of the summer”. (Photo by Peter Stevens/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

More: UK National Parks, Campaign for National Parks h/t: guardian

Runner up. Kinder Downfall, Peak District national park, by Sam Walker: “Taken during Storm Dennis, when the strong 75mph winds were causing the waterfall to flow in reverse! Having grown up in the Peak District, it’s inspiring to me that there are still new things to see and discover like this in a national park I’m so familiar with”. (Photo by Sam Walker and Ike Walker/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Dragonfly, North York Moors national park, by Jonathan Green: “In June I was at May Beck with some colleagues when someone spotted this Hawker perched in a gorse bush. I love the detail on the wings, and it’s rare to be able to get so much of such a small subject in clear focus. Getting a few scratches was worth it”. (Photo by Jonathan Green/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Puffin, Pembrokeshire Coast national park, by Jason Davies: “Time to feed the chicks again”. (Photo by Jason Davies/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Dyffryn Crawnon, Brecon Beacons national park, by Andrew Brooks: “Towards the end of a day’s walking in and around Dyffryn Crawnon”. (Photo by Andrew Brooks/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Woodland, Exmoor national park, by Shaun Davey: “The atmospheric, cathedral-like canopy of the ring of beech trees at Three Combes Foot”. (Photo by Shaun Davey/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Red squirrel, Yorkshire Dales national park, by Deborah Clarke: “I spotted this lively red squirrel scampering along the top of a drystone wall in Snaizeholme. Luckily for me, it paused for a second, before disappearing into a hole in the wall, probably in search of a long lost nut cache”. (Photo by Deborah Clarke/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. West Mill, Dartmoor national park, by Andrew Sweeney: “Early misty February morning on West Mill Tor. As the mist cleared, it gave a sky full of pastel colours at sunrise”. (Photo by Andrew Sweeney/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Caver, Yorkshire Dales national park, by Rhiannon Hobbs: “A caver admiring the stunning view from the window in Alum Pot”. (Photo by Rhiannon Hobbs/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)

Shortlisted. Wistman’s Wood, Dartmoor national park, by Debra Smitham: “The mystical, ancient Wistman’s Wood”. (Photo by Debra Smitham/2020 UK National Parks Photography Competition)