Feast your eyes on the winning shots for the 2020 Landscape Photographer of the Year competition

This image, called Mirkwood, was an entry in the Your View adult class category and taken in Buckinghamshire. Photographer Will Milner said: ‘A lovely little scene, reminiscent of the fictional Mirkwood in J R R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series of novels. The interplay between sunlight, foliage and mist stopped me in my tracks’

This jaw-dropping picture of Scotland’s Glenfinnan Viaduct was highly commended in the Classic View adult class category. It’s called Majestic Winter Highland and was taken using a drone by Chris Gorman. He said: ‘The viaduct is well known to Harry Potter fans, having been used by the Hogwarts Express in four of the popular films. Geeky attention to weather forecasts paid off. I jumped on a plane to Scotland with various ideas in mind. Blizzard conditions initially stopped me flying the drone. I decided late in the day to head to Glenfinnan, where I arrived just 20 minutes before sunset to a scene like something out of Narnia. The storm miraculously eased and revealed the hills for the first time. I scrambled the drone up knowing I had just minutes of light left. I managed just two frames before hail started battering the drone and I scrambled it back again. The next day, the snow was gone’

ON THE LEFT – the stunning MPB Changing Landscapes Award runner-up, called ‘The Cloud Factory’. It was taken by Wesley Chambers, who said: ‘The unmistakable Hope Valley Breedon cement factory is also known as the cloud factory by the locals. I took this shot during golden hour one morning in January 2020. The light was beautiful – I took this at full zoom to compress the distance between the farm and factory. I like how the factory almost looks like it is floating above the farm!’ ON THE RIGHT – the Classic View adult class runner-up, taken by Miguel Pilgrim at Seven Sisters Cliffs in East Sussex. He said: ‘During a stormy day at Birling Gap, I was fascinated by the dramatic view looking towards the Seven Sisters cliffs as they were lit by the sunlight peeking through the breaks in the clouds. I like the contrast this created against the incredibly dark skies behind’

A beautiful shot that was entered into the Classic View adult class category. It’s called Pillars Devon and was taken by Neil Burnell. He said: ‘My first shot of 2020 taken on New Year’s Day at Bellever Wood on Dartmoor. I remember being at Wistmans Wood at the time, but the conditions weren’t great so I decided to go and shoot Bellever, which can be a little easier to find compositions in light mist. After walking around for a while, I spotted some interesting channels leading into the forest. These led nicely to a light patch at the back of the scene’

A mesmerising Classic View adult class entry taken in Langdale in the Lake District by Martin Birks. He said: ‘The spotlight effects were turned on in Langdale in November 2017, one of my favourite areas in the Lake District. I waited a couple of hours for the light to illuminate the foreground and Langdale Pikes. I had my camera on a tripod and used a telephoto lens to pick out my composition. This also has the effect of making the hills look more imposing’

This breathtaking image – taken on the Isle of Skye by Ramteid Gozreh and called Moon over Quiraing – was commended in the Classic View adult class category. He said: ‘This is a stitched panorama of early-morning moon illuminating the Trotternish range’

This Black and White adult class entry is called Yesnaby Tree Wave and was taken by Raymond Besant. He said: ‘A recent storm had died down, but a large swell was still hitting the cliffs at Yesnaby on Orkney’s west coast. I was attracted by the sea spray illuminated by the sun when the swell broke on a reef below, creating a wonderful looking wave, half caught by the light’

A hypnotic image by Peter North taken in Royston, Hertfordshire, that he entered in the Your View adult class. He called it Dawn at Fox Covert and described the story behind the capture: ‘Having got up early to drive to this scene, I was rewarded with fantastic and dramatic light as the rising sunlight filtered through the trees while being diffused by the mist’

This sublime image – ‘Sugarloaf’ – was taken by Drew Buckley as morning sun broke through rain clouds, illuminating the southern flanks of Sugarloaf Mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales

This incredible snap, called Cool Power, by Steven Cole was an entry in the MPB Changing Landscapes award. He said: ‘It is a rare sight to see [Nottinghamshire’s] Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in full steam, so I took the opportunity on a chilly evening to capture this seldom-seen occurrence. Sawley Cut waterway is excellent for reflections on a calm day or night, even more so when there is a great deal of steam from the power station’

A serene picture taken by photographer Nev Cartledge in the Scottish Highlands that he called Silence. He entered it into the Classic View adult class category and said: ‘This was taken in Glen Affric this last winter. I was lucky enough to get a short break in the snowstorm, leaving some soft light illuminating the mountain beyond, while the storm passed away to the right’

This enchanting ‘Your View’ adult class entry is called Deer in Dawn Mist and was taken in Hertfordshire by Peter North. He said: ‘This was one of those mornings when you look out of your bedroom window, see the morning mist rising and try and convince yourself that you should quickly get showered, dressed, and take your camera to the local woods. For once, I actually acted on this impulse and was rewarded by this scene where the diffused sun was rising, and the mist was simplifying the normally chaotic jumble of trees into shades of grey receding into the background. About 10 minutes later the mist had disappeared and the magic was gone’

The winner of the Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape Award’ is this stunner by Brian Nunn of a steam train crossing the Ribblehead Viaduct in North Yorkshire

Behold the Classic View adult class winner – Roman Road – which was taken in Dorset by Leigh Dorey. He said: ‘As the title suggests, this was once a Roman Road, built around 43AD, as a supply route to a local fortress. It travels through deciduous woodland from the A35 in Upton to Corfe Mullen in Poole, Dorset. It is an area that I have visited with my camera many times before, but none as ethereal as this morning was’

A Classic View adult class entry called Herringfleet Frosty Sunrise that takes the breath away. The photographer behind it, David Andrews, said: ‘I took this image of Herringfleet Mill in Suffolk a couple of years ago. I liked it so much that I have a canvas of it on my wall now’

An eye-catching Urban Life adult class entry that shows MSC Preziosa passing Lerwick’s historic Lodberries on a misty morning. Photographer Ryan Leith said: ‘I work as a Port Controller for Lerwick Port Authority and could follow the vessel’s progress into the harbour on the radar. The fog was very thick south of the harbour. I managed to capture this image from my office window as the ship emerged from the fog bank’

Photographer Paul Bullen is behind this Your View adult class entry, which he called Kilchurn and the Tree. He said: ‘A bit of a chilly start to the day at -5C and a nice covering of frost. The mist kept rolling in and eventually obliterated Kilchurn Castle [in Argyll and Bute in Scotland], but gave a lovely ethereal mood’

This shot, by photographer John White, was a long time in the making. He called it The Kraken and explained: ‘After three years of trying, finally I found myself in the right place as the tentacles of the kraken reached down from above to reclaim the old West Pier, Brighton.’ He entered it into the Classic View adult class category

Student Stephen Hughes is behind this beautiful shot, entered in the Classic View youth class category and called Oxford Sunrise. He said: ‘Sunlight breaks through the mist in the early morning over the River Cherwell in Oxford. On an early morning stroll before lectures, mist had been forecast so I headed to the river and waited for the sun to come up and bring the scene to life’

The Black and White adult class category is blessed with this beautiful image by David Kidwell, called Tree in Stythwaite Meadow and taken near his home in Cumbria. He said: ‘I awoke with excitement about a rare snowfall. Walking up to my favourite tree, I set up my camera to capture the stark shape standing out against the white snow and the heavy sky. But I was not alone, for over the brow of the hill came a flock of eager sheep hoping not that I was going to take their picture, rather, that I was a source of their feed in this suddenly changed landscape’

And it’s drum roll time for the overall winner, Woolland Woods by Chris Frost. He said of his gold-medal effort: ‘Taken in spring of 2018 in a wooded area close to Milborne St. Andrew in Dorset, this was the third visit to the area in a matter of days. On the previous days, both devoid of morning mists, the light had been harsh and unappealing, but the third day delivered stunning conditions with mist swirling through the trees. The low shooting position allowed more emphasis to be placed on the wild garlic and pathway’