{"id":467170,"date":"2026-03-10T04:44:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T04:44:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/467170\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T04:44:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T04:44:16","slug":"the-21-fantastic-winners-of-the-british-wildlife-photography-awards-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/467170\/","title":{"rendered":"The 21 Fantastic Winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

The British Wildlife Photography Awards<\/a> (BWPA) winners have been revealed, showcasing Britain\u2019s very best nature and wildlife images. Photographers entered more than 12,000 photos of Britain\u2019s wonderful wildlife, and competed across 11 different categories. <\/p>\n

British Wildlife Photographer of the Year <\/p>\n

Photographer Paul Hobson earned top honors, winning the competition\u2019s grand prize and being named the British Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Hobson\u2019s mesmerizing photo below, which also won the competition\u2019s Black and White category, was captured from a pond-floor perspective in Sheffield, England, and shows a toad swimming across the water\u2019s surface. <\/p>\n

\"AOverall Winner \u2014 British Wildlife Photographer of the Year, \u2018A Toad Swims Across Its Woodland Pond\u2019 by \u00a9 Paul Hobson | British Wildlife Photography Awards <\/p>\n

\u201cI am lucky to have a pond close to my house that has relatively clear water,\u201d Hobson says. \u201cToads use this pond to breed in, and I decided I wanted to try to capture an image looking up from the bottom of the pond.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hobson built a homemade glass box and placed it at the bottom of the pond, controlling its shutter with an adapted long cable release. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had to wait quite a long time until a toad swam across the surface \u2014 most of them would usually swim below it and rest on the glass,\u201d Hobson explains. As the spectacular shot above shows, Hobson eventually nailed it. <\/p>\n

Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year <\/p>\n

The competition also named photographer Ben Lucas its Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026. Lucas\u2019 close-up portrait of a young, sleeping mute swan cygnet napping on its sibling\u2019s back is a pleasant reminder of the calm, peaceful moments nature so rarely provides. Lucas also won the 15-17 Years category with his shot. <\/p>\n

\u201cNature can often be so cruel, but tender moments like this warm my heart!\u201d the young photographer remarks. <\/p>\n

\"AYoung British Wildlife Photographer of the Year \u2014 \u2018Feathery Pillow\u2019 by \u00a9 Ben Lucas (15-17 Years Winner) | British Wildlife Photography Awards Category Winners <\/p>\n

Adult photographers competed across 11 categories, ranging from Animal Behavior to Wild Woods. There are three age groups in the youth competition: 11 and Under, 12-14 Years, and 15-17 Years. All the category winners and runners-up are featured below. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s winners celebrate the wonder, diversity and character of British wildlife in truly exceptional ways,\u201d says Will Nicholls, Director of British Wildlife Photography Awards. \u201cFrom familiar species to rarely seen moments, the portfolio showcases the skill and passion of the photographers behind the lens. Together, they offer a joyful celebration of Britain\u2019s natural world, while also reminding us why these places and species are so deserving of our care and protection.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"AAnimal Behavior, Winner \u2014 \u2018Nemesis\u2019 by \u00a9 Mark Parker | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"TwoAnimal Behavior, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018The Fur Flew\u2019 by \u00a9 Sarah Darnell | British Wildlife Photography Awards
\n \"AAnimal Portraits, Winner \u2014 \u2018Standing Tall\u2019 by \u00a9 Alastair Marsh | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AAnimal Portraits, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Through the Lavender\u2019 by \u00a9 Felix Belloin | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"Close-upBotanical Britain, Winner \u2014 \u2018Slime Molds and a Water Droplet\u2019 by \u00a9 Barry Webb | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"ABotanical Britain, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018The Algaeverse\u2019 by \u00a9 David Higgins | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"ABlack and White, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Emerging in the Light\u2019 by \u00a9 Chris Wardell | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"ACoast and Marine, Winner \u2014 \u2018Glowing Bright\u2019 by \u00a9 James Lynott | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"ACoast and Marine, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Silhouetted Puffin\u2019 by \u00a9 Julian Terreros-Martin | British Wildlife Photography Awards
\n \"AHabitat Winner \u2014 \u2018Dipper Dream\u2019 by \u00a9 Marc Humphrey | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AHabitat, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Winter Touch\u2019 by \u00a9 Mario Suarez | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AHidden Britain, Winner \u2014 \u2018New Life\u2019 by \u00a9 Julian Terreros-Martin | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AHidden Britain, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Surprising Meal\u2019 by \u00a9 Adam Ferry | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AUrban Wildlife, Winner \u2014 \u2018Asleep at the Wheel\u2019 by \u00a9 Simon Withyman | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"AUrban Wildlife, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Night Dweller\u2019 by Kyle Moore | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"GoldenWild Woods, Winner \u2014 \u2018Beams of Brightness\u2019 by \u00a9 Mark Richardson | British Wildlife Photography Awards
\n \"AWild Woods, Runner-Up \u2014 \u2018Autumn Dancer\u2019 by \u00a9 Duncan Wood | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"A11 and Under Winner \u2014 \u2018Cutting Edge\u2019 by \u00a9 Jamie Smart | British Wildlife Photography Awards \"A12-14 Years Winner \u2014 \u2018Acrobatic Hobby\u2019 by \u00a9 Jack Crockford | British Wildlife Photography Awards More From the British Wildlife Photography Awards <\/p>\n

All awarded photos from this year\u2019s British Wildlife Photography Awards are featured in a hardcover coffee-table book, published by Graffeg Books. Actor, writer, and director Mackenzie Crook did the book\u2019s foreword. The photo book is available to preorder<\/a> now from the BWPA\u2019s website for \u00a335. It includes over 250 winning and shortlisted photos from the 2026 competition. <\/p>\n

Entries are already open now for the 2027 British Wildlife Photography Awards. <\/p>\n

Image credits: British Wildlife Photography Awards<\/a>. All photographers are credited in the individual captions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) winners have been revealed, showcasing Britain\u2019s very best nature and wildlife images.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467171,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[2851,6225,6485,6486,2307,167471,167472,1341,47330,1120,309,96,548,47332,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":{"0":"post-467170","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-britain","13":"tag-britishwildlifephotographyawards","14":"tag-bwpa","15":"tag-competition","16":"tag-contest","17":"tag-design","18":"tag-england","19":"tag-entertainment","20":"tag-nature","21":"tag-photocontest","22":"tag-uk","23":"tag-united-kingdom","24":"tag-unitedkingdom","25":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467170"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467170\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}