Landscape Photographer of the Year 2018

Shards of ice on a bitterly cold February morning feature in the foreground of Pete Rowbottom's image of Glencoe, in the Highlands of Scotland. The striking shot scooped the top prize in the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards.

The competition, now in its 12th year, aims to highlight the splendour of Britain's rural and urban landscapes.

The judges chose Rowbottom's dramatic composition from thousands of entries celebrating the richly diverse landscape of the UK.

"The numerous strong diagonal lines of the ice fractures in Pete's image echo the shape of Buachaille Etive Mor in the background and have peaks of their own," said awards founder Charlie Waite.

"The cold of the mountain and ice together contrast well with the amber of their surroundings.

"This is an image where you can hear and feel the landscape as well as see it, so it is emotionally strong and involves the viewer on multiple levels."

Top spot in the adult Classic View category went to John Finney for this image taken during a blizzard in the High Peak, Derbyshire.

The runner-up spot in the same category went to Mario D'Onofrio for this stunning shot of the Milky Way over St Michael's Mount in Cornwall.

"The 'teapot' of Sagittarius can also be clearly seen to the left of the Mount, along with Saturn, the brightest point in the sky here, just above the clouds creeping in from the right," says D'Onofrio.

"I must have taken hundreds of shots - but it was this single exposure that I ended up being most satisfied with to tell the story of that night."

Cornwall was also the location for the winning image in the adult Living the View category. This dramatic image of a fisherman braving the windy conditions at Porth Nanven was made by Mick Blakey.

"I was happy to just sit on the rocks and photograph the waves and spray - but then some magic happened... a fisherman appeared on the rocks in frame - I could not believe my luck," says Blakey.

Rod Ireland took the runner-up spot with this picture of the Cairngorms in the Highlands.

"I'd decided to make the most of the stunning winter conditions and have a couple of days skiing at Glenshee in the Cairngorms. I couldn't quite resist taking my camera with me though and decided to go off-piste and grab some shots between runs," says Ireland.

"The lighting was sublime, and I loved the textures and contrasts on the slopes facing me across the valley. It was only when I got home that I spotted the two mountaineers/skiers high up on the broad ridge, utterly dwarfed by their surroundings."

First place in the adult Your View category went to Brain Kerr for this image of windswept trees in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire.

Rachel Talibart's photo of fog at Beachy Head Lighthouse, East Sussex, was highly commended in the same category.

Alex Wolfe-Warman won the adult Urban View category with this picture of houses in Bristol, taken during a hot-air balloon ride over the city.

"I made a variety of photographs on the flight. This is one of my favourites. Visibility was excellent. And the light was beautiful at 20:00 on a warm July evening," says Wolfe-Warman.

The runner-up spot went to Andrew Midgley for a picture taken in Norfolk.

"I am always excited by the prospect of snow. I think this image is influenced by Nordic noir cinema, and a winter trip to Russia a few years ago," says Midgley.

The Young Landscape Photographer of the Year title went to Josef FitzGerald-Patrick for his image of a mountain biker in action at Land's End, Cornwall.

"Last year I met up with friend and fellow mountain biker Russ Pierre for a brilliant photo shoot but there was one image that, although stunning, had so much room for improvement," says FitzGerald-Patrick.

"We went back in the spring of 2018 to set about capturing the dream image. I found a good composition featuring a nice rocky drop for Russ to jump, with the Armed Knight and setting Sun behind it. And there I had it, our dream shot."

All the shortlisted and winning entries are published in the Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 12 book'.