ManifoldCAN's 2026 photography competition shortlisted and winning entries

We hope you enjoy looking at all of the shortlisted and winning photographs, celebrating nature in the Manifold Valley, which were exhibited at the ManifoldCAN 2026 photograph competition exhibition.

These are all of the amazing shortlisted and winning photographs submitted to ManifoldCAN's 2026 photography competition celebrating nature in the Manifold Valley. These were shown at ManifoldCAN's photography exhibition, held at the Butterton Village Hall on 3rd October 2026.

From the shortlist, our judges selected 13 winning images to feature in the 2027 ManifoldCAN calendar (everyone was invited to enter up to five photographs to the competition, but only one photograph per person could be selected by our judges for inclusion in the calendar). All the remaining shortlisted photographs were then included in a public vote at the exhibition, to help choose the front cover of the calendar.

To find out more about the calendar, including pre-ordering, go to our calendar page

(Hover over the images for more information, or click to enlarge)

sheep in snowy field looking at the camera — 'You look interesting!' by Susie Eardley

Reflection of hill in the river at sunrise — 'Early morning reflections!' by Angela Deary

View from above of Parkhouse Hill at sunset — 'I had just scrambled up Parkhouse Hill and was waiting to capture the sunset on such a beautiful warm July evening. The butterflies were everywhere making it an even more magical evening'. by Angela Deary

Snowy field with mist and trees in the background — 'Mist and snow' by Carole Stanish

Gate in drystone wall overlooking hills with light frost in the sunshine — ‘A frosty morning in Wetton. Overlooking the Manifold Valley and Grindon’ by Emma Carter

Sun and clouds on Wetton Hill in summer — 'The shadow cast by the cloud on the south facing section of Wetton Hill made for a striking impression’ by James Guerrini

Looking across the valley in summer towards Castern Hall — ‘Looking across the Manifold Valley towards Castern Hall’ by Malcolm Cadenhead

Hay meadow in the evening sunshine — 'A stunning summer evening, peaceful and calm’, Hay Meadow in Brund by Helen Critchlow

Freshly cut meadow in the sunshine with trees and dark clouds — ‘Freshly cut meadow’, Newtown by Claire Wolstencroft

Dandelion seed head with grass background — ‘New Life’, Manifold Trail, near Hulme End, by Nigel Titterton

Frosty field in the early morning sun rising above trees in the distance — ‘Early morning frost', Sheen, by Carrie Osborne

Dry stone sculpture of a dragon in the moors in the evening sunlight — 'Sleeping Dragon’, Revidge, by Angela Glover

lots of sheep in a green field all looking towards the camera — ‘Sheep in a field’, Manifold Valley, by Caroline Annat

Highland cows around a hay byre in misty early morning sunshine — ‘Breakfast Family Meeting’, Hulme End, by Jennifer Wilson

deep snow in lane with tree. barn in the background — ‘Deepdale, about one mile South of Grindon’ by Malcolm Cadenhead

Curlew on top of a gate post in summer with a flowering hawthorn drystone wall fence and footpath signpost. Pine plantation on hills in the background — 'The slopes up to Revidge in the distance behind the curlew’, Reapsmoor, by Alan Benson

Barn owl flying in front of a stone barn. Another owl is sat on the open window of the barn — ‘Both owls in the picture are youngsters, and were taking short flights to adjacent trees before returning to the safety of the barn on a lovely warm sunny evening’, Reapsmoor, by Alan Benson

Barn owl flying over late summer meadow — ‘A young barn owl on an exploratory flight. Very lucky to see on a bright evening with the sun lighting up the feathers & long grass’, Reapsmoor, by Alan Benson

Grouse sat on a wire fence in winter with misty hills in the background — ‘Taken on Boxing Day. Mist was low in the valleys, and we heard the lone grouse burbling long before we saw it’, Reapsmoor, by Alan Benson

Curlew stood on a wooden fence looking over a meadow — ‘This curlew was looking out for its youngster who was hidden in the grass below’, Reapsmoor, by Alan Benson

Belted galloway in a moorland of flowering heather next to a small windblown birch tree — 'Belted Galloway cow’, Warslow Moor, by Angela Lilley

footpath sign in a meadowpointing towards a tree in summer — ‘Tree’, near Butterton, by Angela Lilley

levert sitting looking towards the camera in a meadow — ‘Leveret’, Greenland Farm, by Rob Westrick

Latticed heath moth, wings open on blade of grass in a meadow — ‘Latticed Heath moth’, Greenland Farm, Brandside, by Rob Westrick

Two pheasants fighting on a lawn — ‘ “This is my garden!” ’, Greenland Farm, Brandside, by Rob Westrick

trig point at the top of Ecton Hill looking over hills in the sunset — ‘Ecton Hill at sundown. Set high above the Manifold Valley with far reaching views over the Staffordshire moorlands’, by Emma Carter

Hare sitting in a field of buttercups — ‘In the buttercups’, near Brownspit Farm, Longnor, by Penny Critchlow

Close up of a hare sitting in a meadow in summer — ‘Just nosey ...’, near Brownspit Farm, Longnor, by Penny Critchlow

Curlew fledgling looking out from long grass — ‘A fledgling Curlew popped up in the long grass’, near Brownspit Farm, Longnor, by Penny Critchlow

short eared owl flying across a meadow — 'Short-eared Owl gliding over Swainsmoor’ by Josh Roe-Knight

redstart sitting on a flowernig hawthorn in morning sunshine — ‘A Redstart sitting in the morning light’, Fawfieldhead, by Josh Roe-Knight

Wild garlic flowering on both sides of a path in a woodland — ‘Wood garlic - photographed whilst doing the Leaden Boot Challenge walk!’, Musden Wood, by Martin Dowson

stone bridge over a river with people on the bridge and people walking along the path next to the river. Autumnal trees on both sides — ‘Autumn at Ilam Park along the Manifold River’, by Melanie McDonald

painted lady butterfly on knapweed flower next to path in the hills on a sunny day — ‘It was a perfect day full of nature, but the icing on the cake was the butterflies along the path back to the ice cream’, Manifold Trail, near Hulme End, by Phil Lyon

curlew flying over a summer meadow with a drystone wall in the background — ‘Curlew having a nice glide around the fields of Reapsmoor. Taken just before dusk. Beautiful and peaceful bird of the Peak District’ by Paul Machin

A heron, seen through long grass has caught a small mammal — ‘A photo that might not be to all tastes but shows nature in its pure form’, on the verges of the River Dove, in the shadow of Chrome Hill, by Paul Machin

Looking over meadows towards Thors cave with sheep in the forefront on a summer evening — ‘Thor’s Cave’, Wetton Hill, by Sharon Critchlow

a parent blue tit sat on a branch with a fledgling on either side waiting to be fed — ‘The first visit to the feeder for the baby blue tits’, Ecton Lee House, by Kate Hodgson

looking down a lane with verges and drystone walls on both sideswith the sun setting in the distance — 'The Road Home. Driving to a holiday home we stopped to see the sun going down over Leek’, by Paul Baird

A very colourful sunset over a medow with trees in the distance — 'August sunset from the bridge over the River Manifold’, Hulme End, by Robert Pemberton

Nacreous clouds, which look like rainbow clouds above a dark hill with bare trees — ‘For quite some time there were these nacreous clouds forming. Very much like a rainbow cloud’, Wetton Mill, by Sean Burns

Silhouette of a tree in winter with two sheep grazing under it on a field with snow — 'Winter Graze’, Warslow, by Jennifer Wilson

sepia colour, looking up at the bare branches of a tree — ‘When the leaves fall off the trees’, Beresford Dale, by Caroline Annat

Looking up at the milky way with a meteor — ‘I was sat outside watching the Perseid meteor shower. I saw lots of them. Just before midnight I caught a meteor photobombing the Milky Way’, the camping grounds at Ecton Bridge, by Helen Challand

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