From a fluorescing squat lobster to a sleeping swan cygnet — the winning images of the 2026 British Wildlife Photography Awards
More than 12,000 images were entered in the 2026 British Wildlife Photography Awards, which celebrate the variety, beauty and resilience of nature across the UK. The winning images range from familiar to overlooked forms of life, revealing behaviour, colour and texture in gardens, forests, rivers and coastal waters. Ben Lucas was named Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his tender portrait of a mute swan cygnet asleep on its sibling. Together, the images offer a joyful record of Britain’s wildlife and a reminder of fragile habitats on which it depends.
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Feathery Pillow
Ben Lucas’s portrait of a mute swan cygnet asleep on its sibling in Hornchurch, Essex
Glowing Bright
A fluorescing spiny squat lobster photographed by James Lynott during a night dive in Loch Fyne, Scotland
Slime Moulds and a Water Droplet
One-millimetre-tall slime moulds found by Barry Webb on a fragment of wood in South Buckinghamshire
Cutting Edge
Jamie Smart’s portrait of a leaf-cutter bee peering from a clay bee hotel in Powys, Wales
New Life
A developing common frog embryo photographed by Julian Terreros-Martin in Messingham, Lincolnshire
Beams of Brightness
Dawn sunlight breaks through frosty woodland in Bushy Park, West London, photographed by Mark Richardson
The 2027 competition is now open for entries at bwpawards.org. Photographers of all experience levels are invited to submit their photographs of Britain’s nature at its best.
