I am so pleased as when the email came through I found out that not only did I win first place in the Birmingham Canal Navigations photo competition but I also came third! After entering so many competitions and being both long and short listed, it is a lovely feeling to have won one at long last. My prize was presented at a large gala at the Birmingham Council House celebrating 250 years of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. Included in the prize for first and third was £200 in camera vouchers plus a canvas print of my winning photograph. I have included the press release below together with the 1st and 3rd pictures. I was delighted to see that my picture featured on the front of the programme that was printed out and placed on all the tables for the evening. A night to remember!

PRESS RELEASE

21 November 2019

Winners of Birmingham Canal Navigations photo competition announced

The charity, Canal & River Trust, working in partnership with the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, has picked the winners of a photo competition which celebrates the 250^th birthday of Birmingham’s canals.

Over 300 photos were submitted as part of the competition which aimed to capture the unique beauty of the historic waterways across Birmingham and the Black Country. Budding photographers were encouraged to snap a wide variety of waterway images such as colourful boats, waterway wildlife, historic canal architecture or pictures of people enjoying spending time on their local canal.

The winners are:

• 1^st place: Damien Walmsley with his picture titled ‘Running under Snow Hill station’

• 2^nd place: Michael Landelle with his picture titled ‘Lazy Sunday afternoon’

• 3^rd place: Damien Walmsley with his picture titled ‘Sunrise over Brindleyplace’

As part of the prize the winners were invited to a special VIP celebration event at the Council House in Birmingham where they were presented with their prize by The Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Mr John Crabtree OBE and Allan Leighton, chairman at Canal & River Trust.

Adnan Saif, director of West Midlands at the Canal & River Trust, said: “It’s wonderful that so many people took part in this photo competition. The pictures really showed how lovely the canals in Birmingham and the Black Country are and how lucky we are to have this wonderful network of canals right on our doorstep.

“I hope these pictures will encourage more people to come and discover their local canal as research shows being by water makes us happier and healthier.”

Michael Smith-Keary, from the Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, said: “It was great seeing so many wonderful pictures of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. There was a real mixture of photos from beautiful rural canal scenes, wildlife, boats and pictures that highlighted our urban waterways.

“All of the photos highlighted just how popular our canals are with local people and that nowadays they are being used for boating and so much more. Now they are very much about creating green spaces that are used for leisure and living – playing a vital role in our society for another 250 years.”

For more information on the work of the Canal & River Trust including how you can volunteer or donate money to support our work visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

-ENDS-

For further media requests please contact: Sarah Rudy at Canal & River Trust on sarah.rudy@canalrivertrust.org.uk or call 01908 302 584 / 07788 691 219 

Notes to Editors

The Canal & River Trust cares for and brings to life 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England & Wales.  We believe waterways have the power to make a difference to people’s lives and that spending time by water can make us all healthier and happier. By bringing communities together to make a difference to their local waterway, we are creating places and spaces that can be used and enjoyed by everyone, every day.

www.canalrivertrust.org.uk