THE new photographic competition being run by Canal & River Trust was won by a hire boater, it has been announced.
Derek Quilliam, from Stockton Heath, was awarded first prize for a delightful image which shows his wife and daughter pulling on the ropes of their hire boat Holly Day on a day trip cruising along the Shropshire Union Canal.
Cheshire Cat Narrowboats
Derek, who is a member of Warrington Photo Society, hired his boat from Cheshire Cat Narrowboats based at Overwater Marina, and was surprised and delighted to win.
The competition was looking for 'imaginative and evocative photographs' that depict 'Life on the Waterways'" across North Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Young photographer Tom Morrison, a pupil at William Brookes School in Much Wenlock, was winner in the Under 16 category. His winning photo captures a flotilla of boats travelling along the historic Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal.
The prizes in the competition were vouchers for photographic equipment. Brenda Harvey, Chairman of the Trust's North Wales & Borders Waterway Partnership, praised:
"We were delighted to receive dozens of stunning images as entries into our first regional waterway photographic competition. The standard was very high and the judges had a difficult job choosing the best photographs.
"Both our first prize winners, Derek and Tom, are first class photographers and their love of our waterways shines through in the pictures they submitted. Both winning photographs show people enjoying the canals. Our aim was to capture images that reflect the natural and man-made waterway environments and draw out what they mean to people and communities. Our winners have done that very successfully."