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Monday 21 Oct 2013

Runcorn image commended in national photography competition

Region & Route:

A striking image of the rail and road bridges crossing the River Mersey at Runcorn has been commended in the Network Rail-sponsored Lines in the Landscape Award at this year’s Take a View’s Landscape Photographer of the Year competition.

The entry by David Longstaffe was among the ten commended by renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite in the Lines in the Landscape category. Their images were judged to be amongst the best of around 500 photographs that capture Britain’s extensive rail network and its relationship with our landscape.

David said: “It has always intrigued me how famous this relatively unknown bridge would be if it had in fact been erected just several miles down the River Mersey to link the Wirral Peninsular with Liverpool. The darkened clouds behind the low sun illuminated the blend of stone, iron and steel to lift the shape and lines away from the industrial landscape and slowly flowing river. It almost depicts how all the elements work together as one to ensure safe passage. I hope that the image collates all of the elements of the bridge and its local area that make its purpose very essential for modern travel and the movement of freight.”

David will have his image printed in a coffee table book showcasing around 150 of the best entries and all the category winners, including the overall Landscape Photographer of the Year 2013.*

Dyan Crowther, route managing director for Network Rail, said: "This competition celebrates some spectacular scenes where the railway meets the great British landscape. The many thousands of bridges and viaducts we manage and maintain form a significant part of the British landscape including the bridge over the Mersey at Runcorn. David has captured both bridges in a beautiful and thoughtful way. Well done to him, and all others commended in the Lines in the Landscape category."