THE BEST of nature and wildlife photography is to be celebrated in a new exhibition at Moors Valley Country Park near Ringwood.

The British Wildlife Photography Awards (BWPA) exhibition starts today Saturday and features a variety of creatures from seahorses off Studland to a butterfly near Lulworth.

With 16 categories, including a special film category (Wildlife in HD), the awards showcase the best of nature photography and raise awareness about biodiversity, British species and their habitats.

Filmed in Dorset, the video The Last Seahorse in Studland? came away with the top prize in the special Wildlife in HD category. Shot by Andy Jackson and written and narrated by Jackie Daly, their idea to film the life cycle of seahorses off the Dorset coast turned into a plea to help the species after only one seahorse was sighted despite expert assistance.

The Dorset coast also features in the competition’s habitat category with Richard Bromley Gardner’s image of a Large White butterfly in flight over cliffs looking out to St Oswalds Bay near Lulworth.

Established in 2009, the highly-acclaimed BWPA exhibition attracts thousands of entries celebrating the beauty and diversity of British wildlife. This year’s overall winner offers a unique insight into the habitat and behaviour of gannets. Taken by Barrie Williams, his image, 'On the Edge' features gannets on a cliff in the Shetland Isles and won the habitat category as well as taking the overall winner’s title.

Moors Valley is one of a handful of locations to host the BWPA national touring exhibition.

Countryside ranger Katie Davies said: “The British Wildlife Photography Awards recognise the talents of photographers across the UK whilst also celebrating the immense beauty and vitality of our indigenous wildlife. These stunning images really are the best of the best and Moors Valley is privileged to be the only venue chosen to host this important national exhibition on the south coast”.

The British Wildlife Photography Awards free exhibition will open daily in the visitor centre at Moors Valley Country Park and is free to view.

For more information go to moors-valley.co.uk or call 01425 470721.