Milky Way photo: check out ‘great’ picture of National Park photography prize winner of skies over tudor ruins

An amateur photographer is celebrating after his “great chocolate box photo” of the Milky Way won him a national photography competition.

Richard Murray, of Waterlooville, Hampshire, took the top spot in the South Downs National Park astrophotography competition, with his image of the Milky Way rising over the ruins of a local Tudor mansion. The photo, which won Murray £100 under the South Downs Dark Skyscapes category, was crowned the best out of 60 entries and shows the night-time scene at Cowdray ruins in Midhurst, West Sussex.

Murray said the national park is “beautiful” and “truly special”. “We were blessed with crystal clear skies and I was lucky enough to be able to capture this shot of the Milky Way rising behind the Cowdray ruins. It demonstrates that you don’t have to travel too far from town to enjoy the spectacular dark skies the South Downs National Park has to offer. The national park has such a wide variety of beautiful landscapes and buildings to photograph and is truly a special part of the UK, both by day and night.”

The photography competition celebrates the national park’s status as one of only 20 International Dark Sky Reserves in the world. This status was awarded to the area in 2016 and shows that South Downs is one of the 20 best places across the world to view the moon and stars.

The ruins that are shown in Murray’s photo have been in the area for almost 230 years. The mansion was undergoing repairs and refurbishments for the impending marriage of the 8th Viscount Montague in September 1793 when a fire broke out which destroyed most of the property, leaving the ruins that have remained until this day.

South Downs lead ranger Dan Oakley praised Muray’s winning photo, calling it “well-framed”. He added: “It shows what the landscape would have been like a couple of centuries ago. “It’s a great little chocolate box photo of the South Downs.”

“I still go to the South Downs more than most other places”

The second prize in the South Downs Dark Skyscapes category was given to Andrew Parker, who took a photo of the moon rising behind Beachy Head lighthouse, near Eastbourne. He was given a £75 prize. Parker, who lives in south east London, said: “Despite travelling around the country to pursue my hobby of landscape and astrophotography I still go to the South Downs more than most other places. The skies around Birling Gap are fantastic.”

The judges were also impressed by the talent showcased in the second category, Nature at Night, and awarded first prize to Peter Brooks, from Eastbourne. He wins a £100 prize for his image of a toad crossing a road near Cuckmere Haven, in East Sussex. Brooks said: “I took this particular image to highlight the dangers toads face when migrating back to their breeding ponds.”

Explaining why the photo took the top spot in the category, Oakley said: “I like this image because it’s a bit different. It sums up the theme of ‘nature at night’ and really highlights the fragility of nature.”