This year's competition saw some stellar entries, and our judges took pleasure in reading through them. Thank you to all who entered: and remember, it's really not the winning that is the important thing. What matters is that so many of you took the time to compose a creative piece, and the very act of doing this is a huge step, and something to be proud of.

We had three categories this year, with the addition of a Young Poets category. We also had a welcome selection of prizes to encourage you to enter, which seemed to work! A big thanks to all of our prize providers and sponsors! 

In the prose category in third place was One Yellow Balloon by Allan Bolton. His piece was described by a judge as "an affectionate and lightly written piece, but it covers serious feelings too." In second, All Alone? by Iain Cumming was described by as a "a sobering study of hypothermic confusion", with "terrain, weather and surroundings expertly conveyed". In first place was Gifts by Jo Austen: "The new girlfriend is hurried up a stormy hill by her awful boyfriend. But it doesn't matter! The gifts, from moss, from stone, from spiderwebs, are all around her and beautifully conveyed." One judge was surprised that fourth-equal-placed Glen Quoich - an extract from a novel by EV Connan, didn't place as a prize winner - he gave it 10 out of 10, and thought it was the best prose entry of any that he's seen - and he's been judging a long time! This reader agrees it was an enjoyably realistic depiction of west highland life...please feel free to enter again, EV Connan.

In the adult poetry category, third-placed was Gorton by Gordon Bell - "night marches to bothies inspire a lot of poems, but few of them manage this sustained, urgent pace or use starlight to heighten the sense of threat." I've tramped that path at night, with headlights sweeping across the moor at the start, so I can appreciate those sentiments! Another judge appreciated the "magical realism of the language and descriptions." In second place was Things We Cannot Keep by Lauren Kedar - "memories and remembrance beautifully intertwined in a lyrical elegy." First place was Colin Bancroft's Between Little and Great Dunn Fell: "a heartfelt reflection of harder times and a recognition of how fortunate we are in the present," and "a fine recall of the people that the hill belonged to, whether or not they wanted it, before our generations came along."

All three winners in the Young Poet's category deserve their plaudits. In third place was A Journey Through the Heights by Ben: "an uplifting call to action to explore and find personal growth in the outdoors." In second was Blustery Crags by Isla: "a well-crafted poem honouring the mountain's role as protector, standing sentinel over the landscape." First place went to Majesty of the Skies by Alexi: "In the questions posed the author skilfully ponders their own life through adolescence to old age, and whether they'll have the same impact as the mountain," and it "really does manage to tell us about the personality and presence of the mountain."

Huge thanks to the judges, including newcomer Chris Townsend, who has to be easily the most accomplished outdoor writer we've ever had on our panel! It's not easy fitting in all the reading around everyday tasks, and it is much appreciated. Here's to the next competition: next time you're walking, climbing or skiing, start having a wee think about expressing all those weird and wonderful ideas that come to you in the middle of nowhere!