Bea SwallowWest of England

PA Media Two rowers are seen rowing away from the camera on Bristol's Floating Harbour. In the background the colourful houses of Kingsdown are visible as are various large blocks of flats along the harbourside.

As 2025 draws to a close and the countdown to the new year begins, we are taking time to look back at the most memorable moments of 2025.

Early snowfall, packed stadiums, epic festivals and long-standing traditions have delivered a series of striking pictures from across the region. Here are just a few…

Longleat Safari Park A herd of zebras walking through the snow in their enclosure at Longleat. They are all heading towards the left of the image, where a wooden fence blocks off an area of woodland. There is a large tree in the middle of the field and the skies are a light blue with wispy clouds.

The first few days of January brought the first snowfall of the year.

As temperatures plunged into minus figures, zebras at Longleat Safari Park were spotted frolicking on the freshly powdered blanket.

Anna Barclay An aerial image showing Holcombe village and the surrounding fields at sunrise on a frosty day. There is a thin layer of snow on the ground and the image looks cold and misty.

The colder, brighter temperatures lured photographers out to capture stunning sunsets and sunrises, like this frosty village in Holcombe, Somerset.

Andre Pattenden Hundreds of model flamingos are seen in the water in front of City Hall on College Green in Bristol. The picture is taken at night and the building behind the flamingos is lit up with purple, blue and green lights.

The Bristol Light Festival returned to the city centre in February, showcasing illuminations such as this reflective flock of 1,000 white flamingos.

Reuters A group of jockeys riding racehorses around a track at Cheltenham racecourse.

The Cheltenham Festival in March remains one of the region’s biggest annual sporting events, drawing top jockeys, elite racehorses and tens of thousands of spectators.

PA Media Two people are sitting on a bench by the beach in Weston-super-Mare. Behind them is the pier. It is sunny.

Residents in Weston-super-Mare enjoyed warm temperatures in April.

Some parts of the UK reached 21C – the highest recorded UK spring equinox temperature since 1972.

Jessie Myers A large crowd is seen in front of one of the stages at Love Saves The Day in Bristol. The blue stage is a sprawling and elaborate design with "Brouhaha" written on its front.

Love Saves the Day was held at the Ashton Court Estate in Bristol on the May Bank Holiday weekend, attracting more than 30,000 festival-goers for the two-day event.

Reuters A group of men tumbling down a steep grassy hill during the annual cheese rolling race in Gloucester. They are kicking up a lot of dirt and are all in different positions, spinning and rolling as they try to reach the bottom first.

Gloucestershire’s traditional cheese rolling event in May certainly delivered the thrills, spills and tumbles that worldwide fans have come to love.

Jeff Overs/BBC A bright orange picture of the sun rising over Stonehenge monument, which you can see the silhouette of in the foreground. Around the base of the stones there is a very large group of people gathering to watch the summer solstice.

Druids and pagans joined a colourful mix of visitors to mark the summer solstice in June, gathering at the ancient site of Stonehenge near Salisbury.

Paul Box A man in a yellow outfit flies through the air using water-powered jets coming from hoses attached to his feet at the Bristol Harbour Festival.

Organisers described this year’s Bristol Harbour Festival in July as a “bold, diverse and joyful celebration of everything that makes Bristol brilliant” including art, live music and water sports.

Paul Box/Bristol Balloon Fiesta An aerial image showing the bird's eye view of the Bristol Balloon Fiesta, as seen from the basket of a hot air balloon float above a large field. Below is a large crowd of people and lots of different coloured hot air balloons ready to ascend.

More than 100 hot air balloons took to the skies over Bristol for the International Balloon Fiesta in August, featuring dawn mass ascents and night-time glows.

Bronwen Lester Two different teams are in the water of the moat at Wells Bishop's Palace as they prepare for the annual raft race. One team are all in military uniforms and riding a khaki-coloured craft. The other team are riding a raft sitting on blue barrels. In the background spectators are visible on the bank.

The annual Wells Moat Boat Race sailed around the waters of the Bishop’s Palace moat in August, featuring ingenious home-made crafts and plenty of life jackets.

Matt Cardy/Getty Images A large crowd of people walking in a parade through Bath, wearing full Regency attire and carrying props like parasols, fans, baskets and top hats.

September saw thousands of literature fans take part in the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, celebrating the author’s 250th birthday in full Regency style.

Graham Barratt squats down by his giant pumpkin, he is surrounded by pumpkin vines and is in a poly tunnel. He wears a checked flannel shirt and has a tape measure around his neck.

A gardener from Gloucester, who specialises in growing record-breaking giant vegetables, reared this 362kg (800lb) pumpkin for the Malvern Autumn Show.

Robert Browne A group of people are silhouetted against trees as part of an art installation by Luke Jerram called Tipping Point at Bristol University Botanical Gardens. Lights on the ground are illuminating the trees as part of an artwork meant to simulate a forest fire.

This immersive light installation in the University of Bristol’s Botanic Garden aimed to simulate a forest fire to raise critical awareness about deforestation.

A number of people in military uniforms are holding wreaths and are gathered on a train platform.

To mark Remembrance Day in November, poppy wreaths were collected from stations including Gloucester and laid at the war memorial in London.

Simon Boddy/Ambitious PR A house is covered in illuminated Christmas lights, many of them blue and purple. In the foreground is a bright sparkling reindeer made of lights and wire and all of the windows in the house have Christmas symbols in them. It is the Winterbourne Wonderland display near Bristol.

The Winterbourne Wonderland, featuring more than 100,000 lights, got us in the festive spirit while raising money for the children’s hospital and suicide prevention charities.

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