Sir Antony Gormley sculptures placed at five UK beauty spots

Life-sized sculptures by Antony Gormley have been placed at five beauty spots around the UK that were specially selected by the artist.

Each cast-iron sculpture was designed to complement its surroundings, with all five beside water, including the North Sea and English Channel.

The commission - entitled Land - was created to mark 50 years of UK building conservation charity Landmark Trust.

Gormley said the artworks were "catalysts for reflection".

The sculptures were designed to engage with the elemental conditions of the Kilbrannan Sound, Bristol Channel, North Sea and English Channel.

The fifth location is a quiet site in a Warwickshire village, where the sculpture stands looking into the depths of a man-made lock.

The five locations for the Land sculptures are:

The figures will remain in place until May 2016.

Sir Antony said: "I am excited about making sculpture that stands in the wind, the rain and snow, day and night.

"The sculptures will be like standing stones: Markers in space and time, linking with specific places and their histories."

Landmark Trust historian Caroline Stanford said: "For our 50th anniversary, we wanted to do something that everyone can enjoy, not only for those that stay in our buildings but the local communities in whose landscape the local buildings fit."