It's been quite a year. 2016 has seen more than its fair share of ups and down, and the Oxford Mail has been there for them all. 

Here, picture editor Ed Nix guides you through some of the most important, striking and unusual shots of the year.

Miniature Hats: What a lovely portrait.

This is Trixie Kirvy, who collects tiny miniature hats. She made a great feature in both the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. It was taken in February by former Oxford Mail deputy picture editor and brilliant photographer Lucy Ford. She now works as the picture editor at Country Living Magazine. Great Picture Lucy!

Blavatnik: Taken in January, this was our first glimpse inside the new Blavatnik building on Walton Street. This image of visitor Alison Stibbe was taken by Richard Cave on the opening day

Didcot Disaster: Steve Parsons, who shoots for the Press Association, took this aerial photo from a helicopter shortly after the disaster at Didcot. The clean-up is still under way 10 months on. A big indication of the sheer scale of the devastation.

Lohri Festival: Atmospheric enough for you? This was a stunted-up picture by Andrew Walmsley to help promote January’s Punjabi Lohri Festival at the Tree Hotel in Iffley. Andrew shot through the flames of a small bonfire and used his flash on a tall stand for the backlighting. You could almost mistake the flash for a full moon.

Sewage Hell: I just love this picture from February. It’s about as random as you can get. Jon Lewis scored another front page with this one. The lighting is spot on. It’s of Hoonie Feltham, who was flooded by sewage for the third time in 15 years. Hoonie was pictured checking out his drains for fatbergs.

Art Show: Simple but very effective. This striking landscape of artist Stuart Roper was taken inside Art Jericho by Richard Cave. The exhibition was called Oxford Refracted and made for some interesting pictures during a grey and cold January.

Chinese New Year: The Oxfordshire Chinese community celebrating the at the Oxford Town Hall in February. This front-page picture of stilt walker Ling Huiling Zhu was taken by Simon Williams.