Winners and finalists
The BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards (MEA) recognise the work published and produced by our members. The 10 individual awards and four portfolio awards were judged by more than 30 travel media and industry professionals, both in the UK and from our sister travel writing organisations in the US and Australia.
The winners were announced at the BGTW Annual Gala Awards on the eve of World Travel Market on Sunday 6 November at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, London where we also announced the BGTW International Tourism Awards 2022 winners.
The winners and finalists in the BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards are:
TRAVEL FEATURE OF THE YEAR – UK
Sponsored by
WINNER: Lorna Parkes
House of horror: Bath opens world’s first museum dedicated to Mary Shelley, The Guardian
Pól Ó Conghaile
Northern Lights, National Geographic Traveller UK
Simon Parker
Exploring the wildest corner of Britain – in winter, The Telegraph
Michael Unwin
Springwatch unplugged: A stay at one of Britain’s most remote holiday homes, The Guardian
Jessica Vincent
The plan to connect every British town, BBC Travel
Kerry Walker
Why the wilds of Mid Wales are the perfect antidote to Britain’s busy beaches, The Telegraph
TRAVEL FEATURE OF THE YEAR – NON-UK
Sponsored by
WINNER: James Stewart
Noah? Show me where the ocean is? The Daily Telegraph
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Shafik Meghji
Sustainability and survival in the Bolivian Amazon, JRNY
Emma Gregg
Leave no trace, National Geographic Traveller
Ben Lerwill
How the safari sector is bouncing back in South Africa’s north east, National Geographic Traveller UK
Shafik Meghji
A journey to the end of the world, Wanderlust
Antonia Windsor
Foodie adventures and family nostalgia in the Algarve, The Times
TRAVEL FEATURE OF THE YEAR – REGIONAL AND SPECIALIST MEDIA
Sponsored by
WINNER: Ben Lerwill
Step by (slow) step, Breathe Magazine
Richard Collett
How hiking Britain’s longest trail helped me recover from COVID-19, Lonely Planet
Stuart Forster
Immerse yourself in medieval times, Discover Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Lynn Houghton
Feeling of freedom, Selling Travel / BMI Publishing
Jonathan Thompson
Here’s what really happens to your lost luggage, METRO
SPECIALIST TRAVEL FEATURE OF THE YEAR –
THE BRYN FRANK AWARD
Sponsored by
WINNER: Jessica Vincent
The city of rice: Alicante’s enduring obsession with arroz, National Geographic Traveller Food
Ash Bhardwaj
Travellers of colour, The Telegraph
Brian Jackman
Tuning in, Travel Africa
Shafik Meghji
Hope is out there: What a decade of travels in Bolivia has taught me about the climate crisis, Adventure.com
Adrian Phillips
High on a hill, National Geographic Traveller UK
Adrian Phillips
The coast is clear, National Geographic Traveller UK
TRANSPORT FEATURE OF THE YEAR – THE KENNETH WESTCOTT-JONES AWARD
Sponsored by
WINNER: Sue Watt
The Elephant Express and beyond, JRNY
Claire Boobbyer
Take the road less travelled: cycling Norfolk’s country lanes, The Times
Isabel Conway
Captivated by the Queen of the French waterways, The Business Post
Tracey Croke
A Musher’s Tale, MiNDFOOD Magazine
Ben Lerwill
A winter’s trail: Taking Wales’s fabulous Cambrian coastal railway off season, The Independent
James Stewart
Sailing back from the brink, Financial Times
TRAVEL GUIDE BOOK OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: James Rushforth
Photographing Iceland, Volumes 1 & 2, fotoVUE
Claire Boobbyer
Havana Pocket Precincts, Hardie Grant
Steph Dyson
Moon Chile, with Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Moon
Murray Stewart
Camino Ignaciano – Walking the Ignatian Way in Northern Spain, Bradt
Martin Symington
Britain’s Sacred Places, Bradt
Kerry Walker
Under the Stars – Europe, Lonely Planet
TRAVEL NARRATIVE BOOK OF THE YEAR –
THE ADELE EVANS AWARD
Sponsored by
WINNER: Tharik Hussain
Minarets in the Mountains: a Journey into Muslim Europe, Bradt
Shafik Meghji
Crossed off the Map: Travels in Bolivia, Practical Action Publishing/Latin America Bureau
Simon Parker
Riding Out: A journey of love, loss and new beginnings, Summersdale
TRAVEL PHOTO FEATURE OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Simon Urwin
Southern Comforts, JRNY
Tim Bird
Snow brings light and life to Helsinki, ThisisFinland.fi
Bella Falk
What will happen to the 7th continent? BBC Travel
Jeremy Flint
Madeira Photo Journal, British Airways High Life Magazine
Emma Gregg
Leave no trace, National Geographic Traveller
Lynn Houghton
Back to where it all began, Wanderlust
Nori Jemil
‘More like war photography’: Photographing the Arctic during a climate crisis, Adventure.com
Mike Unwin
Sri Lanka’s return to the wild, Wanderlust
TRAVEL BLOG POST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Paul Healy
Embrace a new you with these 16 outdoor adventures in England, Anywhere We Roam
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jonathan Thompson
In Jordan, To Grandmother’s house we go, Afar.com
Mary Anne Evans
An idiot’s guide to French architecture, Mary Anne’s France
Alastair McKenzie
Where Nelson lost his arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, MechTraveller
Sue Watt
Tracking mountain gorillas in the post-pandemic era, RoundTrip Foundation
TRAVEL BROADCAST OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Ash Bhardwaj
First dispatch from Nepal, The First Mile podcast
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Simon Parker
Gorongosa National Park, The Telegraph – Journeysmiths
Heidi Fuller-Love
Meet the locals – Crete, BBC From Our Own Correspondent
Shafik Meghji
The unparalleled beauty of Easter Island, Wanderlust: Off the Page podcast
Jonathan Thompson
Quebec – Adventure Cities, Discovery Channel
BGTW TRAVEL BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Paul Healy
Anywhere We Roam
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Lucy Dodsworth
Explore the Cotswolds
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Susan Schwartz
A Lush Life Manual
Mary Anne Evans
Mary Anne’s France
Bella Falk
Passport & Pixels
Alastair McKenzie
MechTraveller
Claire Robinson
Weekend Candy
BGTW TRAVEL BROADCASTER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Simon Parker
The Telegraph, Journeysmiths
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ash Bhardwaj
North York Moors National Park, BBC, The First Mile, Costa Rica Tourist Board
Isabel Conway
World Report RTE One Radio
Andrea McVeigh
Travel in your Pocket podcast
Aaron Millar
Wanderlust: Off the Page
Jonathan Thompson
Adventure Cities, Afar, Times Travel
BGTW PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: James Rushforth
fotoVUE
Tim Bird
ThisisFinland.fi, Bradt – The Travel Club e-zine
Tracey Croke
MiNDFOOD
Bella Falk
Discover Britain, BBC Travel
Jeremy Flint
Canon Photo Plus magazine
Diana Jarvis
The Rough Guide to Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Space.com, The Guardian, Weather2Travel
Nori Jemil
Wanderlust Magazine, Adventure.com, Outlook Travel Magazine
Karolina Wiercigroch
National Geographic Traveller UK
BGTW TRAVEL WRITER OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by
WINNER: Emma Thomson
Walking gets the silent treatment, Daily Telegraph
Poland’s Lake District, Sunday Times
How I explored the Arctic by Train, Sunday Telegraph
Even the Nonnas know who I am now, Daily Telegraph
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ben Lerwill
How the safari sector is bouncing back in South Africa’s north east, National Geographic Traveller
A winter’s trail: taking Wales’s fabulous Cambrian coastal railway off season, The Independent
Megaliths and hoopoes: chance encounters in untamed Brittany, The Guardian
Pirates and prehistory on Devon’s southeast coast, National Geographic Traveller
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Adrian Phillips
Sheep skulls and husky dogs: Living like a shepherd in the French Pyrenees,
Land of Plenty, National Geographic Traveller
World Cup 2022: in search of the soul of Qatar, Sunday Times
The Coast is Clear, National Geographic Traveller
Heidi Fuller-Love
What it’s like to be one of Europe’s last night watchmen, Telegraph Travel
Mussolini’s fascist outpost, Telegraph Travel
Walk like a Minoan, The Guardian
Hitchhiking in the Eighties, Telegraph Travel
Jonathan Thompson
Rock N Rail, Sunday Times
Nile In Style, Sunday Times
City Life, New Orleans, National Geographic Traveller
Keys to Hemingway’s Florida, Sunday Times
Jessica Vincent
The English county with more waterways than Venice, BBC Travel
The city of rice: Alicante’s enduring obsession with arroz, National Geographic Traveller Food
Palermo faith: Seeing Sicily’s capital through a migrant’s eyes, The Independent
The plan to connect every British town, BBC Travel
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Congratulations to winners, finalists and thank you to everyone who entered in what was a record-breaking year for entries. The BGTW Members’ Excellence Awards will return in 2023. To sponsor an award, please email [email protected]
