A meeting with a murderer, wildlife thrills, children enjoying a cruise ship, plus spectacular pictures were among subjects which won this year's awards to Britain's top travel journalists and photographers.

The awards were presented at the British Guild of Travel Writers' (BGTW) annual dinner held at the Savoy Hotel, London, on Sunday, November 3rd, the eve of the World Travel Market, which attracts tourism industry professionals from around the world.

Praising the standards of the award winners, all of whom were members of the Guild, chairman Roger Bray said: " At a time when specialised travel writing is under threat from economic belt tightening by newspapers and magazines and the rise of social media these awards serve as a reminder of the enormous pool of talent and expertise listed on the Guild's website and in its annual Yearbook."

The coveted BGTW Travel Writer of the Year award, sponsored by Travel PR, went to Mike Unwin from Brighton.

His feature - You want wildlife on demand? Prepare to be disappointed - ran in The Independent on Sunday. Mike writes numerous travel articles with recent columns in The Independent and BBC Wildlife, plus travel and wildlife books for children and adults. He lived in southern Africa for seven years and is editor of Travel Zambia magazine.

Mike's winning portfolio also included Zen and the Art of Amateur Wildlife Photography (Independent on Sunday); Africa's Nutshell Nation, (The Independent); In the Devil's Domain (Wild Travel Magazine); Monkey Business (Journeys Magazine); Bring Out  the Bodies (BBC Wildlife Magazine); and Among the Volcanoes (Wild Travel Magazine).

The judges praised Mike's "range of the portfolio, evocative sense of place, family and individual experiences" and said his style was "inspirational with a nice friendly tone."

The Guild's Photographer of the Year award went to Rudolf Abraham. Sponsored by Maxx Royal Hotels & Voyage Hotels, the award recognized his travel, documentary and lifestyle photography and words specializing in Croatia and Eastern Europe.

Rudolf, who lives in Walthamstow, East London, is the author of eight books and has contributed to many more, and his work has been published widely in magazines and online.

His portfolio of pictures were highlighted by Plitvice Lakes, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Croatia; Young Croatian women in traditional local folk costume and Rijeka Carnival, Croatia.

The award for Best Destination Feature of under 850 words went to Nigel Tisdall for his work: Angola Prison Rodeo: When Convicts Become Cowboys. It was featured in the Daily Telegraph in April, 2013.

The Samoa Tourism Authority sponsored the award for the piece which alarmingly began: "It's not on every holiday that you get to shake hands with a murderer..."

Nigel, from North London, has been a travel writer and photographer since 1985. He is currently travel editor of Marie Claire and also writes regularly for The Telegraph. He has also been author and contributor to a number of guidebooks.

The Best UK Feature of under 850 words, sponsored by Railbookers, went to Jonathan Thompson of Wanstead, East London. His piece, entitled The Outer Limits: Cycling Scotland's New Hebridean Trail ran in the Guardian, August 2012 and suggests the Outer Hebrides is pretty much as far off the beaten track as it gets. He asks: "So where better to rediscover the joys of mountain biking? This was my first time back in the saddle since riding to and from school many years ago."

Jonathan, a freelance writer, contributes lifestyle and travel for The Guardian, CN Traveller, The FT, Metro, and Men's Health magazine.

Jonathan Thompson also won the Best European Feature over 850 words, sponsored by TravMedia. Entitled First Dissect Your Rabbit - A Cookery Class at Alain Ducasse's House in Provence, it ran in The Guardian in May 2013.

He introduces with "A French chef in front of me. In one fist he holds a limp, freshly skinned rabbit carcass. In the other a long, sharp knife. I'm not about to disagree. If there's one thing worse than my overconfident schoolboy French, it's my under-confident schoolboy cookery (read micro-wave meals). So I'd come here, to a Michelin-starred auberge in France's deep south, to tackle both bêtes noires simultaneously."

The award for the Best Overseas Feature, sponsored by the Canadian Tourism Commission, was won by Adrian Phillips from Harrow on the Hill. Titled Park Life the feature was published in the National Geographic Traveller in May 2013.

Adrian is Publishing Director at Bradt Travel Guides and wrote their guides to Budapest and Hungary. In addition to guidebooks, he writes regularly for national newspapers and magazines. A frequent on-stage presenter and tutor at travel-writing seminars, he has a regular travel slot on BBC Radio 5 Live, and has been the editor of the BGTW Yearbook for many years.

David Atkinson from Chester won the Kenneth Westcott Jones Memorial Award for Best Transport or Specialist Feature. Sponsored by Virgin Trains, his award was for: Afloat on a glorious sea of pink, which ran in The Telegraph.

David writes widely and likes discovering emerging and off-beat destinations.

He wrote: "None of us had ever been on a cruise before... however, I was tempted by... an array of boredom-bashing activities for restless children... Are we actually going to sleep on the ship? asked M before departure. Is it like a canoe? Liberty of the Seas, our Royal Caribbean International ship, was no canoe..."

The Adele Evans Award for Best Guidebook, sponsored by the Sultanate of Oman, went to Kirsty Fergusson. Her title Slow Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was published by Bradt Travel Guides, 2013.

Kirsty is primarily a garden writer who has spent seven years in south-west France, contributing to numerous gardening magazines. She also has run tours of French gardens from Normandy to the Loire. Cornwall has been her base since 2010, and it was while living there she published her award-winning guide.

Discovering that the Slow ethos is entirely consistent with her own approach to travel - and life - made writing the book a real pleasure, she said..

The award judges were: Colin Antill, Jim Rowe, Helena Drysdale, David Rowley, Doug Goodman, Dorothy Stannard, Chris Laming, Andrew Steed, Sara Marchadour, Geordie Torr, Chris McIntyre, Stephen Tuckwell, Pat Richardson and Patricia Yates.

The Belgian Tourist Office — Brussels & Wallonia sponsored the 2013 BGTW Awards Dinner.

Written by Guild member Paul Thomas. Further information and photos available from the British Guild of Travel Writers Secretariat:

secretariat@bgtw.org, 020 8144 8713.