This article was translated by John R. Bopp
The British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) held its annual awards event at the beginning of November, and gave out prizes in two large groups, those dedicated to tourism development, and those to the writers themselves who make up the BGTW.
One of the awards given out was for Best Tour Guide. This year’s award was given to travel writer Murray Stewart for his guide to the Land of the Basques, including the Basque Autonomous Community, Navarre, and the Upper Basque Country north of the Pyrenees. According to the judges, it was given for his ability to describe the fascinating mix that the traveler can find in this part of the world with the culture, language, and contemporary influences.
In an interview (included below) the author gave to the guide’s publishing house’s, Bradt Guides, website, Murray Stewart showed great knowledge of the peculiarities of our country and noteworthy common sense.
We especially like his ability to transmit the existence of a Land of the Basques that happens to be on both sides of a major mountain range. We’re especially gratified to see him make reference to the Pamplona San Fermín festival, the Pepper Festival in Expeleta, the beauty of Laguardia, or the attractiveness of Getaria.
We were just as captivated to see his interest in and attention to the minor details. He really captured the realities of both sides of our country, which usually go under the radar for most visitors, who only focus on going to the most obvious tourist destinations, much like the Basques themselves.
He even included references to the Bilbao Maritime Museum, which he highly recommended, thanks to how it shows the relationship between the Basques and the sea. Curiously, this institution is rather unknown even to the residents of Bilbao.
This is definitely good new for Murray Stewart, and also for all the Land of the Basques as a whole.
We’ll leave you with the reference to the award ceremony, the interview published when the book was, and the online version to consult.
BGTW – 7/11/2016 -Gran Bretaña
Glittering Prizes
The BGTW’s annual awards for the best developments in tourism are always eagerly awaited. Here’s a full list of the winners and the highly commended – voted for by our members – plus all the winners of our members writing and photography awards and those who generously sponsored their prizes.
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Bradt Guides – 21//2016 – Gran Bretaña
Interview with Murray Stewart
We chat to Murray Stewart, author of our new The Basque Country and Navarre guidebook, about his tips for those visiting the region, what to eat, and his experiences of being a guidebook author.
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Other articles about the Basque Country written by Murray Stewart and found on the Bradt Guides website.
The guide can be consulted at Google Books:
Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country