Bradt – Stanfords Blog

Hilary Bradt in Conversation with Simon Calder// 2025 Stanfords Travel Writers Festival

Taking the Risk is Hilary Bradt’s engaging, insightful, amusing and sometimes alarming memoir about serendipitous adventures in travel and publishing. A travel industry trail-blazer who co-founded Bradt Guides, Hilary Bradt talks to travel journalist Simon Calder about 50 years of escapades, surprises, mishaps and success.

This is a live recording from Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show at Olympia, London on 30 January 2025.

Shortlisted Entries Announced for the 2025 New Travel Writer of the Year

Over the next few weeks the judging will commence for the 2025 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards Presented by Viking. Yesterday the shortlisted entries for the Bradt New Travel Writer of the Year were announced.

Unpublished writers were invited to submit a piece on the theme; ‘A Hasty Exit.’

Here are the finalists, highly commended and commended pieces:

Stanfords Bestselling Travel Guides of 2024

Wow, what a year it has been. Our customers have certainly covered some ground and we’ve loved hearing about your travel plans. If you are looking for some travel inspiration, here are the Stanfords bestselling Travel Guides of 2024

1. Lonely Planet Japan

£19.99

Summit Mount Fuji, pay your respects at Buddhist temples in Kyoto, and have your fill of sushi and sake; all with your trusted travel companion. Covers Tokyo, Mt Fuji, The Japan Alps, Honshu, Kyoto, Kansai, Hiroshima, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Shiko-ku, Kyushu and Okinawa

2. Bradt Uzbekistan

£17.99

This new, fully updated third edition of Bradt”s Uzbekistan remains the definitive and only standalone practical travel guide to this increasingly liberal destination – central Asia’s most populous country and the heart of the Silk Road. Offering more detail for independent travellers than any other guidebook, it includes first-hand descriptions of everything from UNESCO world heritage sites and the world’s best collection of Russian avant-garde art, to riding across deserts by camel and cooking plov.

3. Lonely Planet Costa Rica

£16.99

Trek through dense jungles in Parque Nacional Corcovado, swim under Montezuma Waterfalls and catch waves on Santa Teresa; all with your trusted travel companion. Covers San Jose, Central Valley, Highlands, Caribbean Coast, Northwestern Costa Rica, Arenal, Northern Lowlands, Peninsula de Nicoya, Central Pacific Coast, Southern Costa Rica, Peninsula de Osa, and more

4. The mini Rough Guide to Puglia

£7.99

From top tourist attractions like the Tremiti islands, the Gargano peninsula and Otranto, to cultural gems, including Alberobello – the centre of Puglia’s famous trulli, the quaint, conical-shaped houses – Castel del Monte, a unique medieval masterpiece, and Lecce, Puglia”s Baroque gem, packed with lavish architecture and fanciful facades, plan your perfect trip with this practical, all-in-one compact travel guide.

5. Bradt Albania

£17.99

This new, fully revised seventh edition of Bradt’s Albania remains the most authoritative standalone guide to what is still a relatively little known part of Europe. Coverage is comprehensive, starting in the capital, Tirana, then moving through central, northern and southern Albania to provide all the information needed for a successful trip. Included are knowledgeable and rigorously researched historical and archaeological background, detailed notes on popular and less well-known hiking routes and other outdoor activities, and specialist contributions on wildlife, military history and other topics.

6. Rough Guide Japan

£22.99

This Japan guidebook is perfect for independent travellers planning a longer trip. It features all of the must-see sights and a wide range of off-the-beaten-track places. It also provides detailed practical information on preparing for a trip and what to do on the ground. This Japan guidebook covers: Tokyo (and around); Northern Honshu; Hokkaido; Central Honshu; Kyoto and Nara; Kansai; Western Honshu; Shikoku; Kyushu; Okinawa.

7. The Mini Rough Guide to Athens

£7.99

This mini pocket Athens travel guidebook is perfect for travellers seeking basic information about Athens. It covers key places, main attractions and a short hotel and restaurant recommendations list. This Athens travel book covers: The Acropolis, Around the Acropolis, Monastiraki and Psyrri, Omonia and environs, From Omonia to Syndagma, Syndagma Square and around.

8. Europe by Train by DK

£14.99

Compiled by a team of travel experts, 50 hand-picked itineraries will kickstart your plans, showing you how to join the dots between Europe’s must-see destinations and introducing you to plenty of lesser-visited stops along the way. Featuring a mix of short trips and epic adventures, cross-continent and region-specific itineraries, this book provides endless inspiration, whether you’re looking to hop between Europe’s capitals, explore Scandinavia or experience the best of Italy.

9. The Mini Rough Guide to Bologna

£7.99

This pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering what to do, what to see and how to get around Bologna. It covers top attractions like Santo Stefano, le Duo Torri and San Luca, to cultural gems, including the show-stopping Neptune’s Fountain in the heart of the city, the Palazzo dell’Archignnasio, a former university building with anatomical theatre where human corpses were dissected, and the monumental Basilica di San Petronio, one of Italy’s most imposing Gothic churches. This will save you time, and enhance your exploration of this fascinating Bologna

10. Europe By Rail – The Definitive Guide

£18.99

Written by two highly experienced travellers, Europe by Rail describes 50 key routes spanning Europe including the British Isles. Classic rides and scenic adventures. Penned by two avid travellers, the book gives useful tips on how to plan your journey, what tickets to buy and where to stop off along the way. The perfect guide for holders of rail passes, including Interrail and Eurail.Each route can be followed in its entirety or used as a building block in a longer itinerary. Beyond the main routes you will find worthwhile excursions well off the beaten track. Now in its 17th edition.

Bradt’s Freedom Pass London

If you are looking for inspiration for new walks to go on in 2025, the new, thoroughly updated second edition of Bradt’s Freedom Pass London brings to life the UK capital through 25 carefully curated walks that reveal historical landmarks, wildlife hotspots and quiet corners with fascinating pasts. As the title suggests, this travel guidebook is designed for the 1 million people who can enjoy free travel in central and Greater London thanks to the Freedom Pass, but its focus on walking destinations accessible by public transport makes it a must for anyone living in or visiting London.

Author Talk: In the Footsteps of Smugglers by Georgina Howard

Last night we hosted a sold out talk with Georgina Howard who spoke about her new book In the Footsteps of Smugglers published by Bradt.

“It was the enigmatic mountain paths winding their way from one Basque village to the next along smugglers’ tracks and over humpback bridges that seduced us all…”

In 2022 Georgina Howard co-presented a programme on the Basque Pyrenees with Michael Portillo. This book is her travel memoir, ‘In the Footsteps of Smugglers’, about her life in a remote Basque hamlet of the Spanish Pyrenees. Twenty-five years ago, Georgina moved into an isolated barn in a tiny, close-knit community of Basque shepherds. Taking this eccentric British woman and single mother into the fold, her neighbours helped her raise her Basque/English daughter, Marion, transform her barn into an international walking and language company and introduce her deep into the enigmatic and little-known Basque mountain culture.

The story then follows Georgina’s footfall into the Spanish/French borderlands of the Pyrenees and the heart of the former Basque smuggling fraternity. She has guided people the world over along these smugglers’ trails and focused her research on the WW2 escape routes of the Comet Line that led Allied airmen out of occupied France in to Spain. Speaking Spanish, French and Basque, she has formed personal relationships with the last remaining members of this 1941 – 1944 resistance network – then mere children – and their stories of fear, courage and secrecy are documented in detail within the pages of her book. With the help of colourful vignettes and deep anthropological insight, ‘In the Footsteps of Smugglers’ digs deep behind the scenes into all things quintessentially Basque. It also offers a rhapsody in cultural identity as this cosmopolitan nomad, and single mother, finally turns to the Basque shepherds to find home.

In the Footsteps of Smugglers is available now for £10.99

Author talk: D-Day Landings

Last week we hosted a really interesting event with Mary Ann Evans and Alastair McKenzie as they spoke about their new book D-Day Landings: a Travel Guide to Normandy’s Beaches and Battlegrounds.

Published to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the military mission that changed World War II, this is Bradt’s new guidebook to visiting beaches, memorials, museums, battlefields and other sites associated with D-Day and the Battle of Normandy (Operation Overlord). A simple-to-follow, portable guide for independent travellers, it includes maps and driving instructions to help visitors go back in time to explore World War II history.

Author Talk: Taking the Risk with Hilary Bradt

Last night we hosted a sold out event with Hilary Bradt in conversation with Matthew Parris as they discussed her new book and our April Book of the Month Taking the Risk: My adventures in travel and publishing.

Book of the Month: Taking the Risk by Hilary Bradt

Our Book of the Month for April 2024 is Taking the Risk: My Adventures in Travel and Publishing by founder of Bradt Guides, former recipient of the Edward Stanford Award for Outstanding Contribution to Travel Writing and friend of Stanfords, Hilary Bradt.

Hilary Bradt signing copies of Taking the Risk

In Taking the Risk Hilary Bradt looks back on 50 years of escapades, surprises, mishaps, disasters… and success. From her first solo trip aged three (on a British beach), she revisits six decades of hitchhiking, feeding the travel habit by working abroad, and starting a successful travel publishing company where knowing nothing proved a surprising asset.

Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2024 Winners Announced

Many of the world’s greatest travel writers gathered at Stanfords last night to celebrate the ninth Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards (ESTWAs) presented by Viking, the world’s leading exploration company.

This year 18 books made the shortlists, divided into five awards categories with winners being both debut authors and multi-award-winning writers.

Each award winner was presented with a hand-made globe by Lander & May on the Isle of Wight featuring a design produced exclusively for the awards.

And the winners are…

John Blashford-Snell in Conversation: Stanfords Travel Writers Festival 2024

From Destinations: The Holiday & Travel Show in London’s Olympia, The Stanfords Travel Writers Festival welcomes Colonel John Blashford-Snell, one of the country’s most eminent and seasoned explorers.

His name is known globally for his daring adventures and intrepid journeys of discovery. Now, well into his eighties (and still planning future trips), he talks to Ann Morgan, telling tales from Africa, Asia and the Americas, about some of the 100 or so expeditions he has led in pursuit of archaeological, anthropological, botanical, biological and zoological objectives.