Ruaridh Nicoll

Ruaridh Nicoll’s efforts to find far-flung places filled with unusual people is on display in this entry. He is very proud of his piece from the Cocos (Keeling) islands 1,000km off the Australian west coast, not only because very few readers will have heard of it, but also because the history and current community are so fascinating. (Although not included here, he did this again with a trip through the archipelagos of Sweden and Finland, having noticed that the traditional cabin had been transformed by cutting edge Scandinavian designers).

Instead, we include a trip along the newly paved Trans-Labrador highway, which takes in communities at the edge of viability. He writes movingly about people gripping onto their perilous landscapes, and the joy of visiting them.

But to prove his range, we present here his knowing piece about a billionaire property mogul luxxing up poor shepherd's huts in France and Italy’s high alps, so his clients can take their alpage away from the common herd. It received a furious response from Alpine hikers.

The FT likes to give space to travel writing that is nuanced about the adventures its writers go on and to that end, we commend Ruaridh Nicoll to the judges