The Adventure Queens Grant
The Adventure Queens Grant is our way of helping women take on their biggest human-powered, boundary-pushing, life-changing adventure through providing funding, kit and mentoring.
The 2024/25 Adventure Queens grant is now CLOSED for applications. Applications for the 2025/26 grant will open in Autumn 2025.
“Suffice it to say, adventure has changed my life. That first big leap of faith started a chain reaction which ejected me from the mundane rut down which I was travelling, and catapulted me across bumpy, uneven plains anew. And ever since I returned home from that first big adventure, it’s been a dream of mine to give someone else the option to derail their own life too…”
Anna McNuff – Adventure Queens Co-Founder
The Adventure Queens Grant 2024/25 – supported by OSPREY, ALPKIT, KOMOOT, TENT MEALS & VALLON
This year we are teaming up with the wonderful folks at Osprey, Alpkit, komoot, Tent Meals & Vallon to provide three winners with £300 worth of Osprey kit, £250 Alpkit gear, a komoot Premium subscription (worth £79.99), £100 cash, a Tent Meal for each day of your adventure* and a pair of Vallon sunnies, along with support and mentoring from the AQ community.
*for up to 20 days
Photo credit: David Altabev
One of our grant spots will be allocated to a woman wanting to use their proposed adventure to connect with nature as part of our Jessi Tucker Memorial Grant. In addition to the prizes listed above, they will be provided with specific resources and support focused on nature connectedness.
Jessi was our longest serving Adventure Queens Volunteer – working closely with our founders to make this amazing community what it is today. She was a woman with many talents – a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society with a range of expeditions under her belt: a poet; an emergency medicine doctor; an award-winning writer and to us, a real champion of the Adventure Queens. Jessi was a great lover of nature – she rests under a beautiful oak tree in Surrey.
What’s on offer?
Three lucky winners of the Adventure Queens Grant will receive the following goodies:
£300 worth of kit from legendary outfitters Osprey
£250 worth of Alpkit gear – just what you need to fully kit you out for your adventure
Mentoring and support from our fab Adventure Queens Community
£100 cash, a Premium komoot Subscription (worth £79.99) and support to help you plan your route
One delicious dehydrated Tent Meals meal for each day* of your adventure.
*up to 20 days
One pair of Vallon sunglasses to protect your eyes when you’re out and about
Meet Our Past Winners
Emma Bagley
Bristol-based Emma likes trail and endurance running. Looking for a challenge with a difference, Emma ran all of the 60 North-East Metro stations, a route of 62 miles from Newcastle Airport through to Sunderland.
Sue Barrett
Sue cycled, ran and hiked 1,300 miles from Trieste to Monaco, along the spine of the Alps, following the Via Alpina which passes through all eight alpine countries. @adventurequeenmother
Emily Fitzherbert
Like so many mums, Emily lives for her kids. She ran the 180 mile long Lakeland Ridges Challenge route to prove to herself that not only could she complete the challenge, but that she could make the time to plan and and train whilst juggling her busy life as a mum @positivemarbles
Vicky Moynihan
Rusty hills, green night skies and golden leaves, Vicky crossed the Arctic with a bike and a sketch pad. Specifically she bikepacked from Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland, to Alta, a Norwegian town on the edge of the Arctic Ocean. Taking mostly gravel roads, she covered 610 km over 10 days. @vickyexplores
Sarah Du Plessis
Sarah went on a 2 week paddleboarding, swimming and wild camping adventure in the Western Isles of Scotland as her first big solo trip. She was also a Jessi Tucker memorial grant winner, and used the trip to connect with the local wildlife, and explore how she could have a positive impact on the natural world.
Frit Tam
Whilst rollerblading and cycling 1,500km across England from Newcastle to Brighton, Frit raised awareness for LGBTQIA issues #Glideforpride
@frit_tam
Vanessa Richards
A fan of slow adventuring and connecting with nature, Vanessa wandered one summer along three of Sweden’s most iconic hiking trails: the Kungsleden, Höga Kustenleden and St Olavsleden, accepting peace and healing along the way.
@vanessajrichards
Emily Tennant
As her first solo hiking adventure Emily hiked the Tour Du Mont Blanc, circumnavigating the famous mountain across France, Italy and Switzerland. Emily worked as intensive Care nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic and saw the trip as an opportunity for some “mountain therapy” and FUN! @salopianoutdoors
Natasha Sones
Our first paddlesports winner, Natasha went on a multi day solo paddleboarding trip in Finland. Starting in Helsinki she explored the Eastern archipelago around the city which comprises 330 islands. As a mother of children with additional needs, Natasha SUPs for her mental health and finds being on the water brings her peace. @natashastarseeker
Harriet Banks
“My purpose in life is to share happiness in nature”. Harriet is a lover of human-powered adventure; long distance hikes, bike packing and most recently multi-day canicross. In 2021 Harriet ran the 160km Beacons Way with her dog Jack.
@harrietsouthbanks
Fredi Chohan
Despite describing herself as “not an experienced hiker”, Fredi hiked the length of the pennine way. She wants to encourage other South Asian women over 50 to take on similar challenges.
@fchohan66
Kisha Bradley
Passionate about contributing to the narrative of black women in nature, Kisha used the AQ grant to hike Offa’s Dyke Path, camping along the way and documenting her trip through photos and journaling. Kisha was the winner of the 2021 Jessi Tucker memorial grant. @kisha_bradley
Sahir Pernall
Sahir cycled from Glasgow to Istanbul as part of a two-part reverse migration to her ancestral village in Pakistan. On this trip she cycled 2,800 miles, passing through Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Bulgaria before arriving in Turkey.
Lindsey Bonner
Lindsey cycled 1,000 miles around the UK, including the iconic NC500 in the Scottish Highlands, after quitting her corporate job and the end of her 10 year marriage. New to cycling and camping throughout this epic challenge was, by her own admission, way out of her comfort zone!
@ipulledthepin
Catherine White
A back injury may have delayed the start to her adventure, but Catherine is all set to walk Coast to Coast.
@mummysgoinghiking
Jo Milborrow
Nightwalking – a journey through darkness. Jo solo walked from coast to coast across England, walking each night and camping during the day. Jo wanted to raise awareness of the fear women have of being alone in the dark, to explore why that is and find some tools and tips to journey through it. @feraladventure
Kat Halstead
Kat hiked the 130 mile Anglesey Coastal path, camping and wild swimming along the way. Whilst the hike was solo, Kat met fellow Adventure Queens along the way for daily dips – to challenge herself to swim in the sea, rather than just stand on the edge and hold the bags.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
- Your adventure is, at least mostly, human powered: bikepacking, running, hiking, cycling, pogo’ing…. inspire us!
- It’s your biggest adventure to date and is going to be at least a few days long
- It can be based in the UK or in some far off land
- The grant will push you out of your comfort zone and have a big impact on you.
- Ideally your adventure should take place between March and October (though longer trips are also welcome). Those dates mean we get to share your story in time to inspire the next batch of grant applicants.
- You have to be the primary organiser. Planning and taking ownership of a trip is a big part of the adventure so we won’t be able to support something that has been organised by someone else.
- The Adventure Queens Grant is NOT for: organisations, projects training/supporting others, cash for fundraising, or for trips you’ve already completed.
- If you’d like to be considered for the Jessi Tucker Memorial Grant, your adventure should have a focus on connecting with nature
- You can only submit one application per year so make sure it’s a good one!
WHAT ARE YOU AGREEING TO IF YOU APPLY?
Inspiration feeds inspiration. All we ask in return for the grant and support is that you are willing to share your story with the Adventure Queens community in a way that you feel comfortable with. From the preparation stages, challenges, the trip itself and everything in between – we want to hear all about it!
So, we’d ask you to share some pre, during, and post trip social media updates – whether that be using your own social media accounts, or we can post on your behalf. We’d also invite you to write a couple of blog posts before/after the trip and to share your story with the community and our sponsors via an interview/Q&A or talk once your trip is done.
We certainly don’t expect you to be a social media whizz, or public speaker! Just to be open to sharing your experience in a way you feel comfortable with.
WHO CAN APPLY?
If you identify as a woman, are 18 or over and live in the UK, this is for you. You don’t have to be a UK citizen, but this country should be your primary base.
WHEN DO I APPLY?
Applications for the grant will open on 1st October and be accepted until 30th November. We’ll then be spending December curled up with many cups of tea and a lot of cake reading them all. We’ll come up with a final shortlist by the end of the month, and will announce the winners at the start of the new year. Exciting stuff!
HOW DO I APPLY?
Feeling inspired and ready to apply? AMAZING! Get yourself a pot of tea and a comfy chair and have a read through our application form. This is where you get the chance to tell us about yourself, your adventure, and why you think you would be a worthy recipient of the Adventure Queens Grant.
Applications open in October and should be completed online. If you have any issues with completing the form and need to submit your application in an alternative way please let us know.
If you’ve read all the information above and still have a burning question or issue, drop us an email on hello@adventurequeens.co.uk.