The Adventure Queens Grant

The Adventure Queens Grant is our way of helping women take on their first big human-powered, boundary-pushing, life-changing adventure through providing funding, kit and mentoring.

The 2023/24 Adventure Queens grant is now closed for applications. 

The 2024/25 Adventure queens grant will open in autumn 2024. 

“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

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

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

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 in summer 2022.
@mummysgoinghiking

Jo Milborrow

Nightwalking – a journey through darkness. Jo will solo walk from coast to coast across England, walking each night and camping during the day. Jo wants 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

The Adventure Queens Grant 2023/24 – supported by EDDIE BAUER, KOMOOT & OSPREY

This year we are teaming up with the wonderful folks at Eddie Bauer, Osprey and Komoot to provide three winners with £750 worth of Eddie Bauer kit, £700 cash, a legendary Osprey rucksack and a Komoot Premium subscription (worth £79.99) along with support and mentoring from the AQ community.

Photo credit: David Altabev

One of our grant spots was 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 was On Offer?

Three lucky winners of the Adventure Queens Grant received the following goodies:

A whopping £500 cash & £750 worth of fantastic Eddie Bauer clothing and equipment to fully kit you out for your adventure

Mentoring and support from our fab Adventure Queens Community

A rucksack fit for any adventure, from legendary outfitters Osprey

£200 cash and a Premium Komoot Subscription (worth £79.99) and support and training to help you plan and track your route

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

At Adventure Queens, we firmly believe that adventures in the outdoors, where you are pushing the boundaries of your comfort zone can have an incredibly positive impact.  We are looking for an Adventure Queen who is teetering right on the edge of terrified. She has never done anything quite as big as what she has planned and isn’t entirely sure that she can pull it off, but she is darn well willing to give it a go.  

 

If this sounds like you, go ahead and apply!  There are a few things we’ll be looking for in the grant applications:

  • Your adventure is, at least mostly, human powered. We won’t argue with the odd bus or plane journey though to get you where you want to be! Bikepacking, running, hiking, cycling, pogo’ing…. inspire us!
  • It’s probably your first big adventure 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 would have a significant impact on giving you the gentle nudge you need to get out there and take on your challenge.  Help us to understand why this trip is going to be a big deal for you.
  • Ideally your adventure should take place between March and October (though longer trips that run beyond this window are also welcome). Those dates mean we get to share your story in time to inspire the next batch of grant applicants.
  • Planning and taking ownership of a trip is a big part of the adventure so we won’t be able to support something that is part of an organised event or trip – you have to be the primary organiser.
  • If your idea involves a ‘significant other’ (male or female) in your life – well done for finding an adventure partner in crime! But the Adventure Queens Grant probably isn’t for you. We figure that having your other half in tow is a great support vehicle in itself and you probably are in less need of the Grant and the support that comes with it.  Whilst it isn’t an explicit requirement for your trip to be a solo adventure, we are really looking for applications where we can see you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and taking ownership over your adventure
  • 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. From the preparation stages, challenges, the trip itself and everything in between – we want to hear all about it!

So, we’d ask that 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.

WHO CAN APPLY?

If you identify as a gal , are 18 or over and live in the UK, this is for you. But it’s worth checking the bit below on the kind of adventures we are hoping to support. And by ‘living in the UK’ 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 in 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 winner on February 14th. 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.

Good luck!

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