National River Walks

Applicants must be UK-based organisations that are formally constituted. This includes, for example:

•          Local authorities and combined authorities

•          Highways authorities

•          Registered charities and charitable incorporated organisations

•          Community interest companies

•          Companies limited by guarantee

•          Private sector organisations (including SMEs) where not applying for a private gain from the grant.

•          Public sector bodies (other than central government departments or their arm’s length bodies).

Partnership applications are welcomed. Where you apply as a partnership, the nominated lead applicant organisation must submit the application.  

For more information refer to the Invitation to Apply guidance document and annexes in the supporting information section of this advert.

The 2025 Environment Improvement Plan sets out the government’s vision for nature, including a programme of improvements designed to deliver against Goal 10: Access to Nature. Through its National River Walk programme, Defra intends to progress towards meeting the following EIP commitments:

• Commitment 86: Make sure that everyone has access to green or blue spaces within a 15-minute walk from home.

• Commitment 87: Reduce physical and intangible barriers to accessing green and blue spaces to increase the frequency of visits from those currently least likely to access them.

Policy objectives of the river walks programme are:

• Provide improved, more inclusive access to nature that is targeted to an area of higher deprivation.

• Increase engagement with nature through community participation and increased opportunities to enjoy and learn about nature.

• Work in partnership with the local community to drive increasing usage of the route.

• Improve or restore nature and/or water quality through nature recovery projects.

Applications should be submitted through Find a Grant by the date and time indicated in the Invitation to Apply guidance.

Funding decisions are expected to be made in October 2026 with projects starting in November 2026. All applicants will received feedback on their application as soon as the bids have been assessed and funding decisions made.

All walks must be completed by 31st March 2028. 

For more information please refer to the Invitation to Apply documentation and annexes in the supporting information section of this advert.

Make sure you have read all the Invitation to Apply (ITA) documentation and guidance, located in the 'Supporting Information' section of this advert, before submitting your application.   

To start your application select the 'Start New Application' button on the advert. You may save your responses as you go along but please note 'Find a Grant' will only allow you to submit your application once. Ensure your responses are correct and finalised before selecting 'Submit'. If you are applying for more than one region Find a Grant will allow you to submit more than one bid. Just follow the online instructions when you reach the relevant steps. 

Before you submit your application please check that you have completed and uploaded all relevant information and templates as indicated in the ITA. Note where a question requires more than one document you can submit a zipped file.

The Invitation to Apply guidance document and annexes are available through the links below. Please ensure you read these before submitting your application.  

Clarification updates will periodically be added to the Find a Grant opportunity as a Q&A document. To receive an alert when the Q&A document has been updated you will need to have selected ‘sign up for updates’ on the front page of the Find a Grant advert.  

All clarification requests should be submitted to RiverWalks@defra.gov.uk