The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) is offering £250,000 worth of funding to outdoor organisations in Cumbria, home to the Lake District National Park, to deliver adventure experiences and festivals.

The funding is part of Adventure Capital UK, a programme run by Cumbria Tourism and supported by the NWDA to establish Cumbria as the nation's number one visitor attraction for outdoor experiences.

Organisations can submit applications for a £135,000 capital grant to deliver free access, tourist products such as footpaths and cycle routes. There is also £90,000 available for festival and events and £25,000 allocated for the feasibility studies of outdoor focused projects.

Sheona Southern, marketing director at Cumbria Tourism, said: "There is a range of criteria for businesses but the panel will favour applications which bring staying visitors to the county particularly in the off-peak months and mid-week; projects that have environmental benefits and those which can survive without continual public funding and where there is realistic match-funding in place.

"I am confident that this will help Cumbria's outdoor businesses achieve their ambitions as well as offering something new to visitors coming to the county."

A spokesperson for NWDA said: "As well as strengthening Cumbria's economy, 'Ad Cap' status will help create new jobs and provide more opportunities for people to become involved in outdoor education, as well as potentially luring big name outdoor festivals to the county, and therefore, levering extra investment and helping hundreds of outdoor pursuits providers." Details: www.cumbriatourism.org