The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded £2.7 million to some of the UK’s national parks following a competitive bidding process.

The money is to be spent on developing new cycle routes to benefit and connect the surrounding areas. The successful parks are Dartmouth (which received £675,000), the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads (£715,000), the South Downs (£450,000), the Yorkshire Dales (£450,000) and the Peak District (£430,000).

The decisions were announced by transport minister Robert Goodwill, who said: “I want to get more people on their bikes and this funding will open up cycle access to some of the country’s most scenic routes.”

He added that the investment would build on the British cycling team’s success at the 2012 Olympics and the popularity of the 2014 Tour de France Grand Depart in Yorkshire.

The plan to transform the Leeds Liverpool canal is perhaps the most notable, as it will create the longest continuous cycle route in the country.