It’s a Summer of Spending Nearly All Their Time Indoors for Yorkshire’s Youngsters

Research has indicated that youngsters in Yorkshire will be spending the majority of the summer holidays cocooned indoors rather than exploring and enjoying the great outdoors.

Less than a fifth of Yorkshire’s youngsters (17% to be specific) spend time outdoors in what is the region’s famous countryside, according to a survey conducted by Yorkshire Water of 1,200 people.

To counteract this trend, the company, which is the second largest landowner in Yorkshire, has created a free outdoor adventure pack to help thousands of parents entertain youngsters and prevent boredom from setting in during the summer holidays.

Some of the most popular reservoirs in Yorkshire to take the adventure pack to are Swinsty, Fewston, Damflask, Sccamonden, Winscar, Langsett and Scar House.

A daily prize draw will be held on Yorkshire Water’s Facebook page, offering the chance to win a luxury picnic rucksack to encourage families with young children to spend more time outdoors.

Geoff Lomas, Recreation Manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We are lucky enough to live in a county that has fantastic coastline, historic market towns and cities, and beautiful, wild countryside. However, our research has found that most youngsters prefer to spend most of their time indoors rather than enjoying the delights of ‘God’s Own County’. Our adventure pack has been designed to get more youngsters participating in a range of fun outdoor activities.”

The adventure packs, aimed at under fourteens, are available for download, for free on the company’s website. The adventure packs feature a range of fun and educational games to play outdoors including ‘scavanger hunting’, plant spotting, cloud hunting, bird cake recipes and duck feeding.

Most visitors to Yorkshire Water’s land are over 55 years in age, but the company hopes to attract more families with young children to its woodland, reservoirs, and moorland.

Yorkshire Water takes care of 72,000 acres of countryside and welcomes around two million visitors to its land every year.

To download a Yorkshire Water adventure pack and make the most of the upcoming mini heatwave visit: www.yorkshirewater.com/freetoenjoy.