Research has revealed some rather concerning findings of how youngsters in Yorkshire will be spending the bulk of their summer holidays indoors as opposed to enjoying some of what the great outdoors have on offer.

1 - Yorkshire Water's activty book encourages children to spend more time outdoors

It is rather concerning that only less than a fifth of Yorkshire’s youngsters (17%) spend time outdoors in the region’s famous countryside, according to a survey by Yorkshire Water of 1, 200 people. That’s a little too few numbers for comfort, but in an attempt to reverse this developing 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 during the summer holidays.

Popular reservoirs in Yorkshire to which the adventure pack can be taken include the likes of Langsett, Scar House, Winscar, Sccamonden, Damflask, Swinsty and Fewston.

A daily prize draw on Yorkshire Water’s Facebook page also offers 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 get more youngsters participating in a range of fun outdoor activities.”

The adventure packs which are aimed at kids under the age of fourteen years can be downloaded for free from the Yorkshire Water company website. They have a range of educational and fun games for kids to play with outdoors, including ‘scavanger hunting’, cloud hunting, plant spotting, duck feeding and bird cake recipes.

The majority of visitors who take the time to explore Yorkshire Water’s land are over the age of 55 years, but the company is really trying to attract more families with young children to its woodland, moorland, and reservoirs.

Yorkshire Water welcomes around two million visitors to its land each year and the water and sanitation company takes care of no less than 72, 000 acres of countryside.

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