The move follows a YouGov poll which showed that nearly three quarters (73%) of adults believed that people today have less overall quality time with their friends and family than their parents did and around the same number (68%) thought that this would apply for the next generation.
With 77% of respondents saying that just being anywhere by the water is a good place to spend quality time with friends and family, we've published details of 100 readymade waterway days out to give individuals, couples and families a simple and affordable chance to spend quality time.
Antidote
Half the population of the country lives within five miles of one of the Canal & River Trust's waterways and canals and rivers provide the perfect antidote to the stresses and pressures of modern life as Jenny Roe, an expert in Environmental Psychology and senior research leader for the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York explains: “Water is a natural magnet for everyone – we're drawn to all kinds of blue space from canals, rivers and urban water features, all of which are good for our health and wellbeing. The waterways can really offer us some respite and rest from the cognitive overload of city traffic and noise.”
Simon Salem, marketing director for the Canal & River Trust adds: “Time, quality time, is becoming an increasingly scarce commodity and we don't believe this can be good for individuals, communities or society. Quality time means different things to different people, but our experience is that people are increasingly looking for spaces – both physical and mental – to step out of their normal routine for a short time and recharge their batteries. We think there are few better places to do this than beside the water and are encouraging people to discover some of our hidden gems for themselves.”