BOATING  DIRECTORY

Boating in London's parks is enormously popular with kids of all ages. Older children enjoy the deeper thrills to be had rowing on the Serpentine or at Crystal Palace, where life jackets must be worn. Meanwhile, at Greenwich Boating Pond, even very young children can row out safely in the knowledge the water is no deeper than a bath.
Alexandra Park's boating area is a large circular affair with a couple of islands in the middle, the boating pond is adjacent to a small childrens playground and is surrounded by an attractive park which is frequented by many of the families living in Muswell Hill.

Alexandra Park 
Muswell Hill, N22 (boating 0181 889 9089;
general information 0181 365 2121;
Wood Green tube/Alexandra Park rail).
Summer daily 10am-8pm.
Three seater pedal boat £4.00,
Five seater rowing boats £3.50,
Six seater rowing boats £5.50, all for 45mins.
Large boating lake with an island, and small area for little kids to boat on their own. Life jackets must be worn by under 12s whom an adult must also accompany.  Food and soft drinks available.

Battersea Park
Albert Bridge Road, SW11 (0181 871 7530/1; Battersea Park rail).
Sat & Sun Apr-Sept or when weather breaks, noon-6pm. £4 an hour per boat (max 5 people).
Under 10s must be accompanied by an adult.
Large tree-bordered lake in south east corner of this well-equipped riverside park offers excellent value boating. You may not land on the two islands in the middle, but you can get up close for plenty of bird watching opportunities and it's fun trying to circumnavigate them in one of the 35 fibre-glass rowing boats.

Bishop's Park
Bishop's Avenue SW6. (Putney Bridge Tube) Daily 11am-7pm until end Sept. Free 10-minute sessions (expect long queues on sunny days). Small, shallow lake with a few four-seater pedal boats and a couple of rowing boats (max one adult, two children).

Crystal Palace Park
Sat & Sun 11am-4.30pm (weather permitting). Pedal boats (max 4 people) £3.25 per half hour. Under 13s must wear life jacket and be accompanied by someone age 16 or over. Although you cannot get a good view of the prehistoric monsters lurking on dinosaur island from the boats, you can still thrill small children with the idea that one of the monsters they spotted lurking in the water on their way to the boating area might come alive and chase them.

Finsbury Park
Daily noon-7pm (weather permitting). Rowing boat (max 4 people) £2.50 per half hour, £3.50 per hour. There are 20 rowing boats for hire. Under 11s must wear life jacket and be accompanied by an adult, although younger children are sometimes allowed to go without an adult if they keep in site of the boat house. Life jackets are also available for nervous adults.

Greenwich Park
Daily 9am-6pm until end Sept. One-person pedal boats £1.50 per 20 minutes. Rowing boats for one adult and up to two children £3 for 20 minutes (longer on quiet days).  Tiny but very popular boating pond right next to the well-equipped playground and sand pit.

Hyde Park
Boating daily 9am-6.30pm. £6.50 per hour for up to four people (plus £5 deposit). No children under five. Once a favourite haunt of highwaymen and duellists, popular activities are now of a more aquatic bent, although 5s and over can take riding lessons in the park with the Hyde Park Riding Stables. There are nearly 100 rowing boats and pedal boats for hire on the enormous Serpentine Lake, but still expect to queue at weekends. You can also take a 10-minute motor boat trip around the lake or swimming in Serpentine Lido (until end Sept). There is a small children's paddling pool, sand pit, slide and grassy picnic area.

Regent's Park
Daily 9am-7pm until Sept 30. Rowing boats (max 4 people) £6.50 per hour (pus £5 deposit). No children under five. Separate under 12s lake with rowing boats (max 4 people) £4 and one-person pedal boats £1.60 per half hour. Life jackets must be worn. Parents can go boating in peace on the large lake while their off-spring paddle about in their own separate, shallow children's pond. Child-friendly cafe, four playgrounds and London Zoo all nearby. You could arrive by boat along Regent's Canal from Camden Lock or Little Venice with the London Waterbus Company (0171 482 2550).