The London best: Boat hire

“BELIEVE me, my young friend, there is NOTHING — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So Ratty tells Mole in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In the Willows. And the capital’s water spots never look more tempting than in the sunshine — whether it is for a trip down the Thames, a quick row on the Serpentine or pedalo-racing in the park (just don’t do an Andrew Flintoff). Here are some of the best places across London to try to avoid taking the plunge:

1. Central

Row or pedal round the ducks on the Serpentine in Hyde Park, above, (£10 for an hour per adult, £5 per child). Or, glide across the lake on the Solarshuttle (£2.50 for adults for a one-way trip, £1 for children).

2. North

Climb aboard a swan-shaped pedalo at Alexandra Palace’s boating lake, £5 for half an hour per adult.

3. South

Play “spot the dinosaur” from the safety of the water in the original Jurassic Park at Crystal Palace, £4 for half an hour per adult.

4. East

Avoid the tourists and soothe the spirit at Hollow Pond in Epping Forest, Leytonstone, £10 a boat for an hour.

5. West

Or, to skip the exercise element, opt for a cruise. Join the Westminster Passenger Service Association from Westminster to Kew (£18 return) or travel from the botanical gardens to explore the palace and maze at Hampton Court, £12 one way (wpsa.co.uk).