I suppose that I was about nine when I was given ninepence (old pence, equivalent to about 4p or less than a dime) to get out of the house and go to Ramsgate's municipal boating pond. I rented an incredibly inefficient paddle boat that allowed me to extend the fifteen minute session for several more minutes by making sure that I was at the far side of the pond when the attendant called us all in. Then I learned to row and, despite the disadvantage of being able to cross the pond in just a few strokes, was enthralled with the freedom.
A couple of years later, on a perfect summer's evening, I begged a short ride on a canal boat, and discovered that, although I was just a few feet from the towpath, I'd entered another world.