In May 1905, The Sphere reports how ‘A remarkable scene may be witnessed any Sunday on the big lake at Battersea Park where the people boat.’ And in the early twentieth century, this scene could be found at boating lakes in cities and towns across the country, providing in particular the working classes with leisure opportunities previously unknown to them. In this special blog, using articles and illustrations all to be found within the British Newspaper Archive, we are going to take …