What is one of the first things to be done in Cambridge, England? Why, punting on the River Cam of course.
We decided to hop over the channel and visit Lisa, our travel buddy from Portugal, and Ben, her partner, for a bit. Friday afternoon we headed down to visit central Cambridge, lunch, and punt along “the backs,” shorthand for the backs of the colleges. Lisa is a pro, and knew exactly how it is all done. We went with Scudamore’s for out punt. Indiana, or Indie, the dog guarded us throughout.
The pictures tell the story best, but we did take a few things away.
There is no qualification to be able to punt. This can lead to punts turning in circles and traffic jams. It was not uncommon for our punter to “gently” bump other punts either to get them out of our way, or to help them straighten out.
It seems that the hated rival Oxford punters pole from the front of the boat, while Cambridge poles from the stern. I’m not sure how the frontal approach works, but there it is.
Click on any picture for slideshow mode:
Beautiful. I have learned a lot from your photos and comments.
Ohmylord and the weather cooperated! Used to be one had to do one’s own punting, but I see you had a ‘punter’!
ohmylord and the weather cooperated! Used to be one had to do one’s own punting on the Cam!
La! Best place to punt!
Love the photos. Learned about punting. This will be on our list to do next time we are in England. Enjoy!! Wine looks good too. Or is that tea?
surely cannot understand why our “punting” is kicking a football!