Punting

As portrayed on our Save The Date cards, punting is one of the best ways of seeing the sights of Cambridge (and beyond). It is normally a pleasant and relaxing experience, especially for the passengers, as they drift along the Cam under bridges and past impressive old buildings. On the other hand, in the middle of Summer it is going to be a more lively experience, as dozens of heavy punts jostle and mingle on the river.

Punts can be hired by the hour, either from a tour company (which is more expensive, and usually comes with someone who does the punting for you, as well as acting as a tour-guide), or from a college (which is cheaper but DIY, and is only available to members of that college). Professional tour-guides are quicker and much more dexterous on the water, but don't believe everything they tell you; punting for yourself is fun but liable to involve the occasional mishap.

Tips for first-time punters:

• Stand on the platform at the rear, facing forward, either barefoot or in stable footwear.
• Push the metal end against the river-bed, starting from just next to you, in a long stroke out behind you.
• Give it a sharp twist before lifting it again - it can get really stuck in muddy places. Raise it a little, bring it forward and repeat.
• Push left to turn right and vice versa. For extra turn, leave the pole fairly deep in the water after pushing, and swing it as a rudder.
• Keep left!
• Make sure both your head and the pole are tucked down when you go under a bridge. This is the number one risk scenario.
• If you collide or block someone, or they do it to you, stay cool - it happens all the time (and the professionals are used to it). Try a friendly joke.
• Do not place the punt underneath the river. (Sounds obvious, but just ask Kelli's parents about this one).

College punts are colour-coded around the edges, and on the end of the punt-pole (St. John's is red, Trinity is blue, etc). They often have names appropriate to their college: for example, King's College has punts with names like Henry VIII, whereas Darwin College's fleet of five includes the Velociraptor and the Galapagos.