You’ve decided to go punting in Cambridge. Great news but how can you make sure that you get the best out of your punting experience?
Well, fortunately for you, we’ve compiled this list of top tips to make sure that you make the most of your visit to Cambridge and enjoy your trip along the river.
Drawing on years of experience and coming from people who have been punting more times than most have had hot dinners, here are our top tips for the having best time punting in Cambridge (may also be appropriate to punting in other places).
1. Get someone to punt for you
If you’ve never been on a punt before, then you should seriously consider booking a private punt tour, especially if you’re trying to impress someone. Ok, we realise that this might sound like a sales pitch but it’s not. Driving (for want of a better word) a punt is not as easy as the pros make it look and it’s not as easy as rowing a boat either. Don’t get us wrong, self hire can be great fun but if you spend the whole time you’re on the river, wobbling around, worrying about falling in, then you probably won’t enjoy it that much. Unless you like that sort of thing.
People not punting themselves
2. Go when it’s quiet
Or at least when it’s quieter. Whether you’re punting yourselves or have decided to jump on a tour, it’s way more relaxing to do when the river isn’t busy. The best times to go punting (in our opinion) are first thing in the morning, or, if you’re not an early riser, last thing in the evening. Getting in a boat with a few mates and floating up the river around sunset is always a magical experience. If you’re out at dusk, watching the bats swooping over the river is fantastic too. As long as you aren’t scared of small furry flying mammals.
If you go when it’s busy (especially between about 1pm and 5pm on Saturday afternoons) then it can be a bit like bumper cars on the river Cam.
Ah the joys of a quiet river. Ok this was maybe a bit too quiet, given that it’s Cambridge during lockdown
We appreciate that for most people, coming to Cambridge and going punting is something that you will do at the weekend. However, there is often quite a difference between how busy it is on a Saturday compared to a Sunday, so if want a slightly less hectic time, why not visit on a Sunday?
3. Give yourselves plenty of time
If you have decided to go self hire then allow enough time to punt yourselves up and down the river, swap drivers and take time to relax. If you’re not experienced then an hour probably isn’t enough time to get all the way through the colleges and it’s definitely not enough time to get to Grantchester, never mind get back again.
Even if you’ve decided to go on a punt tour, and you’ve decided not to pay attention to point 2 above and turn up in the afternoon, when it’s really busy, you might run out of time and have to leave before you can get on a boat. Unless you’ve booked a private tour, of course.
If you’re going on a shared punt tour, don’t arrive in the middle of the afternoon, during the weekend and expect to be able to jump straight on a boat. You will almost certainly be disappointed. In fact, these days, if you haven’t booked in advance then you might find there isn’t much availability at all during the busy times.
4. Be prepared to get a bit wet
We’re not saying that everyone who goes punting gets wet. We’re just saying that it involves sitting (or standing) in a small wooden boat, that’s quite close to the water, so you know. Even if you don’t fall in, and if you’re not punting, you probably won’t fall in. You still might get wet. If you are punting, you might fall in. Then you will get wet. If you are doing the punting the pole will be wet, whether you fall in or not. Pole splash is a thing.
With that in mind, don’t have things like mobile phones, cameras, etc in your pockets. Hold on to them carefully when you are using them. There are untold treasures in the silt at the bottom of the river Cam.
On a positive note, it’s really difficult to sink a punt, so you don’t need to worry about getting a lot wet. Unless it rains. Heavily.
Hmmm… looks like it could rain
5. Be prepared to share your food
The locals have a bit of a reputation for sharing lunch. A picnic on the river can be a delightful experience, just be prepared to get the attention of the local wildlife. There was even a swan nicknamed ASBO.
This probably wasn’t Asbo…
6. Take a trip to Grantchester
This definitely falls under the more advanced category. It also takes a lot more commitment. The average round trip time is about 3 hours, not including stopping when you get there. But if you’re looking for a different experience than you can get punting along the Cambridge Backs, head up river to Grantchester. It’s not for the faint hearted though. The river is much deeper along this stretch and it’s much easier to get your pole stuck.
Punting in the snow anyone? Check out more pictures of Cambridge in the snow
7. Go punting again
There are lots of things that are billed as once in a lifetime or bucket list experiences. In our opinion, punting isn’t one of them. Not because punting doesn’t deserve to be on that kind of list. No, because we think that taking a punt trip along the river Cam is the kind of thing that should be done more than once. Everyone should at least experience a guided tour and the (sometimes hilarious) joy of self hire once.
Going punting at different times of the year also has its merits.
People punting along the river near Trinity College
8. Don’t go punting at all
This might sound like a bit of a weird one but hear us out. We accept that going punting isn’t necessarily for everyone and we’re ok with that. You can still enjoy it vicariously. Why not stand on a bridge and watch the action from a safe distance? Or, if you fancy something completely different then take a walking tour of Cambridge and see the city on foot.
Hopefully this has helped answer any questions you might have about how to get the best out of going punting in Cambridge. Of course, we realise that you might be wondering what punting is in the first place? But we’ve got that covered for you elsewhere. And if you’ve got other questions then check our punting FAQs.
Very nice 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂