The River Cam stretches ahead of passengers in a punting boat in Cambridge, England, on Feb. 17, 2024. World-renowned colleges are located along the river. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
With our time in the U.K. ending, my family and I have been doing our best to hit as many of its memorable locations as possible, so we couldn’t pass up Cambridge to go punting on the River Cam for some leisure and learning.
For the uninitiated, a punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow designed for use in small rivers and shallow water. The punter propels the boat by pushing against the riverbed with a pole.
We chose Let’s Go Punting from the assorted other providers offering the same service, which introduces the history of Cambridge and its universities.
Various punting companies offer tours on the River Cam seven days a week in Cambridge, England. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
As requested, we arrived several minutes prior to our scheduled time but were not seated until 10 minutes after it.
I learned that the worker on duty was just putting people about 12 people in the boats at random without adhering to scheduled times. Her unapologetic reaction was quite grating.
Fortunately, our 16-year-old punter, Luke Hales, left a distinctly different impression with his friendly and confident manner. His retelling of the universities’ history was excellent, and the jokes he sprinkled in throughout the tour had an impeccable delivery.
He repeatedly drew chuckles from passengers, most of whom were at least 15 to 20 years his senior.
The leisurely drift was as enjoyable for my two young kids as it was for me. They had a great time being on a boat and pointing out the ducks and swans that almost seemed to be visiting us.
Kelly and Penelope Alvarez look at Cambridge University from aboard a punting boat on the River Cam in Cambridge, England, on Feb. 17, 2024. (Kyle Alvarez/Stars and Stripes)
My wife, who delights in history, loved hearing about the many fun rivalry stories between all the colleges within Cambridge University. The one that stood out was when Cambridge held a competition in the early 1600s to build a clock tower. Whichever college built it first would lay claim to the tower and the name. Trinity College built the tower using wood structures while the rest built it with stone masonry. They won the competition and after achieving victory and the naming rights, rebuilt it later with more long-lasting engineering efforts.
Other unique stories revolved around the royal family. One spicy story, depending on your interests, is how the current King of England was not accepted into any of the colleges at Cambridge and had to have his mother write a letter in order to get him accepted. He then proceeded to have one of the worst academic tenures within the school even to this day.
The entire tour was 50 minutes long, which was a good amount of time to enjoy the surroundings and, if planned properly, can be a pre- or post-meal activity.
Despite the initial annoyance, the relaxing excursion was lovely and met our expectations. In addition, it was a quintessentially British experience for us to savor as a fitting farewell.
Let’s Go Punting
Address: Landing Stage, Thompson’s Lane, Cambridge, England
Prices: Various tour options from private to shared range from 20-79 pounds.
Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily, dependent on river conditions.
Information: Phone: +44 1223651659; Online: letsgopunting.co.uk; email: info@letsgopunting.co.uk
