Punting on River Cam

The very name ‘Cambridge’ elicits a reverent sigh from students and academicians all over the world. I felt no differently when I alighted at the train station in the University town of Cambridge in England on a bright summer day. As I walked into town, I was nonplussed by the hordes of students moving around the town and enjoying themselves- eating ices, cycling and strolling. My image of the studious Cambridge scholar with his nose buried in a ‘tome’ was shattered. A young student passing by conspiratorially told me that a summer weekend was celebration time and all roads on a summer day led to River Cam. As I looked around carefully, I saw several youngsters carrying picnic baskets and rucksacks. Following one such group I found myself on the banks of River Cam where I spotted boats gliding down the river at a leisurely pace. But the boats did not look like any boat I had seen in India. The boats were square-ended with a flat bottom and no keel and were propelled not by a paddle but by a 5 metre long pole. It looked a bit like a gondola but without a canopy. Intrigued, I headed for the boarding point and asked the boatman standing there if I could hire his boat. The boatman looked thoroughly miffed at my enquiry and loftily informed me that the boat was actually a ‘punt’ and punting was the most popular sport in Cambridge. Suitably chastened, I asked him if I could hire his ‘punt’. This resulted in a barrage of questions. What kind of punt did I want? Self-driven or Chauffeur driven? A 45-minute tour or a 60-minute tour? Did I want a Champagne and strawberry tour or would I prefer Thai food while I cruised on the River? Considering my punting skills were minimal, I opted to hire a chauffeur driven punt and decided not to bother with the food.

As I settled down on my cushioned seat on the punt the boatman informed me that punts were introduced to Cambridge as pleasure crafts in Edwardian times. Their origin went back to medieval times when they were used in areas of water too shallow for rowing a conventional craft. As we glided down the river, I saw that the banks of the rivers were shaded with lush green ‘weeping willows’ and students were sitting under trees with picnic hampers, soaking up the sun or reading a book. Locals as well as tourists cruised along in punts enjoying the sun and the flutter of a summer breeze even as they nibbled at strawberries and sipped champagne from fluted glasses. The ducks, moorhen and regal-looking swans added a natural touch to a scene that was the epitome of leisure.

As we cruised along my punt-chauffeur informed me that we were cruising on a 1.5 Km stretch of the Middle part of River Cam. This stretch, called the ‘College Backs’, is extremely popular as there are eight colleges and nine bridges along this stretch. The ride takes you past the sprawling grounds of famous colleges like Queen’s college, Clare College, Trinity, King’s college, St John’s college and the oldest of them all, Peterhouse college. At the upper end of the Middle River one emerges from under Silver Street Bridge into Coe Fen where one can moor on the common opposite Darwin’s House. This is the house where Charles Darwin wrote his famous ‘Origin Of Species’.

Out of the eight colleges on the river, perhaps St John’s College has the most impressive river frontage with its 19th Century Gothic revival architecture. In fact, with its turrets and central cupola, it looks like a wedding cake and has been nicknamed as such. My punt chauffeur pointed out a high ivy covered wall of King’s College that looked vaguely familiar and informed me that this was the site where the famous ‘quidditch’ match in Harry Potter’s movie ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s’ Stone was shot. The picture-postcard beauty of the college was further enhanced by the ‘Bridge of Sighs’. The boatman swore that the bridge was a smaller replica of its Venetian counterpart. I was greatly impressed but when I searched the ‘net’ for similarities, I found that except for a similarity in the roofed construction this bridge had little in common with its Venetian forerunner.

During our cruise we also passed the King’s College with its famous chapel. It is said that that although the construction of the chapel was started in 1441 by Henry VI, it took 100 years and 5 Kings to complete this beautiful chapel. The stained glass windows and Ruben’s ‘Adoration of the Magi’, gracing the altar was breathtaking. The punt also glided along the sweeping lawns of Clare College awash with the bright colors of summer blooms. This college is said to have the finest gardens in Cambridge. Also nestled on the banks was Trinity College built by Henry VIII in 1546. It was designed by Christopher Wren and is known to be the wealthiest college in Cambridge. But this is not its only claim to fame. The college is also famed for having in its library the notes and documents belonging to its most famous son Isaac Newton. In fact, the punt chauffeur enthusiastically informed me that the grounds of the college actually contained the offspring of the famous apple tree that led Newton to postulate his famous laws. We also passed the Mathematical bridge of Queen’s College. This bridge, almost completely made of wood, is said to have been built by Isaac Newton in 1749 and is said to be built without the use of any screws or pins. This claim should be taken with a pinch of salt as the bridge was actually reconstructed in 1867 and again in 1902. Be that as it may, the fact remains that scientific geniuses as well as literary greats like Tennyson, Byron and Bertrand Russell were students of Trinity. In fact, the chauffeur proudly announced that there were 31 Nobel laureates on the Cambridge alumni. A glimpse into the lives of these great men left me feeling awe-struck. But like all good things my punt tour ended much too soon. I was back on terra firma but the punting tour undoubtedly is my most cherished memory of a day spent in Cambridge.

Part of the Dream Weave Walk Network 1998-2010