Punting on the Cam

After making the kids suffer through hours at John Lewis where we had to order curtains (zero fun under any circumstances), we went punting on the Cam. It was the perfect weather day to be on the river, a trip we've been meaning to take for a while and one we will repeat many times (most notably when visitors come calling, hint hint). It's an hour ride, a guided tour by a guide who poles you down the river and give you an insider's view of Cambridge's many beautiful and historic buildings and bridges. Punting is the only way you can glimpse parts of the university, which are off-limits if you don't attend.

And some of the stories are funny (students scaling the perilously high buildings at night to place Santa caps on the spires), scary (students jumping to their deaths after bad exams) and simply interesting like the Magdalene Bridge AKA Cam Bridge. Historically the area around Magdalene Bridge was the most important bridging point in Cambridge. The Romans build a ford through the river at this point and the town's first bridge was built here in 731. This was called the "Great Bridge" and later "Cam Bridge," after which the town was named.

Note to future punters: when they say "keep your hands inside the boat," they mean it. It's like a crash-up derby on the river, half the boats being poled by drunk visitors. Quite entertaining.

Some pictures from our trip, the lovelier ones are courtesy The Bean.