Have you ever wonder what if it rains while you’re on a boat? This is what I’m about to share. Cambridge punting has a lot of English charm and English weather is part of the package…
Most people experienced the beautiful Cambridge punting (boat ride) like this…
Mine was like this…
Did it the cheapest way available. I paid the £30 for 2 people package, 40-50min ride shared boat. Perhaps in fairer weather it would have been nice, but in the rain and the cramped up boat, it was more of an experience that I wanted it to be over asap LOL 12 people squeezed onto a boat, 3 on each bench. The added touch of pouring rain only gave the intense tour more ‘character’.
Please admire my ‘strong grip’ photography skills without dropping my phone or camera into the river. My camera was 2kg and most photos were taken by ONE hand LOL
The poor weather aside, the tour was meant to be quite pleasant. All that willow tree, old buildings and top schools in the background felt rather hm… cultured? No scandalous stories, it was straight history. Mention worthy was Trinity college:
- The largest in Cambridge and the richest (even own some of Tesco’s shares)
- They own lands stolen from the Catholic church, thanks to King Henry XIII, aka the guy who divorced the Church and hang several of his wives
- Trinity college educated many royalties, including Prince Charles.
- Prince Charles did not have the academic grade to get into the college, BUT he has the ULTIMATE recommendation letter in the land… letter from HRH Queen Elizabeth II. So, yes, he too became an alumni. **I mention this out of sheer jealousy
The punting man was obviously a lot more informative and entertaining than me.
Tip:
Wait for the good weather before taking the trip. Braving the weather was one of my stupidest idea ever.
Boat fit about 12 people. If you’re a group of 4 or more people, I highly recommend that you purchase the private punting tour (if you pre-purchase online, some companies offer 30% discount) e.g. http://www.letsgopunting.co.uk/private-tour-tickets I saw some even had drinks while they’re on their private tour 😉
Where was I?
Cambridge, England
From London , it was a direct train from Kings Cross (47min) via Great Northern line.
Either purchase at the station or pre-book online.
I used trainline app + I used the rail card for the 30% discount. *I have written about this on the post Cheap ways to travel around UK
Which punting tour did I take?
Cambridge Alumni Tours
Official site: http://cambridgealumnitours.co.uk/
You’ll find a bunch of blue polo shirt people standing outside the King’s college gate (King’s Parade) near the Mr Fudge store. They’ll sell you the tickets on the spot or you can book online.
They provide punting tour and walking tour. The one that we took was punting tour. It was around 40-50min. 16h45 was their last departure tour.
I did see online that one can get private punting boat from £79 if you prebook online. I have not have the pleasure of trying this, but if you do, please share the experience. Other companies that I found online were:
http://www.letsgopunting.co.uk/private-tour-tickets **cheaper ticket if pre-booked online
http://www.scudamores.com **these guys had been around since 1910 and boost about their largest fleet in town
What indestructible items did I use?
Canon 5D mark iii (thank you for that weather proof function!!!)
Sony Z3+ waterproof phone 😉
Northface waterproof long jacket. It is one of my best travel investment piece! Solid waterproof and kept my butt dry haha
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