Any summer visitor to Oxford should try this traditional river activity at least once.
If you’re visiting Oxford during the summer months, put punting on your to-do list. Gliding down the Isis in a straw hat, with a glass of champagne, it’s a quintessentially Oxford activity.
Of course, like most English summer activities (such croquet, garden parties and Pimms) it’s deeply traditional, rather tricky, slightly pointless and in constant danger of being rained on. But if you want to live out your Brideshead Revisited fantasies, or just want to enjoy the picturesque riverbanks, punting is real fun.
A punt is a flat-bottomed skiff, propelled by someone standing on the end and pushing it along with a long pole applied to the bottom of the river. Punts can be hired from the Cherwell Boathouse to the north of the city, but most people set off from the more central Scudamore’s (by the Head of the River pub) and Saddler’s Ford, (just under Magdalen Bridge.) It’s about ten pounds an hour if you want to punt yourself, but bear in mind that there’s a real knack to punting, and if you mess it up that striped blazer is not going to be improved by muddy river water. (For those who come unprepared, cheap straw hats can be purchased at Saddler’s Ford before you enter your punt. They sell policeman’s helmets, too, though no-one is quite sure why.)
Chauffeured punts are much more expensive, but have the advantage that you can lie back and watch the scenery go by at your leisure – much of which will consist of other people making frantic attempts to avoid punting into the riverbank.
Punting from Scudamore’s will give you a chance to see the stretch of the Isis where the termly rowing races are held, and the college boathouses. From Saddler’s Ford you can either head upriver, past the Angel and Greyhound meadow (where you can stop and picnic) and the grounds of Magdalen College; or downriver, past the Botanical Gardens and Christchurch Meadows.
For the more venturesome, punting yourself is a high-risk occupation. Specifically you risk falling in, being caught on a tree, providing amusement to your passengers by the strange contortions you adopt, and spending an hour energetically punting round in circles. But if you don’t mind having a go, this arcane form of boating is extremely rewarding once you’ve discovered how it works, and an hour of messing about on the river can make you feel like an indigenous part of Oxford’s rich cultural heritage.
