Punt (boat)
Encyclopedia
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
with a square-cut bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
, designed for use in small river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola
Gondola
The gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in...
, which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole.
Punts were originally built as cargo boats or platforms for fowling
Fowling
Fowling is a term which is perhaps better known in the Fens of eastern England than elsewhere. It was more than the commercial equivalent of the field sport of wildfowling, in that it includes all forms of bird catching for meat, feathers or any other part of the bird which may have been sold on...
and angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, but in modern times their use is almost exclusively confined to pleasure trips.
The term "punt" has also been used to indicate a smaller version of a regional type of long shore working boat, for example the Deal Galley Punt. This derives from the wide usage in coastal communities of the name "punt" for any small clinker-built
Clinker (boat building)
Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
open-stem general purpose boat.
In Canada, the term punt can also refer to any small flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, regardless of purpose, building material, or propulsion source.
In Australia, cable ferries
Cable ferry
A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....
are commonly referred to as punts.
Punt construction
A traditional river punt differs from many other types of wooden boat in that it has no keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
, stem, or sternpost
Sternpost
A sternpost is the upright structural member or post at the stern of a ship or a boat, to which are attached the transoms and the rearmost left corner part of the stern...
. Instead, it is built rather like a ladder
Ladder
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps. There are two types: rigid ladders that can be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rope ladders that are hung from the top. The vertical members of a rigid ladder are called stringers or stiles . Rigid ladders are usually...
with the main structure being two side panels connected by a series of 4 in
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
(10 cm) cross planks, known as "treads", spaced about 1 foot (30 cm) apart.
The first punts are traditionally associated with the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and were built as small cargo boats or platforms for fishermen. Pleasure punts – specifically built for recreation – became popular on the Thames between 1860 and 1880.
Some other boats have a similar shape to a traditional punt – for example the Optimist
Optimist (dinghy)
The Optimist is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy intended for use by children up to the age of 15. Nowadays boats are usually made of fiber reinforced plastic, although wooden boats are still built....
training dinghy or the air boat
Air boat
An airboat, also known as a fanboat, is a flat-bottomed vessel propelled in a forward direction by an aircraft-type propeller and powered by either an aircraft or automotive engine. Airboats are a very popular means of transportation in the Florida Everglades, parts of the Indian River Lagoon, the...
s used in the Everglades
Everglades
The Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
– but the most similar boat is the European Weidling
Weidling
A Weidling is a flat boat , usually 10 feet long and weighs about 320 kilograms. It is now mostly made of plastic, wood and old versions exist as well as rare metal versions. There is also the nave, which brings it to 15 meters in length and 1,700 kilograms in weight...
a type that can be tracked back to celtic boats built more than 2,000 years ago.
Beam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
with a narrow or pointed bow; it also makes the boat very stable, and suitable for passengers.
Punts are still made in England to supply the tourist trade in Oxford and Cambridge or for racing purposes. The construction material of choice for most punts is wood. Fibreglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
is used for some very light and narrow racing punts. The sides, the ends (known as "huffs"), and the "till" are normally made of hardwood such as mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
. The treads are often made from teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
. The bottom is made of softwood
Softwood
The term softwood is used to describe wood from trees that are known as gymnosperms.Conifers are an example. It may also be used to describe trees, which tend to be evergreen, notable exceptions being bald cypress and the larches....
and may be replaced several times during the life of a particular boat.
A traditional punt is about 24 feet (7.3 m) long and 3 foot (0.9144 m) wide. The sides are about 18 inch
Inch
An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es (0.5 m) deep. Both the bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
and the stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
are cut square, with a long shallow "swim"; this is to say, the underside of the boat slopes very gently at the front and the back.
Both smaller and wider punts are made. Extra large and wide punts may be seen in Cambridge, where many are used as water-borne tourist vehicles. Single seater Thames punts were normally made only 2 feet (60 cm) wide, and somewhat shorter than a standard punt; very few of these are still afloat. Racing punts, which are still used by a few specialist clubs on the lower Thames, may be built even narrower. Thames punts have occasionally been adapted for other means of propulsion: including sails, tow-ropes, and paddle wheels. With the addition of iron hoops and canvas
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
awnings, punts have also been used for camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
.
British One Penny coin (pre-decimal)
The English Penny, originally a coin of 1.3 to 1.5 g pure silver, includes the penny introduced around the year 785 by King Offa of Mercia. However, his coins were similar in size and weight to the continental deniers of the period, and to the Anglo-Saxon sceats which had gone before it, which were...
, about 1–2 mm). The gaps are caulked
Caulking
Caulking is one of several different processes to seal joints or seams in various structures and certain types of piping. The oldest form of caulking is used to make the seams in wooden boats or ships watertight, by driving fibrous materials into the wedge-shaped seams between planks...
; this caulking normally needs to be renewed annually. The treads are attached to the sides with small wooden "knees", which may be vertical or set at an angle.
The diagram above shows a punt without seats. The seats are usually just a simple board fitting against blocks on the sides, with cushion
Cushion
A cushion is a soft bag of some ornamental material, stuffed with wool, hair, feathers, polyester staple fiber, non-woven material, or even paper torn into fragments. It may be used for sitting or kneeling upon, or to soften the hardness or angularity of a chair or couch...
s. The gaps between the treads are normally fitted with gratings to allow the passengers to keep their feet dry.
A punt can be punted with equal facility in either direction, so it is not obvious to the novice which end is the bow and which the stern; however, one end of the boat is strengthened with a short deck, usually called a "counter" or a "till" (terms from cabinet making
Cabinet making
Cabinet making is the practice of using various woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture.Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative...
), that extends some six feet (2 m) from that end.
The Thames punt-building tradition was that the end with the till was the stern, as shown in the diagram. The till provides some extra torsional rigidity, and is normally closed in; occasionally a locker may be built into it. A small minority of punts, such as those made from fibreglass at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
have no single till in the usual sense, instead having very small tills at either end.
Punt poles
A traditional punt has no tillerTiller
A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post or rudder stock of a boat that provides leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder...
nor any provision for oars, sails, or motor; instead it is propelled and directed with a pole.
Poles for pleasure punts are normally made of spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, or aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. A normal pole is about 12–16 feet (4–5 m) long and weighs about 10 lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
(5 kg). In both Oxford and Cambridge, long 16 ft (4.9 m) poles tend to be used exclusively.
The bottom of the pole is fitted with a metal "shoe", a rounded lump of metal to protect the end – the shoe is sometimes made in the shape of a swallow tail.
Traditional wooden poles are preferred by many experienced punters; they are more sympathetic on the hands and make less noise on contact with the river bottom or the punt compared to an aluminium pole. Aluminium poles are considerably cheaper and stronger, so may be preferred by punt stations offering punts for hire to inexperienced punters; however, it is normally possible to choose either type.
Racing poles are generally a great deal lighter than pleasure punt poles, and aluminium is the preferred material. It is usual to carry one or two spare poles in a race, so that one can keep punting if a pole gets stuck or is dropped.
A punt pole differs from the Fenland
Fenland
Fenland is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England. Its council is based in March, and covers the neighbouring market towns of Chatteris, Whittlesey, and Wisbech, often called the "capital of the fens"...
quant
Quant pole
A quant is a pole used to propel a barge or punt through water. A barge quant often has a cap at the top and a prong at the bottom to stop it from sinking into the mud. On the Norfolk Broads these are called a Bott and a Shoe respectively...
in that it does not have a cross piece at the top, and from the more generally used setting pole
Setting pole
A setting pole is a pole, handled by a single individual, made to move watercraft by pushing the craft in the desired direction. Because it is a pushing tool, it is generally used from the stern of the craft....
in that it only has a metal shoe on one end.
Punting technique
The basic technique of punting is to shove the boat along with a pole by pushing directly on the bed of the river or lake. In the 1870s, when punting for pleasure first became popular, the normal approach was for the passengers to sit at the stern on cushions placed against the till, and for the punter to have the run of the rest of the boat. The punter started at the bow, planted the pole, and then walked towards the stern, shoving the punt forwards. This is known as "running" the punt. It was the normal technique used to move heavy fishing punts. As pleasure punts became lighter, it became more usual for the punter to stand still – normally towards the stern – while shoving. This is called "pricking" the punt. Pricking has the advantages that the punter is less likely to walk off the end of the punt inadvertently, and that more of the punt can be used to carry passengers.For pleasure punting, the best way to learn is to start out in a boat with a competent punter in order to watch him or her at work. After this there is no substitute for extensive hands-on practice on different stretches of river. For racing punting it is best to join a club, and to work on one's balance. Some punt racers practise by punting in canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s.
The orthodox punting position is to stand in front of the till, towards the back of the boat, and to punt from the side. Left-handers stand on the starboard side with the left leg forward; right-handers stand on the port side with the right leg forward. The leading foot is placed against one of the knees, and should not move as you punt. The back foot moves backwards and forwards as the punter makes each stroke.
Rather different traditions have grown up in Oxford and Cambridge: in Cambridge they stand on the till and punt with the open end forward, while in Oxford they stand inside the boat and punt with the till forward. The Oxford position is closer to the orthodox. Since the rivers in both cities are narrow and often crowded, there is little opportunity for punting "at full pressure", so these variations in stance are of little importance. Nevertheless the traditions are often strongly held; students at Oxford and Cambridge frequently believe that theirs is the only correct style, to the extent that the till end is often known as the 'Cambridge End', and the other as the 'Oxford End'.
The orthodox position may benefit the experienced punter who does have the opportunity of a clear river or who is planning a long day trip.
For the beginner
Rivington recommends that the beginner should:- Stand near the back of the punt (that is, on the box in Cambridge or on the "swim" in Oxford) and as near to the side as confidence and balance allow, facing over the side of the punt.
- With the forward hand throw the pole vertically down close to the side of the punt, guiding it with the lower hand.
- Let it fall all the way until it touches the bottom and then reach forward with both hands and gently pull the pole past your chest.
- At the end of the stroke, relax and allow the pole to float up like a rudder behind you.
- When the punt is going straight, recover the pole hand over hand until you can throw it down again and begin the next stroke.
The habit of relaxing at the end of the stroke helps to avoid falling in should the pole unexpectedly get stuck.
For the more experienced
More experienced punters sometimes stand to one side of the punt, so that it tips down slightly on that side. This makes a slight keelKeel
In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...
under the boat and helps to keep it in a straight line.
Some experienced punters punt one-handed. This technique is slower and harder to master than punting with both hands, and consists of a "bucket" recovery of the pole (where the pole is thrown forward rather than just pulled up), except that this recovery is done with one hand.
Racing punters tend to stand in the middle of the punt, because it is more efficient to do so. Indeed many racing punts have cross braces with canvas covers both fore and aft, so it is only possible to stand in the middle. Pleasure punters may like to try punting from the middle, but it is probably advisable to remove the seats and the passengers first.
It is also possible to punt tandem
Tandem
Tandem is an arrangement where a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction....
, that is with two punters standing one behind another in the middle of the boat, and generally punting from the same side. Some punt races are organized for pairs punting tandem.
Punting in England
The pleasure punts in use in England today were first built around 1860 and reached the peak of their popularity in the 1910s. Their use declined in the 1950s and 1960s in proportion to the increase in motor boat traffic on English rivers, but has increased again as the tourist industry has grown in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Punting is a popular leisure
Leisure
Leisure, or free time, is time spent away from business, work, and domestic chores. It is also the periods of time before or after necessary activities such as eating, sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education....
activity on the rivers of several well-known tourist destinations: there are commercial organizations that offer punts for hire on the Avon
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
in Bath, the Cam
River Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, the Cherwell
River Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
& Isis
The Isis
The Isis is the name given to the part of the River Thames above Iffley Lock which flows through the city of Oxford. The name is especially used in the context of rowing at the University of Oxford...
in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, at Stratford-on-Avon, and on the lower Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
near Sunbury
Sunbury
Places called Sunbury include:Australia*Sunbury, Victoria**Sunbury Downs College**Sunbury Pop Festival Canada*Sunbury County, New Brunswick...
. A small number of private punts are also registered on these rivers, especially by the colleges in Oxford and Cambridge.
Punting in Cambridge
The Backs
The Backs is an area to the east of Queen's Road in the city of Cambridge, England, where several colleges of the University of Cambridge back on to the River Cam, their grounds covering both banks of the river. The name "the Backs" refers to the backs of the colleges...
) which makes it ideal for punting, but mainly because the Cam goes through the heart of Cambridge and passes close to many very attractive old college buildings. However, the popularity of punting beside the old colleges in Cambridge produces significant congestion on this relatively narrow stretch of the river during the peak tourist season, leading to frequent collisions between inexperienced punters. These collisions are mostly harmless, but visitors to the city may prefer the calmer experience offered on the river above the weir. Further upstream, the river enters some particularly beautiful and tranquil countryside as it approaches the village of Grantchester
Grantchester
Grantchester is a village on the River Cam or Granta in Cambridgeshire, England. It is listed in the Domesday Book as Grantesete and Grauntsethe...
.
There are several companies on the Cam operating tours and hiring punts to visitors and, while most of the colleges along the river keep punts for the exclusive use of their students, at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
the punts are also available for hire to the public.
Girton College, Cambridge
Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. It was England's first residential women's college, established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. The full college status was only received in 1948 and marked the official admittance of women to the...
anxious to show off their ankles.
From late in the 19th century until at least 1989, an undergraduate social club called the Damper Club, (or Dampers Club after 1958) took a loose responsibility for the interests of punting on the Cam. Membership was open to "all those who have unwillingly entered the Cam fully clothed". The future Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
, Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
Graham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
was president in 1961–62. The Dampers Club has been succeeded by the Cambridge University Punting Society
Cambridge University Punting Society
The Cambridge University Punting Society, or "CUPS", is an undergraduate student society in the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 2010, and holds official society status in the University of Cambridge. It exists to promote the ancient pursuit of punting, i.e. boating on a river using a...
.
The Cambridge towpath
Where the River CamRiver Cam
The River Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England. The two rivers join to the south of Ely at Pope's Corner. The Great Ouse connects the Cam to England's canal system and to the North Sea at King's Lynn...
flows through the town in Cambridge, experienced punters follow the path of a gravel ridge that makes for easier punting. This ridge has a curious history. It is the remains of an old towpath
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
built when the Cam was still used for commercial river traffic. The banks on either side of the river belong to various university colleges; faced with their combined opposition to a conventional towpath on one side or the other, the river tradesmen were forced to build the towpath in the course of the stream, and to make the tow horses wade along it.
The weir and slipway
The part of the River Cam in Cambridge where punting normally occurs is separated into two levels by a weirWeir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
at the Mill Pool near the University Centre. (Punting on the lower river below Jesus Lock
Jesus Lock
Jesus Lock is a lock on the River Cam in the north of central Cambridge, England. This is Lock No. 1 on the navigable portion of the River Cam. It was built in 1836 and is the only lock in the city. Jesus Green Lock Cottage, the former lock-keeper's cottage, is by the lock on Jesus Green...
is not normally allowed.) Punters wishing to move from one level to the other drag their punts between the levels via a slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
with rollers. Tourists wishing to visit only one level can hire punts at the appropriate level to avoid the transfer, which requires about 4 average adults.
Punting in Oxford
Magdalen Bridge, Oxford
Magdalen Bridge spans the divided stream of the River Cherwell just to the east of the City of Oxford, England, and next to Magdalen College, whence it gets its name and pronunciation. It connects the High Street to the west with The Plain, now a roundabout, to the east.- Antecedents:This point of...
, punting in Oxford is a surprisingly quiet and rural experience. Most of the punting is done on the River Cherwell
River Cherwell
The River Cherwell is a river which flows through the Midlands of England. It is a major tributary of the River Thames.The general course of the River Cherwell is north to south and the 'straight-line' distance from its source to the Thames is about...
, which flows through Oxford's protected green belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
of fields and woods for the last few miles before it joins the Thames just south-east of Christ Church Meadow
Christ Church Meadow, Oxford
Christ Church Meadow is a famous flood-meadow, and popular walking and picnic spot in Oxford, England.Roughly triangular in shape it is bounded by the River Thames , the River Cherwell, and Christ Church. It provides access to many of the college boat houses which are on an island at the confluence...
.
Unfortunately this tranquillity comes at a price, for the Cherwell is both deep and muddy, and the muddy patches cling tenaciously to the pole's shoe at unexpected moments.
Punting on the Thames below Folly Bridge
Folly Bridge
Folly Bridge is a stone bridge over the River Thames carrying the Abingdon Road, south from the centre of Oxford, England. It was erected 1825–27, to designs of a little-known architect, Ebenezer Perry , who practiced in London....
is often less enjoyable, mainly because of the competition from eights and sculls
Sport rowing
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and motor boats; punts are recommended to keep close in beside the towpath
Towpath
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
. The best punting to be had in Oxford is on the Isis alongside Port Meadow
Port Meadow, Oxford
Port Meadow is a large area of common land beside the River Thames to the north and west of Oxford, England.The meadow is an ancient area of grazing land, still used for horses and cattle, and has never been ploughed...
to the west of the town; this stretch of river is both shallow and gravelly, has attractive scenery, and is well supplied with pubs (such as The Trout Inn
The Trout Inn
The Trout Inn is a well-known historic public house in Lower Wolvercote north of Oxford, close to Godstow Bridge...
, Wolvercote
Wolvercote
Wolvercote is a village that is part of the City of Oxford, England, though still retaining its own identity. It is about northwest of the centre of Oxford, on the northern edge of Wolvercote Common, which is itself north of Port Meadow.-History:The village is listed in the Domesday Book as...
where some of the Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
dramas were filmed).
The tradition at Oxford is to punt from inside the boat rather than from on top of the till (or "box" as it tends to be called in Oxford) and to propel the punt with the till end facing forwards. The tradition dates from before 1880.
Punting elsewhere in England
Punting can now be done in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on the Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
from Mile End Park
Mile End Park
Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing...
.
There is some punting on the River Wear
River Wear
The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...
in Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
and some of the colleges of Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
own punts, however small rowing boats are more popular and better suited to the Wear. Specifically, University College
University College, Durham
University College, commonly known as Castle, is a college of the University of Durham in England. Centred around Durham Castle on Palace Green, it was founded in 1832 and is the oldest of Durham's colleges. As with all of Durham's colleges, it is, independently of the University, a listed body...
owns punts for the use of its students.
In the Roman spa town of Bath, it is possible to punt on the Avon from the town centre. The river however is deep and shared with large motor vessels. The puntable stretch of river runs beside Brunel's
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
line. It is also possible to punt on the Lancaster Canal
Lancaster Canal
The Lancaster Canal is a canal in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria...
from Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
and on the River Avon in Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town and civil parish in south Warwickshire, England. It lies on the River Avon, south east of Birmingham and south west of Warwick. It is the largest and most populous town of the District of Stratford-on-Avon, which uses the term "on" to indicate that it covers...
.
Punting is possible on most of the Thames above the tidal limit at Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
; even in places where the river is broad it is often surprisingly shallow, especially at the edges. Commercial punts have been available for hire near Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, also known as Sunbury, is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, England, and part of the London commuter belt. It is located 16 miles southwest of central London and bordered by Feltham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.-History:The earliest evidence of...
in recent times, but most Thames punting is now confined to a few Skiff
Skiffing
Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing a Thames skiff. A Thames skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways in England and other countries for nearly 200 years...
and Punting clubs. There are active clubs at Walton, Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton
Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...
, Wraysbury
Wraysbury
Wraysbury, traditionally spelt Wyrardisbury, is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is located in the very east of the county, in the part that was in Buckinghamshire until 1974...
, and Sunbury. These clubs concentrate on racing punts rather than pleasure punting.
Punting has also been known on the River Nidd
River Nidd
The River Nidd is a tributary of the River Ouse in the English county of North Yorkshire. In its first few miles it is dammed three times to create Angram Reservoir, Scar House Reservoir and Gouthwaite Reservoir which attract around 150,000 visitors a year...
near Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and at St Ives in Cambridgeshire.
Punt racing
- See also Dongola racingDongola racingDongola racing is a popular event in traditional local regattas, especially on the River Thames in southern England and was first competed at Maidenhead in 1886. Competitors use wide punts and a team of people with single-bladed paddles, facing forwards and kneeling, normally with one leg up and...
Thames Punting Club
The Thames Punting Club is the governing body in England for the sport of punt racing.-History and constitution:Punting as a means of water travel has a long history in the United Kingdom and is now practiced recreationally on a number of rivers, being most obviously associated with Oxford and...
, which maintains lists of umpires
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
and publishes a handbook containing rules and bye-laws for those organizing punt races on the Thames.
Races are normally held over a distance of up to 880 yards (800 m) along a straight reach of the river, each end of the course being marked by a pair of poles called "ryepeck
Ryepeck
A ryepeck is a pole used to mark the ends of a punt race course. For a description of racing in punts and the use of ryepecks, see Thames Punting Club....
s" which are firmly pushed into the river bed before the race. Races are always one punt against another, one having the inner lane and the other the outer lane. If the outer lane has consistently deeper water, then the length of the outer course may be reduced to make the race more even.
The competitors usually start with their punts' sterns level with the line between the downstream ryepecks, punt to the upstream ryepecks, and then back. The winner is the first to pass the line of the starting ryepecks (or the first one to hit his or her own ryepeck).
The turn at the upstream ryepecks is done by "stopping-up"; that is the competitor passes the ryepeck on the outside, stops his or her punt with the pole just upstream of the ryepeck, turns to face the stern of the boat and punts back in the other direction, passing the ryepeck on the inside.
Handicap races
Handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which the advantage is calculated...
are normally held in standard "2 foot punts", that is punts that are 2 ft (60 cm) wide in the middle and about 18 inches (45 cm) wide at each end. There are no restrictions on width or length for non-handicap races; punts used for these races are called "best boats" or "best-and-best" punts; the name comes from the "best" boat that you can find and the "best" boat that your opponent can. The narrowest of these boats are no more than 15 inches (40 cm) wide. All racing punts generally have a till at both ends, and may have canvas covers to reduce the amount of water splashing into the boat.
As of 2008, summer regattas with punt races are held at Sunbury
Sunbury Amateur Regatta
The Sunbury Amateur Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England. It takes place at Rivermead Island, downstream of Sunbury Lock....
, Chertsey
Chertsey Regatta
Chertsey in Shepperton Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames in England which takes place on Dumsey Meadow near Chertsey, Surrey.The regatta was inaugurated in 1851 and is one of the oldest on the river. Early records are sparse but it is known that in two years the regatta was held upstream of...
, Walton, Wraysbury, Thames Ditton
Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta
Hampton Court and Dittons Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames in England which takes place at Thames Ditton, Surrey beside Hampton Court Palace....
, and Teddington. The annual Thames Punting Championships are held at Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
. The punting championships have been held for well over 100 years, one of the earliest champions being the all-rounder Lord Desborough
William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough
William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, KG, GCVO, was an athlete, sportsman, public servant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons firstly for the Liberal Party and then for the Conservatives between 1880 and 1905 when he was raised to the peerage...
.
Punt racing under Thames Punting Club rules has never taken hold at either Oxford or Cambridge, where serious watermen and women have always preferred rowing, but varsity
Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
punt races were held on the lower Thames in the 1950s and 1960s, and in 2007 the first official varsity race for around thirty years was held with victory going to the Cambridge team.
Less formal punt races have also been conducted between the Cambridge Dampers Club, and its one-time Oxford rival the Charon Club. Races were conducted on the Cam or the Cherwell using normal pleasure punts in relays
Relay race
During a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
, traditionally with female undergraduates on each side as the batons, jumping between boats on each leg of the race.
For a number of years the Cambridge Dampers Club also took part in the annual Scottish Boat Race against the Honourable Society of Edinburgh Boaters, racing along the Union Canal
Union Canal (Scotland)
The Union Canal is a 31.5-mile canal in Scotland, from Lochrin Basin, Fountainbridge, Edinburgh to Falkirk, where it meets the Forth and Clyde Canal.-Location and features:...
between Hermiston
Hermiston, Edinburgh
Hermiston is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is north of Riccarton. The Union Canal passes through the new Hermiston Quay development.-Sources:...
and Ratho
Ratho
Ratho is a village and civil parish in the west of Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Newbridge and Kirkliston are other villages in the area. The Union Canal passes through Ratho. Edinburgh Airport is situated only 4 miles ...
for the Antlers Trophy.
In May 2011 Red Bull held the "Punt to Point" competition in Oxford, featuring head to head checkpoint racing.
Punting around the world
- The AvonAvon River, CanterburyThe Avon River flows through the centre of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, and out to an estuary, which it shares with the Heathcote River, the Avon Heathcote Estuary.- Geology :...
in ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
where commercialised punting is a minor tourist attraction.
- The Mutha River in PunePunePune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
at the Boat Club (BC) of the College of Engineering, PuneCollege of Engineering, PuneCollege of Engineering, Pune is an engineering college in Pune, India. Established in 1854, it is the third oldest engineering college in Asia, after the College of Engineering, Guindy and IIT Roorkee...
. Punting here is mainly a leisure activity, but there are also punting activities organized as part of the annual regatta, including the spectacular "Punt Formation" where several illuminated punts are used to create a night time display.
- Along the Cherry CreekCherry Creek (Colorado)Cherry Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, long, in Colorado in the United States.-Location:Cherry Creek rises in the high plateau, east of the Front Range, in northwestern El Paso County...
, in Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
in the USA. The Greenway Foundation sponsors the "Venice on the Creek" program in this area from June to August. Despite the allusion to gondolaGondolaThe gondola is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat, well suited to the conditions of the Venetian Lagoon. For centuries gondolas were the chief means of transportation and most common watercraft within Venice. In modern times the iconic boats still have a role in public transport in...
s, the boats involved are chauffeured fibreglass punts made in CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
.
The technique of using a pole to propel a narrow boat in confined waters has developed in many other cultures, especially in marshy or swampy areas where transport on land is difficult. These include:
- The Okavango DeltaOkavango DeltaThe Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
in Botswana, using dug-out canoeCanoeA canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
s called makoroMakoroA makoro is a type of canoe commonly used in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. It is propelled through the shallow waters of the delta by standing in the stern and pushing with a pole, in the same manner as punting....
s. The boats are punted from the rear and are used for getting around the shallow waters of the swamp. A makoro's shape is determined by the tree from which it was made, and the punter simply stands in the bottom. Bucket-seats are sometimes added for passengers' comfort.
- The Marais PoitevinMarais PoitevinThe Marais Poitevin is a large area of marshland in Western France, a remnant of the former Gulf of Poitou...
, an area of marsh land criss-crossed with canals north of La RochelleLa RochelleLa Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...
in Poitou-CharentesPoitou-CharentesPoitou-Charentes is an administrative region in central western France comprising four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne. The regional capital is Poitiers.-Politics:The regional council is composed of 56 members...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Here the boats (called barques) are somewhat shorter than a Thames punt, and may have a pointed bow and stern. The punting pole (la pigouille) may be a rough cut branch or coppice pole. Originally used for transporting goods and livestock, today boats are available for hire to tourists.
- In the marshy OverijsselOverijsselOverijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The region has a NUTS classification of NL21. The province's name means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle and the largest city is Enschede...
, the Netherlands there is a boat called the punter. They are about 6 metres (20 ft) in length and have a pointed bow and stern. Originally used for transporting agricultural goods, turf and livestock, most newly built boats are either privately owned or hired to tourists.
- Depending on water depth punting is often used to propel boats called "Weidling" in Switzerland and Germany. These boats are very similar in design to Thames punts. On the River NeckarNeckarThe Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
in TübingenTübingenTübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, punting boats called Stocherkahn is a university tradition. These boats are larger and deeper, and have a narrower bow and stern than Thames punts. Bench seats for passengers are provided down each side, and the punter stands on a small triangular deck at the stern.
- Punting had a resurgence in Scotland in the 1980s as the Honourable Society of Edinburgh Boaters took to the waters of the Union canal on the outskirts of Edinburgh. The Society staged regattas and engaged in The Scottish Boat Race with The University of Cambridge Dampers Club.
See also
- Norfolk puntNorfolk puntThe Norfolk Punt was derived from the flat-bottomed gun punts that roamed the Broadland waters in the mid-to-late 19th century. However, at the turn of the 20th Century, in order to get to and from the hunting grounds more efficiently, the punters developed their highly unstable craft to carry a...
(a type of racing dinghy originally derived from a punt-like boat) - Punt gunPunt gunA punt gun is a type of extremely large shotgun used in the 19th and early 20th centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl for commercial harvesting operations and private sport. Punt guns were usually custom-designed and so varied widely, but could have bore diameters exceeding and fire...
(a fowling piece mounted in a punt-like boat) - Dongola racingDongola racingDongola racing is a popular event in traditional local regattas, especially on the River Thames in southern England and was first competed at Maidenhead in 1886. Competitors use wide punts and a team of people with single-bladed paddles, facing forwards and kneeling, normally with one leg up and...
(racing punts with paddles) - SkiffingSkiffingSkiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing a Thames skiff. A Thames skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways in England and other countries for nearly 200 years...
(another traditional River Thames sport) - Links to different Thames punting clubs
- Thames Valley Skiff ClubThames Valley Skiff ClubThames Valley Skiff Club is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Surrey bank between Sunbury Lock and Walton on Thames....
- Sunbury Amateur RegattaSunbury Amateur RegattaThe Sunbury Amateur Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England. It takes place at Rivermead Island, downstream of Sunbury Lock....
- Wraysbury Skiff and Punting ClubWraysbury Skiff and Punting ClubWraysbury Skiff and Punting Club is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1931. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Surrey bank between Bell Weir Lock and Runnymede....
- Dittons Skiff and Punting ClubDittons Skiff and Punting ClubDittons Skiff and Punting Club or Dittons is an English skiff and punting club, which was founded in 1923. It is based on the River Thames with a club and boat house at Thames Ditton on the reach above Teddington Lock...
- The Skiff ClubThe Skiff ClubThe Skiff Club is the oldest skiff and punting club in existence, having been founded in 1895. It is based on the River Thames in England, on the Middlesex bank between Teddington Lock and Kingston upon Thames....
- Wargrave Boating ClubWargrave Boating ClubWargrave Boating Club is an English water sports club. It is based on the River Thames in England, at Wargrave on the reach above Marsh Lock....
- Thames Valley Skiff Club
External links
Student societies
- Oxford Students' Punting Society, retrieved July 2005
- Cambridge University Granta Rats, retrieved May 2011
Commercial punting stations in England
- Magdalen Bridge Boathouse, Oxford
- Cherwell Boathouse, Oxford
- Scudamore's, Cambridge, retrieved July 2005
- Granta Boat & Punt Company, retrieved May 2007
- Cambridge River Tours, retrieved March 2008
- The University Punting Company, retrieved April 2009
- The Cambridge Punting Company
Further information
- (BBC) River punting gets fast and physical, retrieved July 2010
- A Thames Library, retrieved September 2005
- A detailed non-commercial guide to punting (and other boating) on the Thames, retrieved Sept. 2005
- St John's College guide to punting in Cambridge, retrieved February 2006, URL updated May 2007 & September 2008
Punting around the world
- In Christchurch, New Zealand
- In Tübingen, Germany
- In the Spreewald in Germany – see SpreewaldSpreewaldThe Spreewald is situated about 100 km south-east of Berlin. It was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1991. It is known for its traditional irrigation system which consists of more than 200 small channels within the area. The landscape was shaped during the ice-age...
- On the Mutha River, India
- On the Marais Poitevin, France (also known as Venise Verte, and with more details from this Guide to embarcadères in the Marais Poitevin)
- In Botswana