Overview
This is a blog about a journey from Cambridge to Oxford by the most direct (navigable) route.
We’re four Cambridge students, so we’ll travel by punt. The punters are: Toby Dickens, Rebecka Kiff, Andrew Marshall & Karl Williams.
Our route takes us for 200 miles along the Cam, the Great Ouse, the Middle Level Navigations, the River Nene, the Grand Union Canal, the Oxford Canal and the Cherwell. It’s a good job we think locks are fun – there are 113 of them between us and the Other Place
Itinerary
This is our itinerary, but it isn’t set in stone. We may end up taking our ‘contingency day’ at any point, or using it to catch up. If you don’t see us on the river when you expect to, please forgive us, we’re probably just stuck in the mud!
19 June
9.30am – We welcome you to join us at Jesus Lock for a sending off at 10am. We end our day in Littleport.
20 June
Littleport to Upwell.
21 June
Upwell to Peterborough.
22 June
Peterborough to Warmington. Tonight we stay with the lovely people from The Elton Boat Club. Many thanks for the offer of hot food, hot showers, and cold drinks.
23 June
Warmington to Little Adington.
24 June
Little Adington to Northampton.
25 June
Northampton to Weedon Bec.
26 June
Weedon Bec to Napton on the Hill. Today we will also pass through the Braunston Historic Boat Rally.
27 June
Napton on the Hill to Cropredy.
28 June
Cropredy to Enslow & Gibraltar
29 June
[contingency day]
30 June
Enslow & Gibraltar to Oxford!
Credit for our lovely header photo to Jerome Woodwark.
[...] First Post By camoxpunt What follows will be an account of our planning, preparations and the trip itself, which will begin on Saturday 19th June [...]
Congratulations on taking this project on. I think there was a similar expedition in the late 1980s which took 14 days from Cambridge to Oxford in a specially-made aluminium punt (if I remember correctly).
Best wishes
Phil Rodgers (Queens’ 1984-87)
I don’t suppose you can remember any names, can you? It would great to find out more – we hadn’t heard of anyone doing the journey in this direction before…
Having a specially made punt seems a bit like cheating, though!
Andy
I have just seen a report of your trip in the Metro this morning.
A friend of mine (Martin Edge) and I did this trip the other way, from Oxford to Cambridge, probably in 1981. It took us 10 days, ie a steady 20 miles per day. We had a camping punt, not very comfortable to sleep in.
The worst bits were the river Nene which is windy and, because it is prone to flooding, has no villages by the water which makes for a long trek to the pub; and going through the tunnel which is dark and impossible to punt in, so it had to be paddled. We also broke our (wooden) punt pole on the Ouse just before Ely, so we had to do some makeshift repairs.
But overall we had a great time. Hope you do too and raise lots of money.
Regards
Christopher Nugee (CCC, Oxford 1977-1981)
Hi guys
be sure to call into The Folly at Napton – see http://www.jjsmemorialfund.org and http://www.follyfolk.co.uk
kara is the licensee and I am sure she will make you most welcome
Graham
Very best of luck. We will be travelling down the Oxford at about the same time as you on Pipsqueak. I will keep an eye open for you and a few beers cold in the fridge in case we see you.
Best of luck!