Family UK Trip: Adventures in Cambridge

Oh Cambridge of Cambridgeshire, ye city of 2000 years.  Yeah, seriously, Cambridge is so OLD! 

So it comes at no surprise to see such OLD buildings, though admittedly these ones here haven’t quite hit the two millenia mark.  This alleyway/really narrow street in Cambridge really is just an example of what I envision in my mind when I think of this city. 

 

It has been a few years since the Watsons last visited Cambridge, and so along with our good friends, the Grovers, we decided to embark on a traditional punting expedition. There are plenty of starting points for punting, and you can choose to either self-punt or hire someone else to do it for you.  Well these dads - Kurt and me - didn’t need nobody to push our boats for us (more on that later).

The sightseeing was of course dramatic as we enjoyed the sights along the river Cam. 

Clearly the boys are having a blast while I attempt just to navigate us out of the starting area. 

Cows.

Grovers.

Da Ladies.

See, not so hard.  lol not true.  This was one of the hardest things I’d done.  That pole is NOT an oar!  It is literally just a long pole.  Typical events for newbie punters 1) pole gets stuck in the muck at the bottom and either you lose your pole or you hold on too long and get pulled off the punt. 2) you lose your balance and end up in the river 3) you bonk your head on the bridges as you go under 5) you go around in circles and 6) you crash into other boats.  Believe it or not both Kurt and I only experienced the last two and no one on either of our boats fell in the river. 

I’ll though it did take some getting used to and props to the wives and kids for being patient with these middle-aged men learning new skills.  What’s that about old dogs? 

 

Water Fowl. 

Da Boyz.

ALMOST crashed into the bank, but Alex used his rowing skills to steer us out of an otherwise precarious situation. 

Same event, different angle. 

Don’t hit the bridge!! j/k We just went under it albeit DUCK!

Okay, this requires some explanation.  In order to move the UPPER portion of the river, we had to cross a road.  Yes, that’s what I said.  We had to cross OVER a road with our boat. To do that it was all hands on deck, or rather OFF deck.  Everyone out of the boat!  Heave! Ho!  These boats weigh a ton (or at least felt like). Up and over!  

It was definitely a spectator sport - you can see the folks watching from the other side. 

FINALLY made it across and back to punting.  NOT pictured: Kurt almost falling into the river, though he did dunk his foot in. Also not pictured, one of the boats almost floating away but someone from spectator area grabbed it and helped us get it back. Turns out the hardest part about the rollers is not losing your boat as it goes down the second ramp into the water. So we sacrificed one of the children and had them ride the boat as it went into the water.  

Speaking of back, we had to go back down the river the way we came which meant we had to do the roller ramp AGAIN! But the second time was much faster, though still hard.  We figured out how to take a running start at it.  

Back to calmer waters. 

And a well-deserved treat. 

Also a cathedral. Which one? 

What a fantastic looking group.  BFFs!!

That’s also a church.  Older than any building in America. 

Classic Cambridge. If you’ve ever been to Cambridge, you’ve surely walked these cobblestone streets next to King’s College. 

Until we see you again, ye olde Cambridge.  Farewell for now. 

Robert