The Cam

By Peter Tranter

Photos: Peter Tranter
and Robert Carroll

The cam: the river of saints, queens and kings

If you’ve been catching up with the British Canoeing news, you’ll have noticed that BC have managed to secure access for members to the middle piece of the Cam river that runs through central Cambridge from the Mill Pond area through to Bottisham Lock, including perhaps the most widely used part of the Cam, which goes central through some of the most famous colleges on the planet that make up Cambridge University. The agreement is in place until the end of March 2021.

Now I must make it clear before any comments, that I have paddled this stretch of the Cam many times and some photos reflect that – in other words, some were taken before the current Covid-19 crisis, the lockdown and social distancing but most of the photos are of a surreal few hours, days after the lifting of paddling restrictions.

When those paddling restrictions were lifted, the first place I headed for was the Cam. Before Covid-19, any paddle through the backs of the colleges inevitably meant a constant battle of vigilance and awareness in equal measure, as the crowded nature of the river, alongside people who have never punted before, meant that an accident and a swim were waiting to happen. The number of times I have witnessed punts out of control with hapless people shouting, laughing, screaming, drinking, etc, etc are too many to count. You will hit something but if you’re prepared, it means the large wooden punt with ten people aboard, doesn’t necessarily tip you into the water.

So that’s what I’ve been used to in my 28 years of living down here. So obviously and without meaning to sound selfish, the contrast during the pandemic was chalk and cheese.

My put-in is at the Driftway car park in central Cambridge CB3 9PA and from the car park it’s a 100-metre walk to the river, which is right next to Cambridge Canoe Club HQ, so you’ll see plenty more kayaks and canoes, rather than punts at this point. Here you obviously have two choices, go south (right) and you’ll paddle through the beautiful Grantchester Meadows, or paddle north (left) for Cambridge.

I prefer central Cambridge first and then head for the tranquility of the meadows afterwards.

However, in this instance of the Covid paddle, I decided to do the paddle the opposite way. Reason being is that it was mid-afternoon and I preferred the lowered sun part of the day in which to take my photos of central Cambridge but more of that later. The number of people both out and about and on the river was pretty low with absolutely no punt activity as they were all securely locked up. However, it didn’t have that feel of a few weeks earlier in which the place was totally isolated of people with a silent, eerie feel to it, which was the point of the lockdown.

inflatable canoes or SUPs

However, for this day, restrictions were slightly eased and it meant people could once again head for the water. It was interesting to note though just how many were either paddling inflatable canoes or SUPs. There wasn’t much hard plastic on display. Now whether that means there were more beginners and first timers out than normal, I don’t know but there was an obvious lack of PFDs out there.

Paddling through Grantchester is a truly uplifting experience for its tranquility, peace and serenity. It’s all very gentle and picturesque with high numbers of geese, swans and ducks. The water is very clear, one of the reasons the river isn’t popular with anglers and you can see plenty of those fish. The river through the meadows is deeper than through the city and because of its clarity and clean nature is very popular with wild swimmers.

Here I do a 180 and head back towards the city and with the very, very slow current. The river flows from south to north but because of the lock system through the city, it does slow any natural current.

The meadows

So I paddle back past the canoe club and then under the Fen Causeway, which is the first of many bridges that we paddle beneath. At this point you are still paddling through meadows even though you’ve entered the city itself. If you stop to take in the surroundings, don’t be surprised if a herd of cows makes a beeline for you. The cows seem to inhabit the meadows all the way through summer and are friendly and curious. They will as the photo shows, reach out into your face as you sit in your kayak but as I say, there seems no menace and being a dog owner, I know how huffy cows can get!

On a normal spring/summer day, this place would be buzzing with people and families all having a good time but today is quieter though by no means empty. The river too is much busier at this point with many punts shunting up and down but these punts are usually much more placid than the ones just a mile further up. You get the sense, these are more local people who just want to have a leisurely afternoon than the frantic 60-minute rides through the colleges.

Today and let’s call today, ‘Covid day’, there are none to be seen as I paddle on. Left and right are dozens of water birds, many nesting and others guarding. It seems obvious that the lockdown has given nature a breather, it’s also noticeable how many more flying insects there are.

However, Covid day suddenly bursts into life. As I pass row upon row of empty punts tied to the towpath, the undeniable sound of partying lies ahead.

I have arrived at Mill Pond. It’s here that I portage a very small distance of perhaps 20 metres around the sluice. This is a busy area, even on Covid day! It is usually one of the busiest parts of Cambridge and its from here that you enter under Silver Street, the busiest part of the river. It’s where the River Cam ends for many people, as they call the stretch of river from this point not the Cam but the Granta. It has been said that the river is the ‘Granta’ above the Silver Street Bridge and the ‘Cam’ below it.

intoxicating atmosphere

It’s not only a staging point for Scudamores, the largest punt company in Cambridge but a large pond area, as the name signifies, two of Cambridge’s busiest pubs (The Anchor and The Mill), a major hotel and the green area that lies in the middle is very popular with students – masses of them on summer days. The heavy smell of weed is in the air and the combination with alcohol from the two nearby pubs, makes for an intoxicating atmosphere. Even today, Covid day, there is no difference to the number of young people in various small and large groups, all having one big party!

There is a difference though. Only The Mill pub is open and doing a roaring takeaway trade, whilst the Anchor is boarded up. The hotel is closed and the 50 or so punts lie silently tied up. Plus at this point there is only me on the water.

Anyway, I carry my kayak from the Cam and down into the pond and paddle past the partying nd under the Silver Street Bridge. It’s here that everything turns silent as I’ve entered the canalised part of the Cam or Granta, if you prefer with Queen’s college on my left and the Mathematical Bridge ahead, joining the riverside building, the oldest building on the river with Queen’s. The wooden bridge was built in 1749 of straight timbers and is unusually strong through its construction technique. However, it has been rebuilt twice.

There isn’t a soul around now, as the colleges are closed and of course, the tourists are all at home. The next bridge ahead is King’s College Bridge, where just before it, a heron is flying from bank to bank, searching for a fish. Unusually, the heron let’s me approach within 20 feet or so of where’s it landed. In normal times you just wouldn’t get this. Firstly, the heron would be nowhere to be seen due to the masses of punts and secondly, they usually fly off if you get within 50 metres of them. On this occasion though, I can’t help thinking the hero would be better off in the Grantchester Meadows where the water is much clearer. Here, the water is muddy as it gets trapped between the sluice at Mill’s Pond and the lock at Jesus Green.

King’s Chapel

Anyway, it’s here that I approach one of the highlights of the paddle and one of the worlds most iconic colleges: King’s College and its imposing chapel, which took over 100 years to build between the rule of King Henry VI though to King Henry VIII. The time is now around 18.00 and the sun is falling and starting to cast long shadows. It’s now that King’s Chapel and its glorious facade is starting to glow in the warm settling sun. Not only that but a wild flower area has been allowed to grow directly in front of the imposing structure.

Today I brought along my best zoom lens just to get this shot in front of the chapel from the river. It’s perfect, nobody to get in the way on land or in the water. I take about a dozen shots from many angles and climb onto the bank for a better look and shot.

It’s here that I see my first SUP boarder paddling past to the north, so I get back into the kayak and follow the same route. I paddle beneath Clare Bridge, the oldest surviving bridge on the Cam and onwards with Clare College on my left. In the opposite direction pass two inflatable canoes who give a cheery wave.

I now go under Garret Hostel Bridge. Not one of the grandest bridges in Cambridge but certainly the most used as it’s a public bridge and not a privately owned college bridge. It is by far the busiest bridge across the Cam as it passes through what is named ‘The Backs’. Here tourists are usually jam packed taking photos of the punt strewn river or the grand Clare Bridge a couple of hundred metres away.

serious hand/finger injury

This is also the busiest part of the river. At the base of the bridge is another punt rental company and it’s right here that punts usually start to run into each other with screams, laughter, champagne pops and shouts of, “Keep your hands inside the boat,” by the knowledgable guides. It is easy to sustain a serious hand/finger injury at this point as the heavily laden punts hit off each other. Today there is only silence, not one person on Cambridge’s busiest bridge!

Next up is Trinity College Bridge, yet another Grade I listed structure built just 10 years after Clare Bridge. This current bridge replace the one torn down by Cromwellian soldiers as a defence during the English Civil War. On the right, you paddle alongside the back of Trinity College but unlike many of the previous colleges, with their expansive land bearing down onto the river, this has none of that, as the building itself is almost on the water.

So not so grand but just ahead lies St John’s College and that doesn’t disappoint. It’s imposing gothic style looms over the river bank and as one of the largest colleges, it sprawls out to the west. Today, there is only a line of geese to prevent me from invading their never ending pristine lawns. I resist the temptation and pass under the Kitchen Bridge of the college, said to be of a design by Sir Christopher Wren.

The Bridge of Sighs

The empty lawns on either side of the river are now replaced by the high walls of the college, as everything takes on the feeling of a canyon. It’s here that paddle under perhaps the most famous of all the cam bridges, The Bridge of Sighs.

Having been to Venice and walked across their original and having walked across the St John’s version many times, I cannot see any resemblance, with the exception that they are both covered. Whereas in Venice, prisoners would sigh as they crossed the bridge on the way to being executed, the St John’s version is said to be named after students sighing on their way to their exams. Who knows?

It does get busy here though with at least half a dozen inflatable canoes and SUPs all travelling in the opposite direction. I give them a wave but nobody says very much, it’s all in silence, almost like nobody wants to speak in case of being found out – no BC numbers on display yet again.

Magdalene Bridge

I’m now approaching my last outward bridge for the day, the much more modern Magdalene Bridge, rebuilt in 1982 to the same 19th century design and one of the busy road bridges in and out of the city centre.

Again, there is the sound of much partying and laughter as just behind the bridge at another large punt rental place is the quayside, where people sit and line the edge of the river and there are many people!

It’s another 300 metres or so past here that we approach my turn round point, which is Jesus Lock, with an iron bridge over the weir that divides the ‘Middle River’ from the ‘Lower River’, where punting gives way to rowing.

It’s here that the river also becomes much more residential with lines of long and canal boats on the sides of the river. However, I’ll leave that story to another day.
The long and short of the Cam is this. If you don’t like crowds then stay away, however, if you like to paddle amongst man made history, then the middle Cam is a must. You’ll either love it or hate it.

The Covid day was a unique day for a paddle on one of the countries most congested rivers, a day where the river was in silence for much of the time with an eerie emptiness, giving unparalleled views of the surrounding colleges and buildings, all built to impress. That day may never come again (hopefully).