History of punting
One of the questions punters are often asked by tourists is where does the word punt originate?
- The answers are many and dubious but some possible answers (depending on the guillibility of the passengers and the inebriation of the punter) are: the Irish punt - Named after the Irish pound, called a punt and equal to the value of the materials required to assemble the boat in the ship yards.
- From the land of Punt - Punt is the name of an old fabled country somewhere in East Africa from which Egypt used to buy frankincense and myrhh. As the boats are made of African mahoganny they came to be called after this vague African source.
- Derived from the word 'point - As Cambridge is much influenced by Holland, from which East Anglia learnt to salvage land from the sea, the punts originate from a similar vessel in Holland with a pointed end.
Whatever the origin of the name, punting has been an integral part of English culture for centuries. Before the railways came along most of trade in England relied upon the rivers for transport. The roads became mudpits each time it rained and so the trains only took over in 1845. Transport by barges and punts was slow but very economical - a punter can push well over a ton along with no more fuel than a few cheese sandwiches and a pint of guiness. It would take considerably more effort on dry land to move such an ammount.
Punting in Cambridge was influenced by its proximity to the fens where the flat bottomed punts were perfect for moving through shallow waters. The punts were used for fishing and hunting and the broad base allowed the punter to take the jolt of the gun and not fall in the water.
After the railways took off the river in Cambridge calmed down a great deal but punting was still in use to transport flour from the local mill. These days of course punting in Cambridge is the hobby of locals and the best way to see the town for the hundreds of thousands of tourists who come to Cambridge each year.