Cherwell Boathouse Punts

Cherwell Boathouse Punts delivers one of those classic Oxford activities that feels slightly eccentric in exactly the right way. The punt station runs around 80 traditional wooden boats built on site, alongside rowing boats and Canadian canoes, and the route options make the whole thing more than just a quick novelty spin. Head upstream and you can drift towards the Victoria Arms and open countryside, or go downstream through University Parks for picnic-and-people-watching territory.

Punting is suitable for novices as well as more confident punters, which is reassuring for anyone whose steering confidence is mainly theoretical. It has that timeless Oxford charm of doing something wonderfully slow on the water while pretending the wobble was part of the technique all along.