Oxford is known for its towering colleges and long standing tradition as a centre for academia and scholarship but also its unique style of punt. Punting is where you push a long, flat bottomed boat by pushing it forwards with a long pole. Whether you are an experienced rower or not it is an experience either way and there’s a certain charm about being on still water rowing casually bringing your inner olympian to life in a leisurely manner, of course, one stroke at a time.

To start drifting past the meadows and willow trees you can opt for a chauffeured ride along the river or do it yourself by hiring traditional crafted punts or rowing boats at the Magdalen Bridge Boathouse which is situated just beneath Magdalen College Tower.

You are given a map and you glide along the river and after some questionable steering skills got the hang of it eventually trying to look elegant in front of other people on the river. You don’t need to be an expert you just oil your arms and a sense of humour and ideally a dry change of clothes just in case. The rivers take you past some of Oxford’s iconic sights with ducks swimming along wanting you to feed them.

So next time you’re in Oxford, give it a row. Whether you glide gracefully or paddle like a maniac, rowing here is a memory you won’t soon forget especially on a sunny day.