Uncovering the secrets of the River Cam in Cambridge. 揭秘剑桥康河上的独特活动。

Punting on the Cam River has been a form of escape for the students of Cambridge University for much of its history. It's a great recreation to relieve the pressures of studying at one of the top universities in the world. For the tourists visiting Cambridge, punting is simply a must do activity. Punting on the Cam River is an unconventional yet fun and relaxing way of sightseeing Cambridge and it's infamous colleges, all the while having loads of fun.

“康河撑篙”对于剑桥学生来说,是暂时逃避学业压力,消遣娱乐的好活动。而对于从世界各地慕名而来的游者来说，撑船沿康河漂流欣赏剑桥美景是一种神圣的享受。

In an article published by the BBC, Punting was put very high up at 3rd place for must visit and must do's. It's unique aesthetic and eclectic historical setting means punting at Cambridge River is something hard to find a replacement for anywhere else.

With my furry friend

在BBC编写的英国旅游必做事情中，康河撑篙位列第三，可见它独具特色的无可替代性。

和我可爱毛绒的朋友

The Beckham Family, 2015, Cambridge

Credit to jiemian.com.

贝克汉姆及家人2015年在剑桥

Punting on the River Cam

Punting on the river Cam to sight see came into vogue in 1702. Punting differs from other boating activities as it requires no oar or paddle. The boat is literally punted along the river by the punter who uses a very long pole to both steer and move the boat forwards by means of prodding the river bed with the pole and then angling the pole left and right to steer. This method of propelling a boat could only be possible on a shallow river such as River Cam.

康河撑篙
康河撐篙这种传统的游览方式于1702年兴起，是利用长杆往河床戳到底再用力推移让船前进,而非一般的划船桨。Punt作名词指一种方头平底船，所以Punting意为用篙撑船，撑船的竿叫pole/punter。而这种撑篙的方式只适合于像康河这种水浅的地方。

The two different routes

When punting in Cambridge, you have have the choice between two routes. The Cambridge backs or the Grantchester route. Often, the people you rent the boat from will ask you colloquially "Granta or Colleges?" and this is simply just referring to the backs route, or Grantchester route. The Grantchester route has more natural scenery and you can often see Cows grazing along the river banks.

康河撑篙的路线
分为2条路线，顺流而下去学院，逆流而上去格兰切斯特庄园尔（Grantchester）。租船的船主一般会主动问“Granta or Colleges？”
上游Grantchester河流曲折，风景自然纯朴，有时候会遇见岸边沐浴阳光的奶牛。

Downstream along the backs, the river is wider and the water is more level. You'll often see students sitting by the river drinking alcohol or coffee, waving hello to Punters as they pass by.

下游河面宽阔，水流平缓，经常会看见坐在岸边休息的剑桥学生，端着酒杯咖啡杯向船上的人们招手打招呼。

Along the river backs, you'll be able to see 7 of the most famous colleges and their gorgeous architecture. You'll also pass 6 world famous bridges.
岸边令人无限仰慕的后园景观（the college backs）——7个著名学院的华丽建筑和举世闻名的6座桥。

Perhaps the most famous bridge is the Mathematical bridge. In story legends, the Bridge was designed by Isaac Newton to stand completely self supported without nuts and bolts. Students of his were tasked of taking it apart and putting it back together again. They could not work out how and so resulted in using nuts and bolts.

这是位于皇后学院的数学桥，相传是牛顿不花一颗钉子建成的，后来被学生拆掉后只好用钉子重新装上。

St. John's Bridge of Sighs. Pre-exam students are required to cross the bridge to arrive at the exam hall. Their journey along the bridge is often accompanied with sighs.

圣约翰学院的叹息桥，是通向考场的必经之路。

The grand and magnificent Kings College Chapel. Kings College is perhaps the most well known college in Cambridge, due to its extremely recognisable English Gothic architecture. It was established in 1441 by Henry VI.

宏伟壮观的国王学院，也是剑桥大学里最有名的学院之一。它建于1441年，由当时的英国国王亨利六世所设立，因而得名。

My first time punting

The first time I held the pole, I lost my balance and almost fell in the river! Nowadays, you can choose between the wooden poles and the lighter stainless steel poles. I opted for the steel one which although is much lighter, is still really heavy for me. It's definitely alot harder than it looks, and aside from needing to be fit, you also need to have some skill too.

In the picture, behind me is Trinity College's, Trinity College Bridge.

在我身后是属于三一学院的三一桥

初次尝试独自撑篙
剑桥的punt分为2种——自助型和观光型。之前每次都是请剑桥勤工俭学的学生来撑篙，学生们专业又看似轻松的撑篙动作让我忍不住也想试一把。当我接过撑杆，立刻重心不稳。虽然已经从原来的木头撑篙改进为略轻的不锈钢材质，但是对于我来说还是非常重。我把竿戳到水底却滑了一下差点掉进水里，原来看似简单的撑篙原来不仅需要力量的支持还是门技术活。

I try my best to punt like the professionals, my stance wide and steady, I raise the pole up high, then let it drop by its own weight as I guide the pole to the riverbed. Then, I give it a good push hopefully in the right direction and off it goes! It's quite easy to pick up after some good trial and error, and after a few more tries, I was competent, even the cute little ducks swimming along the river would quack in acclamation.

The river atmosphere is very positive, even as boats bump into each other, the passengers cheer at each other instead of trying to pass blame. Many people even hope that they get to see someone falling into the river - it's actually quite common.

我用心体会着动作的要领，站稳脚步，将竿高高提起再松手靠竿的重力自己落入水底，朝着正确的方向用力推移，后来慢慢掌握了撑篙的要领，连岸边和水中可爱迷人的鸭子都为我欢呼。河上的气氛欢乐极了，周围的人们开始把撞船当成了乐趣，好像也特别期待有人掉进河里的场景，虽然这种事情常常发生。

Cardboard boat championships

Believe it or not, Cambridge has also given birth to a unique event called suicide Sunday where people race in boats they made themselves from cardboard. As you can imagine, thing's don't end up very well for the boat's passengers. Check out some of the battle scenes below!
纸船大赛
说到这里不得不提一下另一个独一无二的活动，“自杀星期日”开展的纸船大赛！
下面来看看战况：

Credit to sanwen8.cn.