Punt-pole

There was a clue in today’s crossword about the ‘correct’ name for a punt-pole; well, having been born and bred in Cambridge and been on punts for as long as I can remember, being punted and punting, I have to say that we always just called them punt poles.

A punt for those who haven’t heard of them before are long narrow shallow boats with pairs of seat in the middle and a flat bit at the end for the punter to stand on; they are moved by use of the pole which you drop down to the river bed then push the punt along. You steer the punt with the pole too, either by the direction you push it in, or by waving it about in the water like a rudder. It is one of the most fun things to do, and there is a lovely peacefulness of letting the pole run through your hands down to the bottom, a push and then a twist so it doesn’t get stuck and off you go. If it does get stuck,  don’t whatever you do hold on to it, the punt will probably move away from you and the pole and the result will be extreme wetness.

The pole is traditionally made of wood but these days many of them are aluminium, I really wouldn’t like the feel of metal sliding through my hands. At the bottom end of the pole is a metal  bit which I think is called a shoe; I don’t know if they still are shaped in a particular way with a piece of metal protruding on either side – some describe it as like a fish tail or a swallow-tail; the purpose is to stop the pole sticking.

The Cam in Cambridge and the Isis in Oxford are perhaps the most famous places for punting; the only difference is that us Cambridge folk stand at the right end of the punt to propel it, the Oxfordians stand at the wrong end.

So going back to the punt-pole… apparently it is called a ‘quant’; well today is the first time I have ever heard it called that.

My featured image is of my aunty and friends on a punt in the 1940’s; the punter has sat down so he can be in the picture.

A lovely sunny day on the Cam