Punting began in the Medieval times when they were created to provide a stable craft which could be used in areas of water too shallow for rowing conventional craft. In the marshy flatlands north of Cambridge, the Fens, punts were integral to local trades such as eel fishing and reed-cutting, until they died out in the late nineteenth century.

A punt is in fact a square-ended boat that has a flat bottom with no keel and usually propelled using a long pole. Nowadays, punts are normally 6 to 7 meters long and 1 to 2 meters wide. They should be propelled by a means of a 5 meter long pole, which is also used to steer.

In Edwardian times, punts were introduced to Cambridge as a pleasure craft. One of the pioneers of punt hire on the River Cam was F.Scudamore, who founded his business in 1910, quickly establishing punting as Cambridge’s favourite pastime. Today Scudamore’s Punting company owns the worlds largest fleet of punts, with nearly 150 craft available for hire along two routes.

Scudamores
http://www.scudamores.co.uk