Travel and Sports: The Oxford / Cambridge Boat Race
Reading through various articles published on the web I found a post written as a guide entitled “100 things to do in England” (original link – 100 thing to do in England) where are listed many places and activities to do as a guide .
In this long list that this guide offers me I came across the Oxford – Cambridge Regatta, which I was not aware of, is one of the most famous rowing races in the world. It is held annually and is held on the River Thames, between a team from the University of Oxford and one from the University of Cambridge.
The two crews consist of eight rowers plus a helmsman and are marked in dark blue for Oxford and light blue for Cambridge. The distance of the regatta is 6800 meters, that is 4 miles and 374 yards starting from Putney and arriving in Mortlake.
The race takes place in April, but you need to check online for the exact dates as they vary from year to year. It is an event attended by over 300,000 people every year, but it will be easy to find a place to sit on the banks and enjoy the show.
The start of the race normally is at 4.35 pm, but various activities go on along the bank all day, with beer drinking being one of them!
The stone of the university is set in the point of ditching the canoes, on the Putney Embankment, a few meters below the Putney bridge. The starting point of the race is thus two moored stake boats so that the bows of the competitors are in line with the university stone. There is an equivalent stone on the quay, adjacent to Mortlake’s Ship Pub, at the end of the race.
The finish
The finish line is just before the Chiswick Bridge, marked by the University Race Race Stone on the Surrey Bank and a post on the river on the Middlesex side painted in the university. The Chiswick Bridge was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1933.
The record is held by the Cambridge team of 1998 who completed the course in 16 minutes and 19 seconds.
Around the event
From the tourist point of view there are some activities and some places to visit and to enjoy before, during and after the race. The area is very pretty for walking and exploring, so getting there early might be a great idea.
Along the course of the race there are many places from a naturalistic, sporting and historical point of view to visit.
In the district of Fulham there is the Bishop Park adjacent to the Craven Cottage, historic stadium that hosts the home games of Fulham F.C. The park was opened by the Council of the County of London in 1893.
Craven Cottage was inaugurated in 1896
Also from a sporting point of view another place to visit is the Barn Elms Boat House located a 10 minute walk towards Hammersmith, on the dock of Barn Elms there is a large concrete landing where you can see the crews as they run towards the Mile Post.
Adjacent to the Barn Elms Boat House there is a large area covered by the sports complex of the Barn Elms Sport Trust where there are facilities for many sports such as football, rugby, tennis, softball and cricket; there is also an athletics track. In April 2013, the Barn Elms Sports Trust officially received the Barn Elms Playing Fields management contract after a 12-month interim management period. During this period, substantial improvements have been made in the form of a new London marathon pavilion with 8 changing rooms, a community hall, a ground shed, a parking area, 6 tennis courts, 4 cricket nets and new tennis courts. game.
Along the way there are many other places to visit that give color and more attraction to the race as the St. Paul’s School Boathouse the Emanuel School Boathouse. There is also no lack of possibilities for eating and drinking, such as Fuller’s Brewery.
On the official page of the race there are all the indications to reach all the places along the route – www.theboatrace.org – Official page
Conclusions
This event is the ideal union that combines sport and tourism in a single event. The possibility is given to sportsmen and tourists to enjoy the same experience, combining the passion for sport and tourism in the same place. The tourist and the sports enthusiast find themselves in an environment that bases its roots in the union between sport history and territory.
Fonti:
- https://www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/things-to-do-in-england.html
- http://www.gazzetta.it/Sport_Vari/Altri_Sport/Canottaggio/07-04-2012/oxford-cambridge-ecco-invasorela-storica-regata-sospesa-31–91855368967.shtml?refresh_ce-cp
- https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regata_Oxford-Cambridge
- http://www.theboatrace.org/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishops_Park
- http://www.friendsofbishopspark.com/
- http://www.bestfields.co.uk/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_Elms
- Cover image is from https://www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/things-to-do-in-england.html