We are the Cambridge University Canoe Club and our members are students, staff, alumni, and other affiliates of the University. We cater for all levels of ability, from complete beginner to expert. We regularly paddle on the river Cam and often travel further afield to North Wales, Dartmoor, Scotland and the Alps for whitewater trips. The Club also represents the University in competitive disciplines such as canoe polo, freestyle, marathon racing, and whitewater racing.
Measuring 43 miles in length, the River Cam is a beautiful paddle on a sunny day. The River Cam is one of Cambridge’s most popular features with tourists and residents alike. On a hot sunny day you will often see swathes of ‘punt’ boats occupying the river. As you paddle…
Crossing the border between Sussex and Cambridgeshire, the River Lark is a tributary of the River Great Ouse. It rises near Bury St Edmunds and joins the Great Ouse south of Littleport. It's 31 miles long, and has been used as a navigation since Roman times. Paddle the River Lark…
Like the New Bedford River, the Old Bedford River is a relatively new navigation. It was designed to by-pass the River Great Ouse at the Fens in Cambridgeshire. The river is named after the fourth Earl of Bedford. Like its newer namesake, it is a relatively straight paddle, straight through…
The Swaffham Bulbeck Lode is another of the Cambridgeshire lodes. The canal or ‘lode’ joins the River Cam around 1.5 miles below Bottisham Lode. It measures just over 3 miles long to the hamlet of Commercial End. The hamlet is tiny, as suggested by the term hamlet, but absolutely beautiful…
The “King of all Ouse’s,” the River Great Ouse runs for a whopping 143 miles! Starting life near Syresham and flowing through East Anglia, the river passes through the historic market town of Kings Lynn before entering the Wash. It has been historically important for trade but post-industrial revolution has…
Burwell Lode runs from the village of Burwell and joins Reach Lode less than 1 mile from the River Cam. A lode is a short, straight stretch of water, normally connecting a village to a major river. They are often described as dykes although they were built for navigation and…
The Reache Lode is located in Cambridgeshire. It is one of the many ‘lodes’ in the area that eventually connect to the River Great Ouse before joining The Wash at Kings Lynn. First, the Reach Lode joins the River Cam at Upware though, before joining with a few of the…
One of the Cambridgeshire lodes, the Wicken Lode turns off Reach Lode, and crosses Wicken Sedge Fen. It then runs for nearly 1.5 miles to just short of the village of Wicken. The lode itself is quite narrow and shallow. It's perfect for a little paddle and means there are…
Distance: 20.8 miles The 21-mile New Bedford River is a man-made by-pass of the River Great Ouse at the Fens in Cambridgeshire. It is a tidal stretch of river. You may also know it as the Hundred Foot Drain. This is because of the distance between the tops of the…
A river in East Anglia, the River Stour in Suffolk measures 47 miles long and is one of the more picturesque rivers in the region. It has been the subject of many painters over the years. These have included Thomas Gainborough, Alfred Munnings and Paul Nash. Probably the most noteworthy…
The Forty Foot Drain in Cambridgeshire is an artificial drainage river in Cambridgeshire. It is also known as Vermuyden's Drain Located in the Fens, in a relatively flat and exposed part of the country, it is only 10 miles long. Stretching between Wells Bridge, where it joins the River Nene,…
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