When in Oxford go punting! During the final days of my trip to Oxford I had a difficult decision to…read morego to London or enjoy the afternoon in Oxford. Going punting was a great choice! In the beginning, my group was split in to 2 boats. Both punting boats had trouble staying straight. That's what he said. The boating system relies on a long stick pushing on the floor of the canal. Think of a gondola only with out the singing. The difficulty is using the pole to steer the boat. Against your instincts you must steer the tale in the direction you want to go and not the way you think it will go. Let's just say one boat was going in circles and the boat house owner didn't look amused. I got suck in a tree trying to avoid the other group boats. A tip don't fight the water let the water take you. Push it real good! We had some vary embarrassing moments captured on photos and instagram but it added to the fun on the experience. It was great for team building and nobody fell in. When all desperation was high and hope was lost. We pushed forward because our goal was to find a place to get drinks. The one person with some boat knowledge and paid attention during the punting instructions became our leader. We did get 2 large Pimms pitchers once we reached our destination. So worth it! Don't worry I was a designated punter so I didn't drink too much. Surprisingly after drinking and relaxing punting is a lot easier. Despite embarrassment we all had a great laugh and memorable stories to tell of our adventure. I highly recommend punting with friends if weather permits.

This is a must-do activity when in Oxford and I cannot recommend it enough!…read more Punting has a long tradition in Oxford and this boathouse has been connected to Magdalen college since its conception. This gives the place a rich history, and it can be seen as you travel along the river. this is actually the second time I have gone punting at this place this year, and both times we have had a wonderful experience. The staff at the boathouse are all very busy but always friendly and approachable. There is a high turnover of people getting in and off boats, but there is never the feeling that we are cattle being moved around and having money taken form us. There is still a personal element to it which is very nice. The owner of the boathouse has been working both days I have been, and he is an incredibly friendly man who recommended buying champagne and strawberries to enjoy the punting more. On the second time of punting he actually remembered us. This is a subtle yet very important point as he must see hundreds of customers a day but he remembered me 3 months later. That was a very nice touch. For those interested in punting, you have two options: Sit back and enjoy your own guide to punt you and your friends/significant other around the scenery. OR Punt yourself! We chose the second option and had such a fun time! I obviously was amazing at punting being a sort of veteran by now, but others just couldn't seem to nail the technique. Both outcomes led to a very relaxing float down the river in the figure of 8 loop mapped out. If it is sunny, and you want to treat yourselves to an hour or two of champagne and relaxation, come down here and get on the river!

We visited Windsor yesterday and my husband felt it would be nice to do a river trip in the…read moreafternoon. The choice was a 40 minute trip or a 2 hour trip. As there was not much difference in price he opted to book us on the 2 hour trip. Below decks there's a bar/tearoom and toilets. Most people opted to sit on the top deck. This has plastic seating in the first 5 rows and the back rows have padded seats. Although it was a sunny day, it was cold whilst we were sailing - had I known we were going to do a river trip I wouldn't have worn a sun dress as I got quite cold! It was a pleasant trip. Commentary was via a pre-recorded cd talking about the sights and history to be seen along the bankside and it's quite fascinating to see all the lovely houses on the waters' edge. We asked for tea and cakes which was brought to us by the Captain's 'mate' a pleasant young lady with hair dyed green! It was an enjoyable trip aside from the fact that I'd taken my 5 year old granddaughter for whom the trip was just too long. She enjoyed going through the Bray Lock gates but at that age they don't understand the incredible engineering and history behind it. I would definitely recommend a river cruise if you want a relaxing afternoon but do take a blanket or some warm clothes!

Quite a pleasant cruise. Commentary is recorded and a bit too detailed for most people. Seats are…read moreplastic, so don't expect comfort. On the whole satisfactory.

We loved our trip on the Premier Cru. The boat is so spacious and comfortable to live in, the wood…read morestove was great, the boat is so well-appointed it just made it really easy to stay on the boat. The beds are comfy, the kitchen had plenty of space to cook dinner; the only negative is that we had to leave!

I am sure this is an amazing experience. Unfortunately we will never know. I had booked the Fondue…read moreexperience as an early Valentine's dinner for my wife and myself since we were going to be traveling for work over Valentine's weekend. The morning of our booking I had a medical emergency (which we were able to verify to Skuna) so we called about six hours before our tour to ask if we could reschedule for another day. We understood this was incredibly short notice, so we didn't expect a refund or even a full credit. We asked if since the food would obviously not be prepared could we at least have a credit for the food portion if not the tour time. The answer was a fairly insensitive no, and were told the manager said they can't do anything with a same day cancel. Of course, we understood the uniqueness of the situation and had it not been due to a legitimate medical issue we never would have asked. However, the staff we spoke to didn't even show concern for the situation. We had to cancel drinks and bites at Bokan as well for after our tour and the staff there said no problem, they showed concern, and wished us well. Understanding that policies are in place we sent an email the next day. Eight days later we have only received an automated reply stating that our email was received. This is an experience we've wanted to have since moving to London three years ago, but sadly we just aren't interested in giving more money to a company that has this little care for their customers.

One of the best things we did on our last trip to London. All the major attractions were so…read morecrowded, and we wanted to get away from the crowds and do something unique and fun. This was it! Josh was amazing. Water was warm, boat was clean and easy to 'drive'. Definitely worth the money, and no one else I know has been on a hot tub boat! So if you want something away from the crowds, in a great area for lunch or dinner too, give this a try. Easy to get to from anywhere.

We just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our day cruise on the Thames. The warmth and hospitality…read morewas excellent and made mum;s 60th birthday really special and personal. Really recommend this!

From the owner: Myrivercruising is a family run business.We make it our aim to go that extra mile to make each…read morecruise special and tailored to clients' requirements. The atmosphere onboard is relaxed so our guests can relax as we cruise along the beautiful Thames. Last year, we were filming for channel 4's 'Four In A Bed' on our brand new hotel boat Geanna. The TV guests were all hoteliers and we were delighted and very proud to have won. Our boating holidays are different as we understand that guests would like luxury on holiday and don't want the stress of 'driving ' the boat. So we drive the boat and then once at guests' destination, we leave to let guests enjoy their own space. Our business has grown and this year sees the exciting launch of boat Gina and our new narrowboat holidays where guests can drive the boat themselves or we can skipper it for them. tyhe idea of our business is to make everything user friendly so you can unwind and relax.

We went on the 45-50 minute boat ride. Our guide was very knowledgeable as well as telling us some…read moreinteresting stories of the rivalries between the various colleges at Cambridge university. I thought it was a bit pricey, but we are glad we did this.

What a fantastic way to spend 45 minutes in Cambridge! We booked a group punting tour, which…read moreincluded just us and our excellent guide. It was very scenic and the guide had a ton of well rehearsed tidbits to offer. Also, it is toddler friendly, and there were blankets on the boat (key for a chilly day). Around the river there are a handful of touts from other companies, which I'm sure are fine. But Scudamore's was top notch, and I would highly recommend a tour with them!

It was my husband's birthday this week, on a gloriously sunny day, and so I thought it would be…read morenice to take him out for a little row in our local park. I was right. :) Now, we've been on boat trips all over the world - along the Yangtze River in China, the Mekong in Laos and Thailand, through the backwaters of Kerala, island hopping in the Philippines, wildlife watching in Kinabatangan, Borneo... all sorts. With that it mind, little old Finsbury Park Boating Lake around the corner might have been a let-down. But but but, we'd never been on Finsbury Park Boating Lake and my husband isn't from the UK, so we kinda were exploring a foreign land, which is always jolly good fun. I also find that you sometimes have the most fun when a place isn't perfect. And I rather liked the imperfections of this lake - particularly the scummy, pervasive green weeds (please see photies). And the orangutans, proboscis monkeys and exotic birds we'd seen on other boat trips were replaced with duckies, moor hens, swans and geese. Just as exciting, no? And here you're allowed to feed the birds, stirring them up into a frenzy. We had great fun leading the quack-quacks a merry dance around the lake with our bird-feed. And if you come on a Saturday 1200-1500, dressed as a pirate (aaaargh!), you get a reduced price of £5 for your boat hire. Nice. Also worth checking out Groupon - they sometimes have deals on. Other than that, the fella working on the lake was very friendly indeed. We likey. Thoroughly recommend a row-row-row-your-boat in Finsbury Park, as long as you don't care about a bit of scuzzy weed and rubbish. All part of the fun, I say!

Great day on the rowing boats, feeding the ducks was a lovely extra. No more than 30mins is needed…read moreas the lake is more of a pond but in good weather and with tiny ducklings racing the boat it's worth a punt. Bonus is drinking is allowed on the boats and there's a 5 person bike boat that looks fun.

Spending some time on the River Avon via the Bath Boating Station will always be a highlight of my…read moretime in Bath! The Bath Boating Station offers rowing, canoeing, and punting available for 1 or 2 hours (during nicer weather, of course). After your time on the water, you can enjoy their beautiful green grounds which have several picnic tables with shades. The last boat hire is at 4:30pm! Heads-up: also, they have a strict timing policy, so if you return ten minutes late, you will be charged for another hour. Bookings are strongly recommended to guarantee you'll get what you want regarding boat style. We didn't, but it worked out in the end: we originally wanted to go rowing, but they didn't have any available, so we chose canoeing instead (which is something we're actually familiar doing). We felt comfortable in the boat, appreciated their help getting in and out of it, and had - what we thought - was a leisurely row all the way down to the Bathampton Toll Bridge (which is about 2+ miles upstream). Lots of wildlife to look at, including loads of kingfishers and ENORMOUS swans attempting to get on every stand-up paddle board. Beware the Boss Swans, friends! Would recommend; seems like it's super family-friendly, great for hen dos, and a lovely way to spend a sunny couple hours in the area!

Foolishly entered bath boating station today when it was clearly closed. For which I apologise…read more However I was met by an angry response from the owner - I guess this ranting individual was the owner - which was entirely inappropriate, especially as he was shouting right in front of my two young children. Needless to say, he won't be getting any of my money now or in the future. Hope he treats you better.

What: 3 hour private tour of Oxford University. We were interested in a campus tour of Oxford…read moreUniversity and since Oxford doesn't offer that and there is no actual "campus" since it's made up of multiple schools and buildings, we did the next best thing. Arron was our guide and he was extremely knowledgeable, funny and full of stories and interesting insights on college life and the application process as he is a current student. We highly recommend this company!

"It takes one to know one"…read more That playground taunt easily applies to my experience with Footprints Tours, an organization through which you can make advance reservations for free walking tours of Oxford. Why? Because I, too, lead a free walking tour albeit elsewhere on the planet. As someone who leads tours and cares greatly about tour quality I recognize a great tour when I come upon one. Chris, my Footprints Tour guide provided exactly that. He was animated, interesting, kept things moving, and told interesting stories. A couple of days later I saw another guide leading a tour - assumedly from a different company - and after hearing what he said at a particular stop all I could think was "I'm so glad we went with Footprints and so glad Chris was our guide". The tours are supposed to run 2 hours. Chris went a bit over which was my sole criticism of the tour. Attention spans are short and that two hour maximum is at the outer edge of how long people will engage for. Assuming you book with Footprints Tours you'll arrive at the stated location and find a ton of tour guides assembled. But walk into the Oxford Tourist Information Center to check in and they'll promptly tell you which guide you are assigned to. People who lead these free tours do conclude with an "ask". That is: a donation is sought and assuming Chris' tour is the standard, it is definitely earned. I understand the worth of someone talking - actually, "performing" - for two hours and I happily made what I felt was a generous cash donation. You'll likely be inspired as well. After I'd booked my free Footprints Tour I had begun to think perhaps a paid tour would be better and momentarily thought of canceling. I'm so pleased that I didn't. The Footprints Tour led by Chris (on June 22) would be quite difficult for anyone to top. Excellent.