Tourists, students, residents – everyone converges here by the river where the fenland sweeps right into the city. On sunny days, Laundress Green is covered in happy students and picnickers, flitting in and out of the nearby pubs. You can expect to see tourists punting along the River Cam or viewing the famous Mathematical Bridge.

Disappointingly, no-one seems to know why the Mathematical Bridge was so named, although many theories abound. The first version of this timber construction is often alleged by unreliable guides to have been designed by Sir Isaac Newton and held together purely by gravity. Other myths suggest that curious undergraduates, unable to believe this, dismantled the bridge to find that they could only put it back together again using nuts and bolts. The bridge was in fact built in 1749, twenty years after Newton’s death, although the popular tourist tales survive to this day.

So, what about punting? Although it may look a bit tricky, it’s actually quite easy once you get the hang of it and anyone can hire a punt from the Mill Pond and have a go. From here you can either go along the backs or as far as the nearby village of Grantchester. If you are a bit put off at the thought of falling in the river then you can, of course, hire a chauffeured punt – usually a guy in a straw boater and waistcoat. Pick up all the tips you can so you can put them into practice yourself in the future!