Spectators are encouraged to come down and lend their support to crews from their college; directions may be found below. Spectators are reminded that the towpath during Bumps is very busy, and for safety reasons, all cyclists must be in possesion of a valid bank pass.

Each club will be issued with a total of four bank passes per boat and this is the maximum number of people permitted to accompany a boat during the race. This number includes the Boatman, the Club’s Senior Treasurer and any College VIPs. The towpath will be cordoned off at the Railway Bridge and there will be further checks at Grassy Corner. If you do not have a bike pass then we request that you leave your bicycle at one of the above points and continue on foot. Crews having excessive bank parties will be heavily penalised, and repeat offenses will earn the crew a technical bump against them. Spectators are asked not to run along the towpath during the races as this obstructs the umpires and can cause accidents.

Note that use of megaphones by bank parties is strictly forbidden during racing for coaching or giving distances, but boatmen and coaches may use them to give instructions to crews facing potentially dangerous situations.

How to get there

The majority of the Bumps course is downstream of the Penny Ferry pub (formerly the Pike & Eel). The Plough pub is also a popular vantage point, as many bumps occur around Grassy Corner and Ditton Corner. The Control Desk is located at the start of the towpath - simply find your way to this point, and carry on walking down the towpath (the entire course is approximately 2.6km):

• CUCBC Control Desk (Google Local)