Events Diary
April 2015The Boat Race
The annual boat race between two of Britain's most illustrious universities, Oxford and Cambridge, draws up to a quarter of a million spectators to the banks of the Thames for thrilling views of the tense action.
The world's most famous rowing race began in 1829, when Cambridge student Charles Merivale sent a challenge to his former Harrow schoolfriend Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet) at Oxford. Today, tradition holds that the losing team each year issues a challenge to the winner for a re-match the following March or April.
The closest finish in the race's history was in 2003, when there was just a foot between the Cambridge boat and the winners, Oxford. A dead heat was recorded in 1877, but the gap between the boats was thought to be as much as 2 metres (6 ft) - there was no finishing line photography in those days.
The 6.8-km (4 miles, 374 yards) race starts out at Putney and finishes at Mortlake; spectators can watch the boat race all along the course from both sides of the river, but prime viewing spots are: Putney Bridge, Putney Embankment and the towpath in front of Bishops Park at the start; Hammersmith and Barnes towards the middle of the course; and Duke's Meadows and Chiswick Bridge at the end.
In 2012, Cambridge won one of the most eventful and controversial races to date following the appearance of a protestor in the water.
