River Cam - From Jesus Lock and The Backs To Grantchester (middle & Upper River)

From Jesus Lock and The Backs To Grantchester (middle & Upper River)

The stretch above Jesus Lock is sometimes known as the middle river (with the section above the Mill Pond being referred to as the upper river). Between Jesus Lock and the Mill Pond,map 12 it passes through the Backsmap 10 below the walls of many of the colleges. This is the section of river most popular with tourists, with its picture-postcard views of elegant bridges, green lawns and graceful willows. This stretch also has the unusual feature of the remains of a submerged towpath: the riverside colleges did not permit barge horses on the Backs, so the beasts waded up the Cam to the mill pulling their loads behind them.

Access for mechanically powered boats is prohibited above 'La Mimosa' Pub (at the upstream endmap 8 of Jesus Greenmap 6) between 1 April and 30 September, when the middle and upper river are open only to manually propelled craft. The most common of these are the flat-bottomed punts.

Between 1 October and 31 March powered boats are allowed as far as Mill Pool, but few people take advantage of this, as there are very few public mooring places along the Backs, and the river is too narrow and the bridges too low to afford easy passing or turning for many boats.

Punts and canoes can be manhandled around the weir above the Mill Pool by means of the rollers, a slipway from lower to upper level. From the Mill Pool and its weir, the river can be followed upstream through Grantchester meadows to the village of Grantchestermap 14 and Byron's Pool,map 15 where it is fed by many streams.