Where to Watch Bumps

As all this Glorious sunshine and abundance of lycra clad bodies has clearly been warning you, May bumps starts today.

Yet whilst the majority of people interested will be racing at some point, there are some who view this as an opportunity to have some drinks and get sunburnt in a pretty setting. Even if you’re just interested in seeing the fruits of mister Bone’s labour, here’s a quick guide to where to enjoy bumps if you’re not a boatie. 

The biggest choice you face as a civilian observer is: do you want to see the carnage of boats plowing into each other, or chuckle as a procession of increasingly adrenaline addled athletes trickle past?

If you’re in the first camp, the place to be is definitely Grassy Corner. Affording you a view all the way down the Gut and Plough reach (basically the first half of the race), and being the sharpest bend in the course, it’s infamous for being the scene of some truly boat crunching crashes.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97-NclfkuM0

Lady Margaret Beached Crew

Whilst it has the disadvantage of sometimes missing the action in the earlier divisions, it means that as the afternoon goes on, you’ll be witnessing ever more damage.

 httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCVs111HZR0#t=248

4:08 – some fine steering

For the latter group of people, the prime location is definitely the meadows on the long reach, bring along a picnic and a crowd of friends and you’re already onto a winner. By this stage most of the easy bumps will be done, so those boats passing are either rowing over, or in bitter dogfights to the line, making for some amusing viewing.

For the middle ground, there is the Plough pub, as the name slightly gives away, a pub situated halfway down the Plough reach. It tends to get pretty busy so you’ll probably have to settle in early, but with its huge garden area and comfortable looking benches for when it all gets a bit too much, this is prime Bumps watching real estate.

Now you know where to go, all you need is some Pimms and some sun!