Four students in a punt

Toby Dickens and Andy Marshall of St John's College are second year engineering students, Karl Williams, also at St John's, is studying history, while Queens' College's Becky Kiff is a Natural Scientist. The four have been in training for the challenge since April with daily early morning sessions on the Cam building stamina and testing techniques to propel their punt. Their route covers 200 miles along the Cam, the Great Ouse, the Middle Level Navigations, the River Nene, the Grand Union Canal, the Oxford Canal and the Cherwell with 113 locks and a mile-long tunnel to negotiate on the way. Raising money for Help For Heroes, it is believed to be the first time the journey has been attempted in this direction in a traditional punt. In August 2004 four Oxford students made the journey in reverse, taking 14 days. Supporters of the trip, which has already raised more than £2,600 for the charity set up to help wounded servicemen and women, can follow their progress online via the link above right. "Today saw several hours of happy punting after an enthusiastic send off.