The Hobson’s Conduit and its accompanying pathway must be among the safest walks or short cycle rides one could encounter, comparing favourably, for instance, with walking up Trumpington Street, Kings Parade and Trinity Street with their irritable and sometimes irresponsible traffic. It is just worth pointing out one or two obvious and a couple of less obvious hazards, and authoritative advice on safety around water can be found on www.rospa.com.

• It is self-evident that slipping into the water can be dangerous, but it is much less self-evident that the danger is greatly enhanced in places, particularly for children, where there is a very thick layer of silt along the bottom which their legs could easily sink into. The pathway does become muddy and treacherous in wet weather.
• Particularly in strong winds, branches can break off and fall with surprising suddenness onto any passer-by.
• There is an uncommon bacterial disease called Leptospirosis caused by immersion in water in which infected rodents have been swimming. In a small proportion of cases it can be severe, when it is known as Weil’s disease, and then it can cause failure of liver and kidneys and other organs.
• The danger of driving into one of the runnels while attempting to park on Trumpington street have already been alluded to, but the risk of injury would be far greater for  cyclists or pedestrians slipping into a runnel.