CROWDS gathered at Blenheim Palace to cheer on rowers at the Great British Row Off for Sport Relief.

It was a classic varsity race at the Woodstock World Heritage Site, with Oxford going head to head with Cambridge.

Two teams, both donning fancy dress, raced from one side of the lake to the other in a bid to be crowned Great British Row Off champions.

Sophia Saller, the world champion triathlete who is currently studying for her PhD studies in Combinatorics in Oxford, captained the boat for Oxford.

Cambridge University medical student and Youtuber Chidera Ota captained the Cambridge boat.

Cambridge made a strong start while Oxford lagged behind during the first leg, then everything changed when rowers had to stop to put on Sport Relief t-shirts, wigs and deeley boppers.

Oxford took the advantage for the middle two legs before Cambridge came back victorious.

There was some healthy competition and friendly jostling for space at the shore and lots of spectators shouting support from the famous Grand Bridge.

Sport Relief brings encourages the nation to come together to get active, raise money and change lives.

It will return from March 17 to 23.

This year Sport Relief is setting the nation an epic national challenge, to beat one billion steps a day, every day, during the week of Sport Relief itself.

Many of the Blenheim Palace spectators downloaded the Sport Relief app to track their steps while cheering on the rowers and walking around the estate.

Visit the Sport Relief page to download the app and join a ‘tribe’ or set your own up and compete against others to see who steps the most.

Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries.

At the heart of the campaign is the "Sport Relief Mile", which involves members of the public doing their bit for charity.

Comic Relief teamed up with the newly established Sport Relief initiative in 2002 and alternates with Sport Relief, airing every second year in March.

For more information go to sportrelief.com.