Cambridge

Cambridge: storia e carattere

Cambridge, founded around the 9th century at the ford (cam-bridge) on the River Cam, owes its global fame to its university, established in 1209 by clerics who fled Oxford. Over the centuries, 31 colleges rose along the Backs, the riverside lawns that form the city's signature view, including King's College Chapel (completed 1547, perpendicular Gothic), Trinity College (where Newton taught) and St John's. More than its rival Oxford, Cambridge has kept a compact medieval core ringed by open commons (Jesus Green, Midsummer Common, Coe Fen, Sheep's Green) where cattle still graze in summer. For travellers with a dog, this is one of the most accessible British city-breaks: a walkable centre crossable in 25 min, vast off-leash meadows 5 min from the colleges, pubs and terraces tolerant by default, and direct Greater Anglia trains from London King's Cross in 50 min.