|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wantage
 Our local town and birthplace of legendary King Alfred the Great (849AD) whose statue graces the market place.
Wantage appears in the great Doomsday survey of 1086. Its value was £61 and it was in the King's ownership until Richard I passed it to the Earl of Albemarle in 1190. During the Civil War, records from 1644 mention the King dining in the town. A note from 1645 describes the effects of plague. The church suffered from Puritan attacks on its 'idolatrous things'. By the beginning of the 19th century, trade was reduced and poverty hit the town. Wantage had a reputation for lawlessness causing historians to label it 'Black Wantage'. It took some determined work to turn this situation around and the efforts of the Reverend Butler gave the town a renewed respect for itself. An iron foundry gave work to many inhabitants and canal and tramway links encouraged greater trade The twentieth century saw great expansion of the town, the development of a bustling town centre and the growth of the nearby town of Grove.
Wantage is a pretty market town with a good range of shops and services including fast food, restaurants, pubs and bars.
|
|
|
The Vale and Downland Museum
 This acclaimed museum located in Wantage has very broad ranging services from galleries interpreting the cultural heritage Vale of the White Horse region, to a cafe with a delightful terrace and garden. It also acts as a springboard for residents and visitors to enjoy and appreciate the countryside around Wantage. The Museum also includes a Tourist Information Centre, a successful Art Gallery, and a Book Shop. There is a Children's Club and Friends Association as well as research and identification services. Even the local newspaper is based at the museum. The Museum is based on a converted 17th century cloth-merchant's house - a fine example of local vernacular architecture. Behind it, in a new extension with 20th century wooden crucks spanning two floors, are the visitor facilities. The collections held at the Museum contain geological, natural history, archeological, social history and contemporary objects that reflect the Vale today.
|
|
|
Uffington White Horse
 The Uffington white horse is undoubtedly Britain's oldest and most famous hill figure, which has recently been dated at 3000 years old by the Oxford Archeological Unit. 1000 years older than previously thought. The earliest reference to it was in in the 1070's when white horse hill was mentioned, the first actual reference to the horse itself was in 1190.
The horse is unique in its features, the horse being a very long sleek disjointed figure and this leads some to believe it represents the mythical dragon that St. George slain on the adjacent Dragon hill or even his horse. However others believe it represents a Celtic horse goddess Epona, known to represent fertility, healing and death.. The scouring of the horse is believed to have been a religious festival in later times, giving more creditability to the figure being of religious origin. Also unusual is the fact that the horse faces to the right while all other horses and other animal hill figures face left. The earliest record of the white horse is from Abingdon Abbey in the late 12th century, although white horse hill was mentioned a century earlier. There are many records after this period with a very good historical record from the 18th century in which the horse has changed little in appearance from then to the present day. There were occasions when the horse became overgrown, 1880 for example and was in danger of being lost like some of the other hill figures. There is no danger of this happening now, with English Heritage caring for this Ancient Monument.
The Uffington white horse can be found 1.5 miles due south of Uffington village on the Berkshire downs (although now in Oxfordshire). It is situated facing NW near the top (at approx. 800 ft) of a very impressive steep escarpment below the Ridgeway long distance footpath.
|
|
|
|
The Ancient Ridgeway Trail
 Length 137 km/85 miles. Average time to complete 6 days.
Britain's Oldest Road.
Starting in a World Heritage Site much of this 136 km (85 mile) long Trail still follows the same path over the high ground used since prehistoric times.
The Trail's western half travels as a broad, ancient track along the edge of open, rolling downland where views are dominated by the sky and vast sweeps of land. Once east of the River Thames the Trail enters more intimate countryside where, mostly on narrower undulating paths, it passes through valleys, woodlands, neatly cultivated fields and chalk grassland nature reserves rich in wildflowers.
People have used The Ridgeway for at least 6,000 years and have left numerous monuments to explore. Highlights include Wayland's Smithy long barrow and the spectacular Iron Age forts which line the Trail such as Barbury and Uffington Castles. Add to that wonderful displays of bluebells in spring, chalk land flowers and birds and The Ridgeway is always rewarding.
Horseriders and cyclists can ride all of the western half of The Ridgeway whilst walkers, who can enjoy the whole Trail, take on average 6 days to complete it. Many people, of course, choose to visit a section at a time and good public transport enables this.
|
|
|
|
Pendon Museum
 Pendon Indoor Model Village and Railways, Oxfordshire, England.
Pendon aims to recapture, in detailed and colourful miniature, scenes showing the beauty of the English countryside as it used to be in the years around 1930. Realistically modeled cottages like the one pictured above, farms, fields and lanes recall the peaceful country ways of that period. Cavalcades of trains, accurately represented, provide a fascinating record of the railways of the time. Pendon is being created entirely by volunteer modellers who work to the most exacting standards. The photograph above shows the work of the late Roye England, the Museum's founder. It is just one of the many fine model buildings in the Vale Scene.
|
|
|
|
Didcot Railway Centre
 Home of the Great Western Society and its unique collection of Great Western Railway steam engines, coaches, wagons, buildings and small relics. Join us in our rural setting based around the original engine shed.
The Great Western Railway was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, recently voted the second greatest Briton by television viewers, to link London with Bristol. Didcot lies about halfway; the engine shed is home to Great Western steam engines and there is a recreation of Brunel's original broad gauge railway.
|
|
|
|
Blenheim Palace
 Given to John Churchill, first Duke of Malborough as a reward for his decisive victory over the army of Louis XIV. Bleinheim Palace is also the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.
|
|
|
|
Oxford
 Oxford has so much to offer. Honey-gold buildings and a riverside setting are just part of Oxford's unique appeal. College quadrangles and gardens provide a tranquil foil to a compact and beautiful city centre which is lively all the year round.
Gardens, stained glass, Oxford's waterways and women in Oxford are just a few of the topics which interest individual and groups of visitors - and you may have a further special interest to add to the list. If you would like your own guide, with a tailor-made tour, for a morning, afternoon or even a whole day, please contact the Tourist Information Centre.
|
|
|
|
The Cotswolds
 Cotswolds is a word that conjures up a vision of honey coloured stone, pretty villages and a cultivated upland landscape. Indeed most of the Cotswolds region is well preserved, and that is what we see today.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
