Home > Spring Attractions in Vale of White Horse Oxfordshire

Spring Attractions in Vale of White Horse Oxfordshire

The Vale of White Horse offers a variety of attractions including museums, country houses and gardens as well as unique and historic landscapes.

Abingdon has a museum, abbey ruins and splendid churches. The Benedictine Abbey was founded in about 670 AD. It became extremely rich but was finally dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538.  Abingdon Museum is located in the 17th Century County Hall in the centre of the market town. The museum is probably the grandest of its type in England.  The old Sessions Hall is now the main gallery and features a programme of changing displays and exhibitions based around the themes of history and crafts.

Near Faringdon is Great Coxwell Barn which was built between 1300 and 1310. The author and poet William Morris described it as the finest piece of architecture in England.  Faringdon is also home to the Folly Tower which was built in 1935 and is described as the last folly to be built in England in a tradition dating chiefly from the 18th century.  Nearby Buscot House and Gardens are owned by the National Trust and are a fantastic way to spend the afternoon.  This late-18th century house is set in enchanting landscaped grounds, containing the Faringdon Collection of art.  This includes a stunning collection of Old Master and pre-Raphaelite paintings supplemented by later acquisitions of modern art, including local artists.  The famous water garden was designed by Harold Peto and there are delightful Pleasure Grounds to explore.

The White Horse Hill is a unique site owned by the National Trust. It is a remnant of the vast chalk grasslands that once covered the downs and is also home to a grouping of ancient monuments including the White Horse, Uffington castle (an early Iron Age hill fort), the Blowing Stone and ancient burial mounds. The White Horse is possibly the oldest of Britain's chalk hill figures.  Its shape is not just etched into the hillside but is formed by cutting a trench to shape and infilling it with chalk blocks.  Recent archeological digs have proven the White Horse to be from the Late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age - about 3,000 years ago.  The Wayland Smithy is a Neolithic long barrow, approximately 5,000 years old, located on the Ridgeway. In local legend Wayland, the Ango-Saxon smith god, would, unseen, shoe a horse for payment of a silver coin.  For more details visit the Houses and Gardens page.

For more details visit the Museums page.

You can see all of these monuments from the Ridgeway - an ancient route which follows the high dry ground across the Downs.  This route runs for 85 miles from near Avebury in Wiltshire to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire.  This walk affords panoramic views across the Vale as far as the Cotswolds.  From here you can view all 235 acres of downland - most of which is now a Site of Special Scientific Interest.   

Wantage is home to the new Vale and Downland Museum.  This former cloth merchant's house displays geology,  local history and archeology of Wantage and the Vale of White Horse.  There are art exhibitions and a cafe.  The museum is open Monday to Saturday and main galleries 11am to 4pm.  

Ashdown House is located near Upper Lambourn on the A4000 near Berkshire.  This unusual Dutch style house is located on the Berkshire downs.  It is open to the public between 2pm and 5pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays from April to the end of October.  It is famously associated with the sister of King Charles 1 - Elizabeth of Bohemia - who was known as 'the Winter Queen'.  It houses important paintings that are contemporary with the house.  There are spectacular rooftop views over the gardens and Berkshire Downs and includes an Iron Age hill fort where King Alfred is thought to have battled the Danes.   For more information please Telephone: 01494 755569 or visit the National Trust website.  

Ardington House is a fine, beautifully symmetrical brick house set close to the village of Ardington.  It was built in 1719 by Edward Clarke whose family had been Lords of the manor since 17th Century.  It is a family home and therefore has restricted opening times of 11am to 2.30pm between 1st August and 14th September.

If wine-making and drinking are more your thing, there are two vineyards in the Vale.  Bothy Vineyard is open between Easter and Christmas: Saturdays 10am - 5pm, Sundays and Bank Holidays.  Special tours can be arranged for groups of ten or more.  Tel: 01865 390067.  Hendred Vineyard is a small vineyard located in the village of Hendred.  Wine is available to purchase in single bottles or by the case and vineyard visits can be arranged by appointment.  Tel 01235 820081.