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Wantage, Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire

Wantage is the birthplace of one of England's most memorable kings, Alfred the Great in 849. Under his tenacious leadership warring tribes were united into the beginning of the English Nation. Anyone with an interest in English history can not miss Wantage which has been an important market town for over 2,000 years.

Wantage has recently been described by the Daily Mail as "A handsome old town built from locally-hewn yellow stone and terracotta brick, Wantage is the birthplace of King Alfred the Great, the monarch who defeated the Vikings, united the warring tribes, and laid the foundations for modern-day Britain. In more recent times, the former poet laureate Sir John Betjeman made his home there; that very English comedienne Pam Ayres was born nearby and when writers go in search of that mythical place called Middle England, they often gravitate to this traditionally prosperous, yet reassuringly ordinary, community nestling close to the geographical centre of the country, in the rolling Oxfordshire Downs."

Above Wantage you can access one of the richest arrays of prehistoric monuments - striking Iron Age hill forts, such as Segsbury Camp and Uffington Castle, Bronze Age burial mounds, and the ethereally beautiful White Horse, and Wayland's Smithy, one of the Britain's most impressive prehistoric tombs.

Wantage is an ideal place for a visit combining the town and its museum with walking on the Ridgeway. Its charm attracts many visitors who enjoy it's easy access to the uplifting countryside. To find out where you can stay in Wantage use the accommodation search facility on this page using 'Wantage' as the key word.

The award winning Vale and Downland Museum has interactive displays, popular with children, which tell the story of Wantage through the ages. Other museums close to Wantage include Champs Chapel Museum at East Hendred and Tom Brown's School Museum at Uffington.

For further information on Wantage, Telephone: 01235 760176, visit the Wantage website or send an email.

For details of public car parks in Wantage please visit the Vale of White Horse District Council car parks page.