Vale of the White Horse
The nearby market town of Faringdon is famous for its role in the civil war and its unusual folly. Travelling in the opposite direction, the town of Wantage (7 miles) is known as the birthplace of King Alfred and was once a centre for the wool industry and has a very interesting museum to visit.
The Vale of the White Horse was a centre of Iron Age activity and the White Horse itself (4 miles) is considered the oldest chalk figure in the country, thought to date back over 3,000 years.
Along the Ridgeway, a Neolithic route and possibly “the oldest road in the world,” are several hill forts and barrows including Uffington Castle and Wayland’s Smithy.
The magnificent Great Coxwell Barn of c.1300 was described by William Morris as ‘unapproachable in its dignity, as beautiful as a Cathedral’.
Near to Faringdon, the oldest surviving bridge across the Thames is found at Radcot where rowing boats are available for hire.
