King Alfred’s Statue, Wantage Market Place
Marble statue of King Alfred unveiled in Wantage Market Place in 1877, a gift from Robert Loyd-Lindsay, later Lord Wantage.
Visit Wantage & Grove
King Alfred's market town.
Wantage is where King Alfred was born in 849. The Market Place still fills with stalls every Wednesday and Saturday, the town centre is small enough to see on foot in a morning, and the Ridgeway and the White Horse are just up the downs.
Market Wed & SatFree local museumOn the Ridgeway
Places to see
All local historyAround the Market Place
Wantage Market Place and the Bear Hotel
The medieval market square at the centre of Wantage, with the 17th-century Bear Hotel, the old Corn Exchange and a twice-weekly market.
Parish Church of SS Peter and Paul, Wantage
Wantage's Grade I parish church: a 13th-century cruciform church with medieval brasses, the Fitzwaryn tomb and a Victorian restoration by Street.
Vale and Downland Museum, Wantage
Wantage's local museum, in a 17th-century house on Church Street with a barn brought from East Hendred; free galleries on the Vale's history.
Betjeman Millennium Park, Wantage
A two-acre park beside the Letcombe Brook, opened in 2002, with a poetry trail carved with John Betjeman's words below his former home.
Mills and watercress on the Letcombe Brook
For 900 years the chalk-fed Letcombe Brook turned corn mills from Letcombe Bassett to Wantage, and its clear water grew watercress for London.
- StartMarket Place
King Alfred's statue, unveiled in 1877, and the 17th-century Bear Hotel, whose coachway still runs through to the yard behind.
- 5 minutesThe parish church
SS Peter and Paul, a huge 13th-century church for a market town. Look for the medieval glass and the tiny crosses on the pillars.
- 10 minutesBetjeman Millennium Park
Down Betjeman Lane from the west end of the church: a poetry trail of carved stones beside the Letcombe Brook.
- 15 minutesVale and Downland Museum
Free galleries on the Vale's history in Church Street, and a café with a terrace and garden.
- ThenAlong the Letcombe Brook
The brook trail runs from the museum to the Willow Walk nature reserve, past the old mills. The Sack House at the old canal wharf opens on some summer Saturdays.
What's on
All of what's onHappening this week
MON9NOV
Wantage Town Council planning meeting, 9 November 2026Monday 9 November · 19:30 to 22:00 · The Beacon Wantage, Portway, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 9BX, United Kingdom
TUE10NOV
East Hendred Beavers, Cubs and Scouts18:30-20:00 · Snells Hall · East Hendred
WED11NOV
Thrive Pilates classes08:30, 09:30, 18:00 · East Hanney
WED11NOV
Armistice Day gathering in HarwellWednesday 11 November · 10:55 · War Memorial, High Street, Harwell
WED11NOV
Life Group (Afternoon in Church)Wednesday 11 November · 14:00 to 15:15 · Wantage Baptist Church, 6 Mill Street, Wantage, OX12 9AQ
WED11NOV
Wantage Charter MarketMarket Place and Victoria Cross forecourt, Wantage
Up on the downs
The Ridgeway and the White Horse.
South of the town the downs rise to the Ridgeway, the ancient track along the hills, and west along it is the Uffington White Horse, Britain's oldest known chalk hill figure, cut some 3,000 years ago.
Walks
All walksOut on foot
EasyCircular
Wantage town and the Letcombe Brook
A short, level loop from the Market Place that follows the town's chalk stream past old mills, Betjeman Millennium Park and Willow Walk nature reserve.
ModerateCircular
White Horse Hill, Uffington Castle and Dragon Hill
A short walk from the National Trust car park round the Iron Age hillfort, above the Bronze Age White Horse and down to Dragon Hill and the Manger.
ChallengingLinear (one way)
The Ridgeway from White Horse Hill to Wantage
A one-way walk home along the Ridgeway from the White Horse, past Hackpen Hill and Segsbury Camp, then down through Letcombe Regis into Wantage.
Further afield
Days out near WantageGrove and the Vale
Guides
All guidesBefore you go
King Alfred statue in Wantage: the story and a town walk
The King Alfred statue in Wantage stands in the middle of Market Place, the open square at the centre of town. This…
Cafes in Wantage and Grove: coffee, cake and breakfast
Where to get a coffee, a slice of cake or breakfast in Wantage, Grove and the villages, from the Market Place to…
Uffington White Horse Show and summer events in Wantage
If you want a summer plan that starts near home, this page sets out the shape of the local season and how…
Pub walks near Wantage: short loops and Ridgeway days
This page is for anyone who wants a walk that finishes within reach of a pub. The pub walks near Wantage fall…
Cycling in Wantage and Grove: routes, the Ridgeway and bike shops
This guide is for anyone who rides from the town: parents after a flat loop with the children, riders who want a…
The Ridgeway near Wantage: walks, parking and the Wantage Monument
If you want to get up onto the Ridgeway near Wantage, this page sets out where the trail runs, which mapped walks…
Every Thursday
The Wantage Weekly
What's on this weekend, new local businesses and the odd bit of town news. One short email, no spam.
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