Love Wantage

About

The Love Wantage website is coordinated by the Wantage Town Centre Manager to promote the Town Centre and what's on offer for residents and visitors. It is supported by the local Wantage & District Chamber of Commerce, Vale of White Horse District Council and Wantage Town Council. This website signposts to online resources for discovering all you need to know about Wantage and the local area.

Whether it's a unique piece of jewellery, original artwork or a rare book, Wantage town centre has many treasures to offer for the curious shopper.

We have a wide variety of independent shops plus a number of national brands around our market place. Weekly markets take place on a Wednesday and Saturday with a lovely range of produce. Join the Wantage Markets Facebook page to keep up to date with weekly stalls. Over at King's Park you'll find high street brands and supermarkets to complete the picture.

Fine dining, home-made traditional pub meals, authentic curry and Mediterranean delights are among the delicious offerings to choose from when eating out in Wantage.

There's a range of restaurants, pubs, cafes and sandwich shops to suit all tastes and budgets. Superb coffee and award-winning dining experiences are all to be found within easy reach of the town centre.

Wantage is surrounded by incredible countryside and is a hotspot for walkers and cyclists alike, enjoying the Ridgeway and the picturesque villages in the area. The iconic Uffington White Horse is just 7 miles away and dated at some 3,000 years ago it's the oldest of its kind in Britain.

Five Things to do in Wantage

• Statue of King Alfred - make sure you visit Market Place and see the Statue of King Alfred which has stood in here since 1877. Wantage was the birthplace of Alfred the Great.  Look out at the view to the West, which unchanged from this time.
• Vale and Downland Museum – Pop in to discover lots of information regarding the history of the town, plus see John Betjeman bust, Lester Piggott statue, Lord Wantage bust and Damon Hill’s F1 car.
• Betjeman Millennium Park - Enjoy the space and tranquility of this beautiful park, look out for the six poetry plaques designed by Alec Peever located around the park, inscribed with quotations from Sir John Betjeman works.
• The Sack House - A small museum standing at the entrance to the Wantage Canal Wharf.  Displays the history of the canal, wharf and the building itself.  Take a wander around the museum (open on the first and third Wednesdays and Saturdays of each month) followed by a walk under the Mill.
• Visit the Weekly Market - In 1216 King Henry III granted Wantage weekly trading rights and in 1285 King Edward I issued a decree confirming the rights.  Today the weekly market, every Wednesday and Saturday upholds and continues these rights.