Pictures of Vale of White Horse

a Beauty Spot in the town of Uffington, in the county of Oxfordshire

About Vale of White Horse

The beautiful Vale of the White Horse is the region lying between the River Thames and the Berkshire Downs. It is an area defined by sweeping downland hiding unsolved prehistoric mysteries, ancient stone circles, hill forts and burial mounds.

One of its mysteries standing out above the rest is the stunning Uffington White Horse (NT), cut from the chalk turf of White Horse Hill, above the vale. There are 16 such horses in various parts of Britain of which this is the oldest and certainly the most graceful. It is believed to have been first recorded in the 12th-century, but many think it may have been in existence since the 1st-century BC, for it clearly resembles the horses on coins used by the Celtic Belgae tribe.

The horse is supposed to be cleaned every seven years in order to keep its outline clear. Until the mid-19th-century, this event was the focus of a local celebration, with sports, entertainment, much merriment and feasting.

Whitehorse Hill is 858ft high, and is crowned by the ditch and bank of Uffington Castle, a circular Iron-Age fort. The landscape is constantly windswept, but the climb to the top is worth it for the view of the valley with its farms and cottages interspersed amongst dense woodland.

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Recommended towns & villages near Vale of White Horse

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Nearby travel help

M4 Junction 15 (Badbury Roundabout)	(6.1 miles, 9.8 km, direction SW)
Swindon Station	(7.0 miles, 11.3 km, direction W)
M4 Junction 16	(10.0 miles, 16.1 km, direction W)
Hungerford Station	(13.6 miles, 21.9 km, direction SE)
Southampton Airport	(46.2 miles, 74.4 km, direction S)
Bristol International Airport	(48.8 miles, 78.6 km, direction W)
Vale of White Horse to London	(65.3 miles, 105.1 km, direction E)

Hotels near Vale of White Horse

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