It is the valley of the Ock, a stream which joins the Thames from the West at Abingdon. The Vale is almost flat and well-wooded; its green meadows and foliage contrasting richly with the bald summits of the White Horse Hills, which flank it on the south. The numerous elm trees, that once were a major feature of the Vale, were lost to Dutch Elm Disease. To the North, a low ridge separates it from the upper Thames Valley, holding back the soft Jurassic sedimentary deposits (Greensand, Gault and Kimmeridge Clay) behind a hard corallian limestone escarpment ridge, in what is technically a hanging valley; but local usage sometimes extends the vale to cover all the ground between the Cotswolds (on the north) and the White Horse Hills. According to the geographical definition, however, the Vale is from 2 to 5 miles wide, and the distance by road from Abingdon to Shrivenham at its head is 18 miles.

Wantage is the only town in the heart of the Vale (although Faringdon, on the northwestern rim, is also a "Vale" town), lying in a sheltered hollow at the foot of the hills, along which, moreover, villages are more numerous than elsewhere in the vale. There are numerous springs emanating from the chalk hills, which allowed these settlements to thrive in former times.

Sites of interest

Towards the West, above Uffington, the hills reach a culminating point of 856ft in White Horse Hill. In its northern flank, just below the summit, a gigantic figure of a horse is cut, the turf being removed to show the white chalky soil beneath. This figure gives name to the hill, the range and the vale. It is 374ft long and highly stylised, the neck, body and tail varying little in width.

A panoramic view into the Vale; the White Horse is on the right and Dragon Hill centre right

The origin of the figure is unknown. Tradition asserted it to be the monument of a victory over the Danes by King Alfred, who was born at Wantage, but the site of the Battle of Ashdown (871), has been variously located. Moreover, the figure, with others of a similar character elsewhere in England, is considered to be of a far higher antiquity, dating even from the early Iron Age, before the Roman occupation. Many ancient remains occur in the vicinity of the Horse.

Vale scene, with White Horse Hill on the horizon

On the summit of the hill there is an extensive and well preserved circular camp, apparently used by the Romans but of much earlier origin. It is an Iron Age hill fort. It is named Uffington Castle from the village in the vale below. Within a short distance are Hardwell Castle, a near-square work and, on the southern slope of the hills near Ashdown House, a small camp traditionally called Alfred's Castle. Further to the West, there is Liddington Castle.

The Uffington White Horse, as seen from an altitude of 2000 feet, from the cockpit of a glider

A smooth, steep gully on the north flank of White Horse Hill is called the Manger, and to the west of it rises a bald mound named Dragon Hill, the traditional scene of St George's victory over the dragon, the blood of which made the ground bare of grass for ever. But the name may derive from Celtic Pendragon ("dragon's head"), which was a title for a king, and may point to an early place of burial.

To the West of White Horse Hill lies a long barrow called Wayland's Smithy, said to be the home of a smith who was never seen, but who shod the horses of travellers if they were left at the place with payment. The legend is elaborated, and the smith appears as a character, in Sir Walter Scott's novel Kenilworth.

The White Horse has been carefully cleared of vegetation from time to time. The figure has remained clear of turf throughout its long existence, except for being covered as a precaution, during the Second World War. The cleaning process, known as the Scouring of the White Horse, was formerly made the occasion of a festival. Sports of all kinds were held, and keen rivalry was maintained, not only between the inhabitants of the local villages, but between local champions and those from distant parts of England. The first of such festivals known took place in 1755 and they died out only subsequently to 1857. A grassy track represents the ancient road or Ridgeway along the crest of the hills continuing Icknield Street, from the Chilterns.

Other earthworks, in addition to those near the White Horse, overlook the Vale, such as Letcombe Castle (also known as Segsbury Camp) above Wantage. At the foot of the hills, not far East of the Horse, is preserved the so-called Blowing Stone of Kingston Lisle, a mass of sandstone (a sarsen) pierced with holes in such a way that, when blown like a trumpet, it produces a loud note. It is believed that, in earlier times, the stone served the purpose of a bugle.

Several of the village churches in the Vale are of interest, notably the fine Early English cruciform building at Uffington, that has a hexagonal tower and is known as The Cathedral of the Vale.

Industry

Farmland and White Horse Hill

The Vale used to have a thriving dairy industry, especially in the 1960s. That has dwindled to just a few herds of dairy cows, in the first years of the 21st Century. Farming is now mostly arable.

Natural mineral resources are mined (quarried) in the Vale. These include sand, gravel and (formerly) Fuller's Earth.

With the closure of the MG works at Abingdon, there is no motor industry, apart from some specialist car makers and component factories.

The length of the Vale is traversed by the main line of the Great Western Railway, between Didcot and Swindon. There used to be a station on this line (Challow Station), situated on the A417 road, a little to the East of Stanford in the Vale. This was closed by Dr Beeching, in the early 1960s. The nearest main line stations are now Swindon, Oxford and Didcot.

References

* Thomas Hughes, The Scouring of the White Horse (1859).
* G.K. Chesterton, "The Ballad of the White Horse" (1911).

Vale of White Horse: Encyclopedia BETA

Vale of White Horse

Geography

Sites of interest

Industry

References