The town of Wantage is one of the hidden gems in the beautiful county of Oxfordshire. Though there are more popular tourist destinations in the county, you would hard-pressed to find a town that evokes the image of Oxfordshire as well as Wantage. The town seemingly has it all: Rich history, current diversions full of fun and enjoyment, a beautiful landscape and a well-run transportation system.
A large part of Wantage's scenic beauty has to do with the fact that the town sits at the foot of the famed Berkshire Downs escarpment. The Vale of the White horse encompasses this beautiful location and nearly every part of the town is worthy of a postcard image. Not surprisingly, Wantage is in the perfect location for horse racing and there are many horse tracks found throughout the city with Black Bushes being the most notable and popular of these courses. Wantage is also the birthplace of the beloved King Alfred and a large statue of the king still can be seen in the city to this day, forever lying to rest rumors about Wantage not honoring its long and rich history.
King Alfred was born in Wantage in the 800s but in truth Wantage is actually far older than the king. The town's origins are strictly Roman and, fitting in with many of the other towns in Oxfordshire, the name of the town was created by the Romans. In this instance Wantage was derived from the Roman words for "decreasing river". During the English Civil War Wantage was one of the most crime-ridden towns and its infamy spread throughout the country like a wild fire. In the 1700s Wantage was known as "Black Wantage" because of all the criminals and dangerous individuals who resided there. Luckily, Wantage cleaned up its act and by the 1800s it was once again a highly respected city with few problems.
These days it seems that nothing can stop the exponential growth of Wantage. Since 2007 there have been major changes in the city's infrastructure as it adjusts to its rising population. Several enormous projects have been undertaken to add housing to the town and it seems that the economy is growing just as rapidly. Many large commercial projects are also underway and many people are pointing to Wantage as the next major commuter town in Oxfordshire. This is definitely a promising situation to the many people who are flooding into the town and only time will tell just how big Wantage will get. Some people, however, are a bit worried about this growth and fear that Wantage will grow into some suburban wasteland at the expense of the gorgeous natural landscape that the citizens of Wantage have always been proud of. Hopefully the growth of the city will be planned wisely so none of the beautiful land needs to die in vain but as of right now there is no telling exactly how things will go. Fortunately, it seems that the city planners are more than competent and many experts assume everything will go smoothly in the years to come.
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