Nearby is the historic, probably pre-Roman, Ridgeway track running from Ashbury to Streatley on the Thames. Wantage is also in the heart of an area of high technology close to AEA Technology, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Culham Laboratory, Esso Research Centre and the Williams Motor Racing Centre. The town is undergoing great change with a new shopping centre about to be built. The town centre is being refurbished and the Town Council are keen to see new shops and businesses move into the town and the nearby Wantage Business Park. Wantage has a thriving social life with many clubs and local organisations.
Music is important with a brass band in the first division and an operatic society.
A month long festival of music and arts is held in June and July. There is a Dickensian Evening before Christmas when shops open late and the Town Mayor and town Crier lead the townspeople and visitors around the town. There is a strong local campaign to create a Betjeman Memorial Park which would include a statue and display several of the poet s better known works.