Reading and surrounding villages - anyone live in the area?

[bunyanvillas]

Does anyone live in the Reading area - or in a nearby village? Am still looking for the perfect location to move to and the transport links from Reading to London are good so ... now wondering if this could be the area for us! Can anyone make any recommendations? I'd be very grateful for any feedback

[Lilymaid]

I used to live in Tilehurst - rather built up area on west side of Reading, then moved out to Goring (again on railway line to London with commuter trains into Paddington). I would move back to Goring if DH's job permitted. Caversham Heights is a good area in Reading and not too far from the station - unless you try to cross the bridge by car in the rush hour.

[bunyanvillas]

Oh, many thanks! What is Goring like? I fancy a village perhaps nearby - although I expect the nice ones are verrry pricy ...

[Lilymaid]

All the villages are pricey (but so is the whole of the Thames Valley). When I was in Goring there were a couple of toddler groups, a play group (at the primary school), an NCT group and reasonable local shops - though this was back in the 90s. I enjoyed living there - at that time I commuted to London a couple of days per week DS1 was at a childminder in the village.

[MrsBadger]

If you're looking primarily for an easy London commute, also consider the villages round Didcot (hesitate to recommend the town itself but some MNers are very happy there ) - that bit further out means property can be a lot cheaper.

[JoshandJamie]

Nice villages around Reading:

Pangbourne
Goring
Kidmore End
Checkendon
Shiplake
Sonning

All of them will require a drive into Reading so you need to factor that into commute time. And they're also all pretty pricey. But lovely.

[scatterbrain]

I live south of Reading - there are nice villages this side too !!

Spencers Wood, Beech Hill, Swallowfield, Arborfield, Sindlesham etc Also Wokingham nearby and very nice (lovely small market town)and some affordable areas - Finchampstead for example.

Then on the A33 from Reading down to Basingstoke there's Bramley - has it's own branch line to Reading and is nice and affordable, Mortimer - bit dearer but also has station, Sherfield-on-Loddon - if you like new houses there is a very smart development there called Sherfield Park, then you're down into Chineham which is really basingstoke - but very affordable indeed.

Lots of more expensive villagey areas too - Rotherwick, Mattingley etc - but rare to find an affordable house there.

Hope this helps !

[foxtrot]

Last nights locationlocation programme was in this area - think they looked at checkendon and ended up in woodcote.

[JoshandJamie]

Woodcote you'll get more for your money - not sure why, just don't think it's as nice a village

Also, nice villages in the wedge of land between the M4 and the A4 going west of Theale - Cold Ash, Beenham etc

[PrettyCandles]

Wokingham is nice, especially if you're used to London - I couldn't survive in a little commuter village. Lots of nice villages around Wokingham as well, but you'd have to get from village to Reading, which isn't so convenient. Most likely route probably drive to Wokingham and park in station carpark to get train to Reading!

[PrettyCandles]

Also Wokingham schools are excellent.

[MrsSchadenfreude]

I grew up in Sonning. Bus or bike to Twyford and train in. Sorted. Train from Wokingham is on v-e-r-y s-l-o-w line. But Wokingham is nice.

[PrettyCandles]

Direct Wokingham-London is very slow, but via Reading is faster.