Reading / Surrounding areas?

[Justasmalltowngirll]

We're thinking of moving to this area because of fast links into London Paddington for work but I'd love some insider info! I don't have the best impression of Reading... I lived there about 10 years ago and wasn't a fan, but I lived in a grotty student area and maybe it's changed since then? We also get the impression that Caversham or Twyford are significantly nicer than Reading itself. Would love Henley or Goring but I think that would be more tricky to get into London? Plus £££! We have two young kids so looking for primary and secondary school opinions too. Any areas to avoid? We're looking for a thriving and friendly local community, with a relatively low crime rate (like everyone I guess!!) 😊

Wokingham

Shinfield, Arborfield, Spencers Wood all closer to Reading with thriving communities. Lots of new development in these areas.

What’s the budget for the house?

£500k for a three bed. We'd prefer not to be in an estate just because we're currently living in one and it's pretty souless, so period property with a garden if poss! Don't mind a fixer-upper.

this in Pangbourne might work for you although there could be additional cost implications https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146883761#/?channel=RES_BUY

Pangbourne is a lovely village a bit west of Reading, and an easy change of trains. But it is pricy.

Twyford can be expensive too but definitely some places in your budget, and very commutable as it’s on the Elizabeth Line.

Mortimer might be worth a look, again a train to Reading and change there, and it’s a nice village.

Twyford can be expensive too but definitely some places in your budget, and very commutable as it’s on the Elizabeth Line.

If fast links to Paddington is what attracts OP to Reading, I'm not sure the Elizabeth line will be any good. It's so slow! I commute Reading - Paddington and would never get it.

But Twyford is close enough to easily get the fast train from Reading.

Wokingham is great and depending on which side you live it is a 15 minute drive to Twyford for the Elizabeth line. Schools are excellent.

This is so lovely! Unfortunately I can just see our kids falling in the river, they're very adventurous lol. Will check out Mortimer too, thanks!

Ahh good to know that about the Elizabeth line, I wasn't aware it was so slow. You're right about the train to Reading though. Was trying to avoid a change on the line as we work long hours and in London five days a week, but Reading is so quick into Paddington that it could still be a good commute.

Thanks for the suggestion of Wokingham too, will check that out!

Where in London do you work? Is it on the Elizabeth line? I think most people get the fast train to Paddington then switch to the Elizabeth there.

caversham is lovely and has good primary schools (and certainly at the lower end most have spaces - not sure about higher up), though I think the secondaries haven’t got quite such a good reputation - perhaps unfairly though. Lots of Victorian houses in main caversham with more modern ones further out.

twyford is a much cheaper train commute than reading. It seems nice enough.

Thank you for the info about secondaries. That's an important consideration as it'll come round pretty quickly for us. Are there no well regarded secondaries in the area at all? Good to know about the primary places! That's a worry of mine as it'll be in-year applications and all of the primaries where we currently live are so oversubscribed that I have the (hopefully incorrect!) view that we'll be left with the dregs of whichever school has places 😱

We need to get into Charing Cross.

Another vote for Wokingham- and Shinfield / Spencer’s Wood / Three Mile Cross as said above. You should just about be able to get a 3 bed for 500k.

I think all the primary schools in caversham have good/outstanding ratings so you should be fine wherever you get.

Secondaries to be fair I don’t know much about them. I don’t think they’re dreadful. -there’s highdown and some kids get the bus out to maiden erleigh chiltern edge (which was inadequate but was taken over and is on the up!) some also get the bus over to gillots in Henley. There’s also a new secondary opening this year I think but I can’t remember what it’s called - obviously an unknown at this point.

Oh and if your children are v academic there is a boys and a girls grammar school in town.

I'm close to Mortimer. Theres a train station but its a way down a big hill from main village. There are regular buses from Mortimer to Reading train station. It goes through Burghfield Common which is a larger less scenic village but has leisure centre, an infant and junior school plus the local high school for the surrounding area. Mortimer infant and Junior schools are great, my DC goes there. Both villages have community things going on.

Theres some bored teens causing anti social behavior at times in both villages. We are also close to the traveller camp associated with PC Harper's death. Its still safer than London though (Im an ex Londoner, was born there).

Wokingham is certainly a good place to live with excellent schools, low crime etc but not so great for a daily city commute.

It has a stopping train service that takes just over an hour to get into Waterloo. So if you wanted to use the fast Paddington line you would have to take the Wokingham/Reading train (10 mins) & change.

The suggestions of Arborfield, Shinfield or Three Mile Cross are again good for living but not commuting. Could take longer to travel to Reading Station than the onward journey into London due to very heavy road traffic in the area.

Personally I'd choose either Twyford or Wokingham & put up with the change at Reading Station.

The areas that people are suggesting are lovely, but not the most convenient for commuting to London.

The areas you could consider are:

• East Reading, university / whiteknights area (need to avoid student roads, lots of Victorian houses populated by professional families, some artists and academics)
• West Reading, Wantage road area (cheaper than East Reading, more Victorian houses populated by professionals, but be careful because nearby roads eg Kensington are a bit dodgy and you need to know which roads are ok and which roads aren't)
• Tilehurst (suburbia, houses with more space and garages, some nice 30s houses)
• Earley (suburbia, more modern houses, not my personal favourite but well regarded)
• Caversham Heights (beautiful but v v expensive, the aspirational part of town where all the rich people live!)
• Emmer Green & other parts of Caversham (no way as nice as Cav Heights, I don't know enough about these areas tbh, suspect Emmer Green is too far from the train station)

Areas that have a bad reputation:

• Whitley / South Reading
• Dee road estate in Tilehurst

I'd be happy to talk via PM if you want to hear more detail about specific roads and schools.

We moved here from London in 2004 and have been very happy here. There are definitely grotty parts, but there are also very good communities on some of the nicer roads and I've felt a lot safer here than in London.

Plenty of soulless new build estates in Wokingham!

I live in Caversham, and the secondary schools are not in the least dreadful!

Highdown is a large comprehensive, and gets an unfair reputation locally purely because it is the local large comprehensive - so any "youth" seen doing anything slightly untoward are likely to go to Highdown. It gets very reasonable results, and has many, many children of university-educated professionals going there, if you're worried about that kind of thing. My son is in Y10 at Highdown, and doing well. (It is Ofsted rated good.)

Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge (MECE) is a much smaller comprehensive a bit further out. It had a troublesome time a few years back, but has turned around, and is now also rated good. I have friends with children there who are very happy with it.

A new school is opening this september, and the new head teacher has come from MECE after very successfully turning it around.

There are two grammars in Reading, Kendrick (girls) and Reading (boys).

I really enjoy living in Caversham, and if you are commuting to London it is a very good base. The station is in walking distance from central Caversham, and is on both the main Paddington line, and the Elizabeth line.

The disadvantage of Twyford is lack of parking for the station, essentially get there well before 7 or no space, or find somewhere to live that you can walk.

Twyford comes under Wokingham for schools, so all are pretty much excellent, depends what you're looking for. For secondary Piggott is the one secondary, though some, particularly in the Charvil area of Twyford go to Waingels in Woodley, also pretty good.
Woodley is another area of Wokingham, good primary schools, a drive to Twyford, but also has fairly good regular buses into Reading. Cheaper than Twyford. There are plans afoot but not approved for a cycleway alongside the railway over the Loddon to link Charvil & Woodley to the Station, that might eventually happen.

If I have to go in to London during the week I tend to catch GWR to Paddington (less than half an hour) then walk across the station and onto Lizzie Line rather than Lizzie Line all the way.
How about this, very handy for station?
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148011827#/?channel=RES_BUY

I really like this property and have arranged a viewing! The major issue I see with it is there's no parking and it's double yellows all the way down the road, could be a nightmare! Do you happen to know anything about parking round there?!

Thank you so much, that's so helpful! When I manage to arrange some viewings I will definitely PM for your thoughts! At the moment everything I'm calling from Rightmove is already under offer, boo! Do you know which roads in East Reading are a definite no no due to students? Nothing against students of course, but we'd like a quiet road 😂

The Twyford house is perfect for the station and it says permit parking is an available. I used to live in Twyford and commuted to Charing Cross for many years.

I saw that about permit parking but I can't see where you'd be able to park along that road, unless there's a side street. I guess we'll find out when we try to park for the viewing 😅
Would you mind telling me if you liked twyford? Is there a community spirit and did you find it easy to make friends? We haven't been lucky with that where we live and it's the main reason we're moving!