Caversham Reading advice please

[Chris001]

Hello,
We are looking at properties in Caversham, Reading and wanted to request any comments if you have any. We have seen a few house (2-3 bedroom Victorian terraces) in Westfield Road, South Street and North Street. We aren't sure if Westfield is noisy as it seems a bit of a short cut (we viewed not during rush hour). Are there any drawbacks to these streets? Thank you for any advice.
Thank you.

I have been told to avoid Caversham park area
Caversham heights is desirable but of course more expensive

The streets I mentioned are just off the high street. I don't think they fall into the Caversham Park area but I may be wrong.

It will be busier at the moment as I think that’s one of the roads being used as a cut through due to the roadworks by Waitrose. I think!

Yes I saw there was a bit of road works outside of the Waitrose.

Very busy area. Caversham is a mixture of very posh, expensive housing and the exact opposite.
Caversham near the high street is especially problematic for noise and business.

Personally I would look more towards Wokingham, I'm moving out of Reading because the whole area has gone rapidly downhill.

I lived there for a bit albeit quite a few years ago now and I agree with pp it's a funny mixture of very posh and lock stock characters!

Westfield Road (like all of central Caversham) gets very busy, especially during rush hour. North and South street are definitely seen as the more desirable streets, but parking can be problematic.
Good luck with your search, and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have. I’ve lived in Caversham for 35 years and I think it’s a great place to live.

I used to live on south street a few years ago. Previous poster is correct, it’s a nice street, but parking can be terrible. It’s horses for courses though if you’re looking at terraces in fairly central location. Otherwise it’s quite a quiet road and we rarely got much noise.

Westfield is very different due to not being a dead end. It’s a bit of a cut through:rat run and hence much noisier. However the outlook is quite nice although starting to get closer to some of the slightly dodgier housing. South street very much felt part of naice caversham due to proximity to Waitrose whereas Westfield perhaps slightly less so.

Can I ask why caversham? It’s very expensive and you don’t get much for your money. Unless you need the train station every day then I’d seriously consider elsewhere. I’ve lived all over reading in the past 20 years so can give advice if needed!

Also you are correct, none of those streets are caversham park. But equally they’re not caversham heights which is the posher end. Kind of in between.

@bagforlifeamnesty Thank you for your response. We need to have access to trains to London (within walking distance) and thought the river and the high streets were all plus points. But not too sure about the terraces off or around the high street in terms of noise and the general population. People seem very divided about the area.

@piapiapiano That's very useful information. My thought was that Westfield was pretty busy too however I prefer the houses as they have bay windows while South and North Street and flat fronted. However that's just a personal preference.

Ok if you need trains to London then it’s worth paying the premium for caversham. It’s the only nice area within easy walking distance IMO. The river and high street are definite plus points.

honestly south and north street are really nice streets. There’s not loads of noise and in honesty if you want to be within easy walking distance of a major town centre then you’re not going to live somewhere very quiet. If you’re really worried about noise then I’d say that’s a priority which is incompatible with the desire to live very centrally. But as far as noise goes, it’s really not bad. Except for during festival weekend 😉 but then you effectively get to listen to all the music for free!

Ps. The properties on Westfield tend to be slightly larger. South and north street houses have smaller footprints especially on the ground floor.

You might want to consider Gosbrook road, kings road and Queens road. Not quite as desirable as central Caversham but you get a bit more for your money and still easily walkable to the station.

I'd double check Queens/kings road for flood plain. I think there was quite a lot of water in 2005 with the Thames over running. Don't think it actually did get in to any properties, but it was close

Sorry, should say flood risk. It's very close to the flood plain

If OP is worried about noise then Gosbrook road would be a definite no surely?

Thanks again for all the comments.
@bagforlifeamnesty To throw another spanner in the works (yes I am definitely over thinking). I was told that the houses on South Street don't get a lot of sun/ light in the winter. Did you find that?

Yes you are overthinking massively 😂 they’re terraced houses so most will never get brilliant light unless they happen to face the exact right direction plus are not overlooked at all which is almost never. Most houses on terraced streets will be adjacent to another row of terraced houses on the next street. Plus neighbours who may have trees etc. I don’t remember south street as being particularly dark and I have lived in several terraces over the years.

Forgive me if I’m way off but it sounds like you want peace and quiet and a light-filled house whilst also living in a 2-3 bed terrace ten mins walk from one of the biggest town centres and train stations in the south. Are you definitely well-suited to living somewhere central? Have you thought about living more rurally and then getting a connecting train or commuting by other means? Or even in one of the more suburban areas where you’re further from the centre and a bit quieter and can get more for your money so you could afford a semi-detached instead of terrace?

If you need access to London bit want a quieter life maybe look at Twyford which on the Elizabeth Line and can get you not just to Paddington but across London too.

How about this?
Star Road itself at this end is quiet, this house has bay window and parking, and has a Co-op at the end of the road. You can cut through the park to the station is 20 mins walk, and you can walk to Caversham village in 15. When I lived nearby this was just outside the permit area so no issues with visitors.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135821630

Yes I agree about Hurst, also Earley at the Wokingham side has a train station and nearer the Winnersh end is nicer and quieter with lovely houses and good parks and schools too.
But overall I would definitely suggest areas closer to Wokingham which has London trains, it's far nicer than most of Reading. With Caversham, it appears posh because the rest of Reading is pretty desperate to be a city and cosmopolitan, alot is really rough (like Tilehurst, Oxford Road, Whitley, Newtown amongst others). We find on the Reading side of Earley where we are moving from is really bad for drugs and crime now (wasn't 10 years ago when we moved here).
Or have you tried Maidenhead? Also on Elizabeth line for trains?

Caversham doesn’t “appear posh”, caversham heights is objectively posh. Many many houses selling for £1m plus. There’s a large girls private school. Lower caversham is less posh but the high street reflects the people who live in most of caversham.

The rest of reading isn’t as “posh” but there are plenty of parts that aren’t rough.

Winnersh is tougher than many parts of reading.

Other areas to consider would be Hurst and Twyford as pp have mentioned, Earley, Woodley, Wokingham, Charvil.

I'm pretty set on Caversham as I need to get to Reading and London and it ticks the boxes on those fronts while still being a bit separated from the main town/city. Just wanted some more "granular" information of the streets off the high street as that's what my budget can extend to and I like being able to walk to the shops. But thanks for the tips and comments. Twyford does look nice.

It’s fab for being able to wander to shops and cafes. Plus the river etc. If it weren’t so expensive and the wrong side of reading for our jobs then we would have stayed there!

All fine streets, though Westfield is a bit of a rat run. But even a little bit further out will be quieter, still very walkable to shops and within a half hour power walk to the station. Train tickets to London at peak are extortionate, parking is a nightmare and getting over either bridge can be a struggle.