Caversham, Reading

[Feelingsensitive]

Does anyone know anything about Caversham? I have seen a lovely house on Oakley Rd. Really want to know about schools, access to Reading station, whats reading like? and how easy to get on the motorway from there.We live in London now so are clueless about Reading and the surrounding area.

Thanks

Caversham is on the wrong side of Reading for access to the motorway, ie you have to cross Reading Bridge and then negotiate the whole of Reading centre and out the other side.

This is not necessarily a problem unless you have to do it in the rush hour, in which case I'd set aside a good hour or more to be sure of making it.

On the other hand, you're better placed for getting to the station (and it is downhill on the way!).

It's a very nice area but as AG says, the traffic is a nightmare - although it's bad everywhere in Reading

One the plus side much of Caversham is a brisk walk from the mainline station so depends how you do your travelling

Some Caversham residents are thought to be a little above themselves, but I couldn't possibly comment

I used to live in Caversham and work in Reading.
It was a long time ago so has probably changed but Reading was really horrible. Like Slough but without the charm
Caversham was pretty souless too. Some nice houses but no heart to it.

I would not want to live in Caversham as my main town would be Reading.

Thanks for that. Just loved the house but it is ££££ and needs work. Do any of you know which are the good schools (secondary and primary) in Reading.

Caversham Primary school is generally thought of as excellent and has an outstanding ofsted report. Hard to get into if out of catchment so you would need to check that out.Lots of independent schools nearby as well. Do not know so much about the secondaried, sorry.

We looked at living in Caversham when we chose to move closer to Reading.

I echo what Pagwatch says about it, we ended up moving to an entirely different county as we were so put off by Reading.

There were some nice parts of Caversham but they were all at the top of the hill and we found that the more accessible parts of Caversham (lower Caversham?) were not very nice.

Sorry, I meant when we chose to move closer to London.

Thanks for that. We need access to Paddington so perhaps somewhere nearer would be better.

We looked at a really nice area called Twyford which is on the Paddington line, pricey but nice and I think the schools are good.

Vaguely remember Earley being good for schools too but don't quote me on thatr.

If you want Paddington

Goring, Streatly - lovely villages and on the line to Paddington ( change at Reading )

Or Cholsey which is moe affordable and less pretty but near Wallingford which is nice town - anything closer to Oxford is nicer than closer to Readinf IYSWIM ( I grew up in Benson which is fab - lovely school)

Yep Twyford is nice too

If you want somewhere nice, go a bit further out to Goring/Streatley or Pangbourne - both have stations on Paddington line. IMO Caversham is quite nice - especially Caversham Heights, but am looking back a few years now with rose tinted specs. Reading has an excellent shopping centre but if you want more interesting shops, try Oxford or Henley.
Schools in the Reading area are a bit hit and miss - some decent, some dreadful. Very important to carefully select an area with decent primary and secondary schools

Oh I would love to live in Pangbourne. Its beautiful
Wrong side of London for us though

OOh I will go and see on Right Move. Thank you.

Reading is not that bad. And certainly not like Slough

OMG, I was born on Oakley Road! Well, not born there, it was the Royal Berks, but that's where I spent my first three years.

Caversham is quite nice, I think, and handy for Reading itself if you work there or need the station. But as others have said, it is murder getting across the river at rush hour. We live another 20 mins away from Reading, near Wallingford, and DH has to choose his leaving time carefully - either leave well before rush hour (ie. at about 7.30) or afterwards. Luckily his work hours are flexible.

Main problem with Caversham is that everyone else courses through it on their way to and from work! There are loads of people who work in Reading but live in outlying villages north of the river and I think that Caversham in rush hour is pretty miserable. That said, nice pubs, a Waitrose for what it's worth , some nice shops and places to eat. But yes, you do have Reading as your main town. I lived there as a student for 9 years and then some, and was so relieved to leave with DH and move somewhere more salubrious. It's got worse too, in terms of pools of vom in the gutters after friday/saturday night and general grottiness.

Pangbourne nice, Goring nicer, Cholsey quiet. Wallingford ace but not on the mainline (Cholsey is 10 min drive max to the station, then either approx 1 hour to Paddington, or change at Reading, maybe 10 ins less).

Pagwatch, glad you think Benson School is nice, since DS will almost certainly be going there in a year or two!

In my opinion Caversham is lovely and an excellent place to live.

It is a village separated from the rest of Reading by the River Thames but has lovely countryside very close within 5-10 minutes by bike. Yes it is near Reading but Reading has good shopping, a cinema, a theatre etc and if you don't want to go there you don't have to! It is very easy from Caversham to head into Henley or Oxford.

Oakley Road is one of the better roads in the area and should get you into Caversham Primary School which is rated outstanding by Ofstead (but please check with the council on up-to-date catchment areas). This is generally thought of as one of the best primary schools in the area and has huge demand for places.
In terms of secondary there are 2 grammer schools in Reading - Reading School (boys) and Kendrick (Girls). Both of which are rated very highly. I think Reading School came out about 10th in the whole of the UK in the Sunday Times ranking and Kendrick was almost the same. Clearly these are selective schools. Oakley Road is in the catchment of a large Secondary school called Highdown.

Caversham has a range of independent shops, a Waitrose, a really good independent butcher, and several independent places to eat and drink. Oakley Road is near several bus stops that will take you to the Station in only about 10-15 minutes in rush hour or you could walk it in about 20. The train itself only takes about 25 minutes to London Paddington although it does get busy.

You could live further out eg Goring etc but any Journey back to London will take longer and cost more in terms of the ticket price.

As others have said, problem is getting to the motorway across Reading but most people either leave early or late and avoid rush hour if they need to drive. Also relatively easy to get to the M40 from Caversham.

In terms of a fast commute to London, reasonably priced period housing (compared to London), good schools, and a good quality of life, Caversham ticks all the boxes for me. We moved from London and it was the best decision I made.

Only further advice is to just make sure you try to move to Caversham Heights, Caversham Central (close to both bridges or near the main shops) or Emmer Green.

Good luck!

Another vote for Caversham, it is lovely. Really nice feel with some lovely independant shops, restaurants and bars. Oakley Road is very nice as as newlyn has mentioned will probably be in Caversham Primary catchment.
Could easily walk to the station from Oakley Road.
I lived there, for 8 years and loved it. DH lived there for 5 years and loved it. A brisk walk and you are in Reading town centre (which I might add is nothing like slough, which you would know if you have visited both in the last 5 years). You have the river and some lovely parks. It would, however be a nightmare for the M4 in rush hour.
We live by Junction 11 of the M4 now and DH often takes DD over to Caversham on Sunday to cycle by the river and go to the cafe for lunch, he loves it.

It really depends upon your budget and what you want to get for it. In caversham you are likely to be paying £100k more for a house than you could get in west reading, and be not much closer to the station. I live in west reading and you get much more for your money, including a more diverse, interesting (yes euphemistically!) area, but I prefer it to Caversham tbh. There is a station in west reading and some trains go straight through to paddington or you can change for a connecting train. Worth bearing in mind (depending on age of your DCs) is that there will be a new secondary school in west reading in sept 2014, which I have a lot of hope in.
Oh and pagwatch, hilarious that you find slough preferable to reading! Reading has a lot of heart actually.

We've recently move from Caversham and not far from Oakley Rd. I enjoyed living there, I used to go to the station everyday, I would say it's a bit far to walk, but it's a level cycle down Hemdean Rd, if you drive to the station before 7.45ish, it's fine. It is a pain getting to the motorway, but it's good for getting out towards Oxford and there are back rds.

Most of the primary schools in Caversham are good, I think would be in Caversham Primary catchment and should probably be close enough to get it. There has been a massive baby boom in Caversham so primary school places are at a premium. Caversham is great because it has Waitrose, Costa, The Griffin and there are lots of things going on.

Well not really hilarious MrsJamin.
I don't like it. My visits there have never changed my view. its just my opinion.
All though if it's that easy to make you find something hilarious you must be endlessly guffawing

I'm looking to move to the Caversham area too! From Surrey so don't know my way around. I noticed a friendly atmosphere in Matlock Road-they were organising a street party-are the other roads, like Oakley just as friendly or is this one exceptional? As we will be new making friends will be key to how we feel. Thank you!

Hi yes Matlock Road is very sociable, in fact Matlock and Buxton are probably the friendliest of the lot.

Lots of families with children, lots of opportunity to play. The park is just around the corner.

Bus stops are all over Caversham, the bus does a circle loop around the Heights, and with the new station entrance the trip to the station for commuters is even faster than it has historically been.

My husband tends to roll out of the door, jump on the bus and is at the station within 10 minutes.

caversham used to be a place i loved but now has changed .for the worse .. its a disaster if you work anywhere as your traped by ques of traffic always and nothing gets done to ease this .. f you work and have to travelover the river into reading it takes 30 minutes sometimes to cover 1 mile ..

spikedd This thread is a zombie, it’s FIVE years old.