Sites near Reading

[pressld2]

Hi All,

I have to drop my eldest in Reading about 1pm on Saturday and pick him up again at 5 or 5:30.

I'm thinking that gives me 4 hours to kill with a camera and was wondering if anyone from that part of the world has any suggestions. I've had a look on the wonderful new map facility and there seems to be quite a few places to choose from (many copses it seems) but you can't beat a personal recommendation.

Regards,

Dave P.

[skywatcher]

I remember Thatcham reedbeds and Theale gravel pits being particularly good but haven't been to either for several years. Still, an alternative to copses!

[agrumpycow]

Thatcham reedbeds is likely to be quite busy being a weekend. Lots of the copses on the map (which I've edited) won't fill up much of your 4 hours and won't give you the best bits of Reading either (if that's possible )

Moor Copse (on the map a couple of miles from Jct. 12 M4) is always a winner for me and I visit at least once a week. It's quite quiet with a mix of river, woodland and meadows and a slow amble round the whole reserve takes anything up to 2-3 hours if you like to stop and look a lot and there's public footpaths with direct access from it onto fields and countryside. There's a good pub half a mile away too . It's sometimes not the easiest place to find from the road so pm me if you want to know more.

As skywatcher mentioned, Theale gravel pits are also good

[pressld2]

After the week I've had (and it's not over yet!) a quiet, slow amble sounds perfect. And I see from the Moor Copse Wild Places page that there's a good chance of red kite too. They don't seem to have spread to my side of London yet. Thanks Claire, I will drop you a PM.

Dave P.

[poschiavanus]

Other sites:

• Dinton Pastures (marked as Lavell's Lake on the maps).
• BBOWT Warburg Reserve. About 10 miles N. Maybe too far there & back, but well worth a visit. Not on the WAB map.

Berks Birds is well worth checking to see what's about before you leave.

[pressld2]

Just a quick note to say that I did get to Moor Copse last Saturday and very pleasant it was too! I'll post a few pics later in the week, some views of the River Pang and a few insects/spiders.

Thanks for all the suggestions and special thanks to Claire for the directions.

Dave P.

[agrumpycow]

Originally Posted by pressld2

Just a quick note to say that I did get to Moor Copse last Saturday and very pleasant it was too! I'll post a few pics later in the week, some views of the River Pang and a few insects/spiders.

Thanks for all the suggestions and special thanks to Claire for the directions.

Dave P.

Glad you enjoyed it - the weather certainly helped!
Moor Copse is my 'local' and it's where I volunteer with their work party so I'm kind of biased towards it and it always makes me happy that someone enjoyed it!
Looking forward to seeing the photos.

[pressld2]

Here are my favourite images from last Saturday, starting with a few views of the River Pang...



Here's some water mint with a hoverfly (Rhingia campestris) on it...



Another hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus...



This orange balsam is not a UK native but has become naturalised and is listed in both my wildflower books...



Speckled wood butterflies...



A Common Frog - only managed one shot before he disappeared into the undergrowth and it's not brilliantly composed...



Two spiders which, many thanks to Venger for his IDs, are probably the same species - Meta (Metellina) segmentata...



And an oak tree with some of the chunkiest ivy I have ever seen growing on it...



Wish I'd had longer there as it's a lovely place and I only made it as far as the bridge before I had to return to the car park.

Dave P.

[Pete Collins]

Lovely shots, Dave. It does look a very interesting site.

[agrumpycow]

Lovely pictures Dave!

I'm a bit jealous of the frog because in all the years I've never seen one there, although guessed they must be there.

Glad you enjoyed it and it's such a shame you only made it as far as the bridge, although I'm not surprised, time seems to fly by when I'm there

Thanks for sharing the pics.