Caversham Lakes is a set of lakes created through gravel extraction between the suburb of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, just north of the River Thames and also refers to the sports buildings and facilities alongside those lakes.
The lakes are formed from former gravel pits in the floodplain of the River Thames. The company Lafarge and formerly Redland plc have undertaken the gravel extraction though the Sonning Works. Caversham Lakes Trust Ltd has been set up to administer the lakes. [1]
A wide range of activities from open water swimming, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing & aqua park was available from Caversham Lakes, until it ceased operations in March 2024, following a decision by South Oxfordshire & Reading Councils. [2] [3]
In 2006, the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake was added to the lakes in the park. [4] The GB Rowing team use this lake as a main base at which to train. Team GB also carry out land-based training at Bisham Abbey and occasionally close to Nottingham at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre.
Sonning Regatta has been held every two years since 2000 – usually on the Thames adjoining, alternatively, in bad weather, on the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake.
The Thames and Kennet Marina in motorboating also uses an engineered lake (a marina dock) with access to the river Thames.
The main venue in mid-Berkshire and south Oxfordshire for sailing is at Reading Sailing Club. [5]
Isis Waterski Club is a committee-run members club which offers wakeboarding, wakesurfing and waterskiing. [6] [7] Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon waterskied here during the 1960s. [8]
Fishing is available at no charge on the public stretches of the Thames adjoining, having obtained the relevant annual government licences. It is also available on a paid basis at a few of the lakes which are accordingly replenished with a wide variety of fish. [9]
Caversham is a village and suburb of Reading in Berkshire, England, located directly north of Reading town centre across the River Thames. Caversham rises from the River Thames, lying on flood plain and the lowest reaches of the Chiltern Hills. Two road bridges, including Caversham Bridge, and two footbridges join Caversham to the rest of Reading. Named areas within the village include Emmer Green, Lower Caversham, Caversham Heights and Caversham Park Village. Notable landmarks include Caversham Court, a public park and former country house; Caversham Lakes; and part of the Thames Path national trail.
Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book Three Men in a Boat as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river".
Sonning Lock is a lock and associated weir situated on the River Thames at the village of Sonning near Reading, Berkshire, England. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773 and it has been rebuilt three times since then. There is a weir a little upstream at the top of the island where Sonning Backwater separates from the main course of the river.
The Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake is a rowing lake in the United Kingdom, named after the Olympic rowers Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. The lake and its boathouse are specifically designed for training use, and provide training, medical, and scientific facilities for the GB rowing squad, and for Oxford University in preparation for the Boat Race. The lake is also used by crews from University College, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.
Sonning Eye is a hamlet on the River Thames in the Sonning Common ward of South Oxfordshire, England, in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden, at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of Oxfordshire.
Caversham may refer to:
Playhatch is a hamlet in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden in South Oxfordshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Reading, Berkshire.
Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in 1829.
Sonning Regatta is the regatta of the village of Sonning in Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, England, on the north and south banks of the River Thames. It is a part of the Sonning Festival.
The Thames and Kennet Marina is located at Caversham Lakes in south Oxfordshire, England, just north off the River Thames on the reach above Sonning Lock. It is just to the east of Caversham, a suburb in the north of Reading, Berkshire. The marina is named after the River Thames and the River Kennet which joins the Thames nearby.
Eye and Dunsden is a largely rural civil parish in the most southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It includes the villages of Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green and Playhatch and borders on the River Thames with the village of Sonning in Berkshire connected via multi-span medieval Sonning Bridge. Before 1866, Eye & Dunsden was part of the trans-county parish of Sonning.
Hallsmead Ait is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Lower Shiplake.
University College Boat Club is the rowing club for all members of University College, Oxford ("Univ"). UCBC is based out of the college's own boathouse on the towpath side of the Isis.
Helen Glover is a British professional rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team. Ranked the number 1 female rower in the world in 2015–16, she is a two-time Olympic champion, triple World champion, quintuple World Cup champion and quintuple European champion. She and her partner Heather Stanning were the World, Olympic, World Cup and European record holders, plus the Olympic, World and European champions in the women's coxless pairs. She has also been a British champion in both women's fours and quadruple sculls.
Heather Mary Stanning OBE is a retired British professional rower. As a member of the Great Britain rowing team, she is a double Olympic champion, double World champion, quadruple World Cup champion and double European champion. She has also been a British champion in both women's fours and quad sculls.
The Berry Brook is a stream close to Sonning Eye in the flood plain of the River Thames, in southern Oxfordshire, England.
The Sonning Works are a gravel works owned by Lafarge, located near Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England.
Reading is home to a number of professional sports teams and various amateur sports clubs.
Robin Williams MBE is a Welsh professional rowing coach for Team GB. He represented Great Britain at six world championships, winning silver and bronze medals. He was coach to the Cambridge University Boat Club for 11 years winning seven Varsity Boat races. As of 2014 he is coach to the World record holders and the reigning Olympic, World, World Cup and European champions of the women's coxless pair, variously rowed by Helen Glover, Heather Stanning and Polly Swann, achieving an unbroken sequence of twelve gold medal victories at world level.
Victoria Meyer-Laker is a British professional rower and a member of the Great Britain Rowing Team.
51°28′01″N0°56′10″W / 51.467°N 0.936°W
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