Caversham Lakes is a set of lakes created through

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

extraction between the suburb of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, just north of the River Thames and also refers to the sports buildings and facilities alongside those lakes.

Overview

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 The Sonning Works are a gravel works owned by Lafarge, located near Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England. Overview The gravel works is positioned on the south side of the B478 Playhatch Road between Playhatch to the west and Sonning Eye on the ...

. Caversham Lakes Trust Ltd has been set up to administer the lakes.

Sport and leisure

Watersports

A wide range of activities from open water swimming, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing & aqua park are available from and run b
Caversham Lakes
the Thames Valleys premier watersports venue.

Open Water Swimming

Open water swimming sessions are available from the main lake organised b
Caversham Lakes
Suitable for all ages and abilities with three swim courses marked out across the lake from 400m, 750m & 1500m.

Rowing

In 2006, the

Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake 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, med ...

was added to the lakes in the park. 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.

Motorboating

The

Thames and Kennet Marina 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 ma ...

in motorboating also uses an engineered lake (a marina dock) with access to the river Thames.

Sailing

The main venue in mid-Berkshire and south Oxfordshire for sailing is at

Reading Sailing Club 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 ...

Waterskiing

A wide variety of waterskiing courses with fixed jumps is available and used by the

Isis Waterski Club 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 ...

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

and her husband Lord Snowdon waterskied here during the 1960s.

Angling

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.

References

Lakes of Oxfordshire Sonning LCaversham Artificial lakes {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub