Things to do in West Berkshire

Thatcham Lakes, situated just to the north of the town of Thatcham in West Berkshire, is a cluster of flooded gravel pits that have been transformed over several decades into a remarkably rich nature reserve and recreational area. The site falls within and immediately adjacent to the wider Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre area and is closely associated with the wetlands managed by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). The lakes are perhaps best known to birdwatchers and naturalists, who regard them as one of the finest wetland habitats in the Thames Valley, supporting an impressive diversity of wildfowl, wading birds, reed-nesting species and migratory visitors throughout the year. The origins of the lakes lie in the mid-twentieth century extraction of sand and gravel from the broad floodplain of the River Kennet. As the pits were progressively worked out and then abandoned, they flooded naturally and began the slow succession from bare industrial hollows into complex wetland habitats. The process was accelerated by active conservation management from the 1970s onward, with reedbeds planted, islands constructed for nesting birds, and marginal vegetation allowed to establish freely. This transformation from industrial scar to nature reserve is one of the more quietly remarkable stories of ecological recovery in southern England, and the site now hosts the largest reedbed in the south-east of England outside of the Norfolk Broads, a fact that surprises many visitors who do not expect such wildness in the heart of the Thames Valley commuter belt. The physical character of the place is one of openness tempered by enclosure. Standing on the network of paths and boardwalks that wind through the reserve, a visitor is presented with wide, glittering expanses of open water fringed by dense walls of common reed that can reach well over two metres in height by late summer. The sound is immediately distinctive — the persistent, dry rustle of reed stems in any breeze, punctuated by the booming call of bitterns in late winter and early spring, the scratchy songs of sedge and reed warblers in the warmer months, and the clatter of coots skittering across the water's surface. The air carries a faintly mineral, vegetative smell, a combination of still water and decomposing organic matter that is familiar to anyone who spends time in fen and reedbed habitats. The surrounding landscape is the broad, flat floodplain of the Kennet valley, with the river itself running just to the south of the lakes and the Kennet and Avon Canal running roughly parallel to it. This corridor of water, meadow and wetland forms part of a continuous ribbon of green infrastructure stretching from Newbury in the west toward Reading and the Thames in the east. The town of Thatcham lies immediately to the south, and the larger town of Newbury is only about three kilometres to the west. Despite this suburban and semi-urban context, the reserve feels genuinely secluded when you are within it, partly because of the height of the vegetation and partly because of the flat terrain, which screens out much of the surrounding built environment. The Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre, run by BBOWT, serves as the main gateway to the reserve and provides visitor facilities including a car park, toilets, a small café, and exhibition space focused on the natural history of the site and the wider Kennet valley. The centre also runs a programme of guided walks, family events and educational visits for schools, making it a genuinely family-friendly destination as well as a serious one for naturalists. There is no entrance charge to access the paths and the main areas of the reserve, though donations and memberships to BBOWT are welcomed. In terms of visiting practically, the site is accessible year-round, though it offers distinctly different rewards in different seasons. Winter brings large flocks of tufted duck, pochard and other diving ducks to the open water, along with occasional visits from rarer species such as smew or goosander. Spring is dominated by the arrival of reed and sedge warblers, cetti's warblers singing explosively from dense scrub, and the displays of great crested grebes. Summer fills the reedbeds with nesting birds and the meadows with wildflowers, while autumn sees the return of migratory waders and the build-up of roosting starlings and swallows before departure. The bittern, once a critically rare breeding bird in England, has become an increasingly regular winter visitor and occasional breeder, and sightings are reported from the reserve with some regularity. One of the less widely advertised aspects of the Thatcham area is its deep prehistoric significance. The archaeological record from the floodplain sediments around Thatcham includes some of the most important Mesolithic finds in Britain, with evidence of hunter-gatherer encampments dating back approximately ten thousand years discovered in the gravels of the Kennet valley during the mid-twentieth century. The landscape in which the modern nature reserve sits is thus layered with human history stretching back to the very earliest period of post-glacial recolonisation of Britain, a context that adds a quiet depth to what might otherwise seem like a straightforwardly pleasant local nature reserve.

Donnington Castle stands as one of the most evocative medieval ruins in southern England, perched on a prominent hilltop just north of Newbury in Berkshire. What survives today is primarily the great twin-towered gatehouse, which rises dramatically against the sky and remains remarkably intact despite centuries of turbulent history. The castle is managed by English Heritage and is open to visitors free of charge, making it an accessible and rewarding destination for anyone interested in medieval architecture, Civil War history, or simply a bracing walk with exceptional views across the North Wessex Downs and the Kennet valley below. The castle was built in the late fourteenth century, with a licence to crenellate granted to Sir Richard de Abberbury in 1386. De Abberbury was a trusted knight of the Black Prince and later a guardian of the young King Richard II, and the castle he built reflected the wealth and status of a man at the heart of late Plantagenet court life. The structure was originally more extensive than what survives today, comprising a curtain wall with four towers enclosing an inner ward, all set within earthwork defences that are still clearly legible on the hillside. Over time the castle passed through several hands before becoming the property of the Crown and later being granted to various Tudor and Stuart figures. The castle's most dramatic chapter came during the English Civil War of the 1640s, when Donnington became one of the most stubbornly defended Royalist strongholds in the entire country. Under the command of Colonel John Boys, a garrison of only a few hundred men held the castle against repeated Parliamentary sieges for an extraordinary period stretching from 1644 to 1646. The castle endured two pitched battles fought in its vicinity — the First and Second Battles of Newbury in 1643 and 1644 — and Boys received a knighthood from King Charles I in recognition of his remarkable resistance. When the garrison finally surrendered in 1646, it did so on honourable terms, marching out with full military honours. Parliamentary forces subsequently slighted much of the castle to prevent its future use, which explains why the gatehouse alone survived in substantial form while the rest was reduced to earthworks and foundations. Standing at the foot of the gatehouse, you immediately appreciate the sheer scale and solidity of its construction. The two rounded towers of pale stone rise to a considerable height, their surfaces weathered and patched with lichen, while the arch between them retains its medieval proportions with impressive authority. Climbing the internal stairs — where access permits — rewards the visitor with panoramic views that make immediately clear why this hilltop was chosen as a defensive site. On a clear day the view extends across the broad, gentle valley of the River Kennet, over the rooftops of Newbury, and away toward the high ground of the North Wessex Downs. The earthworks surrounding the gatehouse are grassy and undulating, and in summer the whole site takes on a quietly pastoral quality, with wildflowers in the banks and birdsong carrying across the open hillside. The surrounding landscape is quintessentially Berkshire countryside, with a patchwork of fields, copses and hedgerows spreading out in every direction. Newbury itself lies immediately to the south, a market town with a long history shaped in part by its position on the Kennet and by the cloth trade that once made it prosperous. The River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal run through the town, offering pleasant walking and boating. Nearby Donnington village is a quiet, attractive settlement, and the wider area includes Snelsmore Common Country Park to the north, which offers good walking through heathland and woodland. The Newbury Racecourse is also close by, giving the area a broader visitor infrastructure. Reaching Donnington Castle is straightforward. The site lies roughly a mile north of Newbury town centre, and can be reached on foot along Castle Lane, which climbs the hill from the village of Donnington. By car, parking is available in a small free car park just below the castle. There is no entry fee, and the site is open at any reasonable time throughout the year, though English Heritage recommends checking access to the interior of the gatehouse in advance as it may vary seasonally. The grassy earthworks and the exterior of the gatehouse can always be appreciated even when interior access is limited. The walk up from the village is gentle enough for most visitors, though the hillside can be muddy after rain, and stout footwear is advisable in wet weather. One of the more poignant and little-known aspects of Donnington's story is how completely its Civil War garrison has faded from popular memory, despite their feat of endurance being genuinely remarkable by any military standard. Colonel Boys and his men held out for over two years under repeated assault, watching two major field battles unfold within earshot of their walls, and yet their names are largely unknown outside local history circles. The earthworks that surround the castle are themselves Civil War in date — constructed or reinforced during the siege — and the star-shaped defensive outlines visible from the air speak to the sophisticated military engineering of the period. For anyone with an interest in the often overlooked local dimensions of the English Civil War, Donnington offers a direct and tangible connection to that conflict that few sites can match.