Here we try to maintain some useful links to information relevant to the different parts of this Web Site. If you have any suggestions or would like to propose an addition we'll be pleased to hear from you. The links are organised into the following sections:

» Where's Caversham?
» General Information
» Resident's Associations
» Friends & Environment Groups
» Local History
» Local Organisations / Activities
(incl arts/media, charities, gardening, pets, miscellany)
» Out and About
» Photography
» Reading Festival

Last Update: Friends & Environment Groups entry updated (Friends Of Caversham Court).

Where's Caversham?

Funnily enough, maps on the Web are quite a tricky issue - because of all the copyright laws surrounding them. Which, we guess, is fair enough - after all, who would like their own work ripped off? However, thankfully, there is one site that provides a pretty good quality free service, so for a reasonable map of Caversham (which you can zoom-in for more detail, zoom-out for a more general picture) just click here. (As it's OS based, it's much better than the ubiquitous Google offering.)

General Information

Sllightly further afield, there's an excellent community site for Tilehurst, (Tilehurst.net) that offers a large amount of useful information for the wider Reading area as well.

The Reading Forum is well worth a visit. Overall, it provides a "discussion, news and events based site for people's views on local and national issues, local history, old school and work mates, sport, hobbies and pastimes - plus useful links, classifieds, business directory and more." It's very good - well worth bookmarking and, indeed, well worth joining-in with.

If you want to go a little further afield, and want to find other local community style web sites, we haven't seen a better resource than Find Our Community, which helps you do just that ... There are links to sites from all over Berkshire - just follow the links from the home page UK > South Eastern England > Berkshire and take it from there.

There's a company called Map Reading which is, funnily enough, a map and guide publishing business, and their local guides look well worth checking out. All five of their guides look interesting. If you live around here you owe it to yourself to find out more! (They're available from the Tourist Information Office in the Reading Town Hall.) (By the way, these same good people maintain the Emmer Green Residents' Association site - see below for more details.) Even if the guides don't tickle your fancy, their web site has recently been revised with a new photo gallery section, and that's worth checking out in its own right - there are some excellent shots there, of the local area and further afield.

Resident's Associations

The CADRA (Caversham and District Residents Association) site details the activities of the Association in connection with their declared aim "to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Caversham and the surrounding district". The Association has been involved with local issues for over 35 years, and their site provides much useful local information - as well as details about how to join.

An alternative to this site (!) is the Caversham Life one, which offers a wealth of good quality local information, support and advice.

... on a very local level, the residents of Derby Road (near to Queen Anne's School) have a busy and informative community site for their part of Caversham.

The Warren and District Residents Association (WADRA) seeks to preserve and enhance the character of the area bounded by The Warren, St. Peter's Avenue, Upper Woodcote Rd., Blagrave Farm and Blagrave Lane. The committee monitors and considers a veriety of local issues, and can be contacted via email.

The Caversham Community Association meet at Church House, Church Street every Monday at 7.30.  They report having a have a very varied programme including speakers, quizzes, bingo, parties (for every excuse they can think of), demonstrations etc.  If anyone would like further information, then contact Muriel on 0118 954 6556.

The Caversham Park Village Association has been going for yonks, and has its own website. It provides a good range of facilities - squash club, rooms for local club meetings, an older residents lunch club and so on - and it has a cheap bar too! It is NOT restricted to CPV residents. You can't ask for more from an Association like this but lately it's been struggling a bit for new members and hence funds. A lot of people would sorely miss it, so c'mon, do your bit and support what is a really useful local resource. The Milestone Centre office can be contacted on 0118 947 2589, or else via this email address.. Even if you don't want to join, do remember it as a place to hire - there's both a hall and a coffee lounge.

Emmer Green is adjacent to Caversham. The Emmer Green Residents Association (EGRA) has its own website. As with pretty well all areas, Emmer Green has its own issues and its own history, and this site represents them well. If you live in Emmer Green, get involved!

Friends & Environment Groups

The Friends of Caversham Court Gardens now has its own web site, worth visiting to find out more about both this important part of Caversham and how to lend your support.

The Friends of Bugs Bottom are concerned with improving the local environment round Bugs Bottom and the Hemdean Valley. We haven't heard anything from them for a while - but you could try contacting John on Tel: 0118 948 3509 for further details.

The Friends of Clayfield Copse (and Blackhouse Wood) are a volunteer-based group that meets in the Clayfield Copse car park at 10am on the first Sunday of each month for volunteer work at the Copse including coppicing, woodland & wild flower management, clearing footpaths etc. The Friends can be contacted by email or via Anne Latto on Tel: 0118 948 4454 .

The Friends of Mapledurham Playing Fields meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month in autumn through to spring for environmental work at the Playing Fields and its surrounding woodland. They can be contacted via Steve Ayers, tel: 0118 947 3294

The Mapledurham Pavilion and Mapledurham Playing Fields Society of Beneficiaries acts to support and protect the Playing Fields Trust and the pavilion facilities there. The Society can be contacted via Ben Mendes or 07554 670144.

The Friends of Balmore Walk meet on an occasional basis for tasks there. Contact: Dave Kenny, (0118) 954 5369.

Caversham Globe (Go Local on a Better Environment). New people are welcome to come to GLOBE's informal meetings, usually held on the first Thursday of each month at 7.15pm in the upstairs hall at Church House, 59 Church Street, Caversham RG4 8AX. Contact Jennifer Millest Tel: 0118 948 2279 or by email. Caversham Globe are setting up a website at which will have more details about their activities.

With a broader scope, the Chiltern Society has been around for yonks, is very well established and organised and offers a good way to either just find out more about the Chilterns or get involved in caring for the area. And the Chilterns start just immediately north of Caversham.

(Isn't it amazing how friendly people are!)

Local History

Of course, Caversham on Thames can't escape being closely related to Reading on Kennet (for better or for worse), and if you want to get a grasp on Reading's history, starting at Reading Museum makes a lot of sense. The Museum has its own useful web site, and if you want to get more involved than a wander around the exhibitions, the Friends of Reading Museums are the people to get in touch with. The aim of the Friends is to generally promote the museum and its collections and to raise funds to help it expand; they have an active social calendar for members. The Museum site is also worth visiting for its links page - loads of helpful sites for anyone interested in anything history-related, for the local area and Berkshire as a whole.

Caversham Library, in Church Street, has a local history section, with books for reference and for loan. Reading Central Library has a much larger collection. Membership of the libraries is free, but you don't have to be a member to go into a library to browse, sit down and study, or to ask for information. On the Reading Libraries website you will be able to find out about books on the history of Caversham (and anywhere else) and see pictures of Caversham from the local illustrations collection.

Local Organisations / Activities

A variety of local clubs and organisations that we know about are detailed below. Sports and social clubs are in their own section.

Caversham - General

The Caversham Heights Society is a pretty active organisation, meeting fortnightly for talks and presentations, arranging visits to theatres and places of interest and so on. Their web site provides more details if you're interested, and membership is only £11.00 a year. You can contact them on 0118 934 5004.

The Rotaract Club of Caversham and Reading has its own website. In case you don't know, Rotaract is a social and community action organisation for 18 to 29 year olds. Want to get involved in something worthwhile? Check this one out... they say there's strength in numbers.

Meanwhile, the Caversham Rotary Club has been operating for more than 40 years, and raises funds for charity. You can find our more via its website.

Arts / Media

The Caversham Park Theatre is a community theatre group based on Caversham Park Village. They put on 2-3 productions a year and, judging from their web site, have a lot of fun doing it along the way. If doing anything theatrical tickles your fancy (on stage or behind the scenes), or you just want to go along for a good night out, you could do far worse!

The Josaka site provides information for Berkshire musicians and fans. It provides news, gig listings and pretty well anything else you need.

The Reading Film and Video Makers Club meet in St Andrews Hall, Caversham every Tuesday throughout Autumn to Spring and are always enthusiastic to welcome new members/attendees. As a club they're interested in all things to do with film and video and as a result their meetings are a mix of screenings for our own or other amateur films, talks from various professionals and other interested parties and practical evenings where we try to learn/improve on various techniques. No particular equipment or skill is required (the club has a broad skill range within its current membership), only an interest to know more about a fascinating hobby and a wish to have some fun with like minded individuals. Further information can be found at the club's web site.

Charities / Societies

We were contacted by the Reading, Wokingham and Districts Multiple Sclerosis Society in connection with the opening of their Drop-In Centre. You can find the Centre at the Bradbury Community Centre, Chalfont Place, Lower Earley, Reading, near the ASDA Superstore. The centre car park can be found off Durand Road. It provides a range of services to all people with MS in the Reading area as well as their Carers/Partners and is open from 10:30am - 1:30pm every Monday.

East-West Detox is a Caversham-based charity that offers a choice of alternative treatment for drug and alcohol users without medication - including the use of a monastery in Thailand where drug users can overcome their addiction. They have their own website, or else can be contacted on 0118 962 3332.

Not strictly local, but simply because they're a good thing, here is a link to the Berkshire St John's Ambulance: run by volunteers, and providing a wide range of First Aid courses amongst other things.

Gardening / Horticulture

Caversham Horticultural Society was founded in 1943 and nowadays has some 660 members in the Caversham area. Their web site contains all the information you need but in essence, membership is only £5 per household (£3 for the over 60s) per year and for your money you get local, friendly gardening advice; a programme of talks with free refreshments; use of the Trading Shed - discounted gardening products including compost, seeds, fertilisers etc and free advice; a bi-monthly newsletter delivered to your door and various other things too. To join, send an e-mail or call the Membership Secretary on 0118 947 0510 for details.

Pets

Cats - Not strictly Caversham-related, but if you're a cat lover, you'll want to know about the actvities of Reading and District Cats Protection, which holds regular events that local residents can attend. CP needs a local assistant fundraiser urgently - if you're interested, contact them direct.

Reading Guinea Pig Rescue takes in guinea pigs via the RSPCA Inspectors, RSPCA referrals and private individuals needing to find a home for their guinea pig. They have a comparatively small set up, as the 'demand' for rescue guinea pigs in Reading isn't too large (but they are trying to change that!). For further details, see their website.

Berkshire's only rabbit club, the Reading & County Rabbit Club, has its own website - the Club's secretary lives in Caversham and is often called upon to give help and advice to local people.

Miscellany

Cadence Drum & Bugle Corps is a children's marching band based in Caversham. It is currently looking for new recruits - children aged eight and upwards are all very welcome. Children are taught to play various drums, trumpets, xylopones and visual movement in their colour guard / dance section. The Corps supplies all instruments, uniforms and tuition. Children are taught from scratch how to play the instruments so no experience is needed. Musical pieces and visual movement are taught - then in the summer they perform at fetes, parades and national competitions. The Corps meets every other Monday night at Caversham Methodist Church, Gosbrook Road - the cost is just £2 per practice, and the first week is free. To book a place for your child in the band please telephone Paul Newman the Corps Director on 01483 823519 or by email. Alternatively, visit their web site.

Out and About

We're big fans of holidays in the UK - not out of any misplaced sense of patriotism or dislike of foreign climes, but just because there's an awful lot crammed into these islands that's worth visiting. One of the longest running travel web sites around is Information Britain and it contains a wealth of details about all-things to do with holidays here. If you're tempted to plan a break in Britain, this is a great place to start.

We were impressed with the Thames Path Online Guide which, well, does what it says on the tin really, but does it very well indeed. In short, if you're looking for anything to do with the Thames, this is the place to go - loads of information on the site and loads of links to other relevant sites too.

Caversham Lock specifically benefits from this very interesting website that has current information plus lots of historical snippets and photos. The same site covers all the Thames in much the same way - a valuable asset. And this web page is similarly devoted to Caversham Lock whilst being part of a broader scheme of things - in fact this is part of the Environment Agency's guide to the Thames.

Walking in Berkshire is a website that provides (without charge!) more than 20 Berkshire walks to download, together with details of all the books, maps and walking groups in the county - worth checking out.

There are several worth-a-visit National Trust properties around. The on-line National Trust Index will give you all the opening times and other details in a simple to use site. Do check before you go there: they don't always open when you'd expect them to!

Photography

And talking of getting 'out and about' locally (above), photos of potential places to visit are always helpful. To that end, the Chiltern Society's photography site might prove useful. We didn't find it exactly easy to navigate our way around it, but if you put the effort in there are plenty of decent photos here and you might find inspiration for some good local days out. (There are also some good historical shots, and nice 'then and now' pairings of photos.)

Reading Festival

OK, it's Reading Festival and not Caversham Festival, but it has a big impact on RG4. One member of the team can remember standing on the wall of the Evening Post building on Richfield Avenue, watching Rod Stewart and the Faces on stage in '73. (In those days the stage was roughly where Rivermead is now, and you could see and hear it from the road quite easily. A different era!) Ever since then, team members, friends and family have been going and continue to.

Yes, it's can bring a bit of hassle but it's not exactly as if it comes as a surprise and it's pretty easy to plan around. Given the amount of pleasure it brings - and the benefits to Reading and Caversham - anyone opposing it must be very mean spirited indeed. The town was a lot worse off when idiot Tories stopped it for a couple of years in the 80s.

There are various good sites for the festival. The official site is obviously the place to start and includes the line-ups from all the years. We quite enjoyed this timeline too, though it's not complete and seems to have lapsed of late. This festival blog has some useful bits and bobs on it, and this one, too, isn't bad. The UK Rock Festivals site is great fun, and has a host of stuff on Reading. For those of a certain age (including this writer) the photos on this personal memoir were all too familiar. Finally, there's the Radio Berkshire site's collection of festival-related material which includes tips for today's festival-goers.