The Kennet & Thames: A Walking Guide to Reading's Two Rivers

Reading sits at the confluence of two historic waterways, offering walkers twelve miles of towpath, medieval abbey ruins, restored Victorian brickwork and hidden Thames-side meadows accessible from the town centre in under ten minutes.

Why Reading's riverside trails deserve a weekend

Reading occupies one of the Thames Valley's most strategic points, where the River Kennet flows into the Thames after winding through Berkshire from Marlborough. The Kennet & Avon Canal, completed in 1810, follows the Kennet's course through the town, creating a continuous ribbon of towpath that runs from Blake's Lock in the east to County Lock in the west. The Thames Path National Trail crosses both rivers here, threading through Caversham, the town centre and Tilehurst, so you can walk from Reading station to riverside meadows in eight minutes and be on the Thames Path proper within twelve. The canal restoration finished in 1990 after decades of decay, and British Waterways rebuilt the lock gates, dredged the channel and replanted the banks with willow and alder, turning a silted ditch into a living waterway that now carries narrow boats from Bristol to the Thames.

Most visitors arrive at Reading station and head straight for London or Oxford without realising the Kennet towpath starts two hundred metres south of the main exit on Vastern Road. Blake's Lock marks the junction where canal meets river, a handsome brick chamber built in 1875 with cast-iron balance beams and white-painted paddle gear that still operate manually. From here you can walk west along the Kennet for three miles to Southcote or east along the Thames for four miles to Sonning, stitching together a circular route that takes in Oracle Riverside, Caversham Bridge, Fry's Island and the ruins of Reading Abbey. Spring and early autumn offer the best walking conditions—April through May brings hawthorn blossom and nesting swans, while September and October deliver clear skies and lower water levels that expose the Thames' gravel beaches. Book a hotel near Broad Street or Friar Street and you can start every walk from your doorstep, returning for a pint at one of the canalside pubs that line the Oracle basin.

The Kennet & Avon Canal from Blake's Lock to County Lock

The western section of the Kennet & Avon through Reading runs three miles from Blake's Lock to County Lock on the edge of Southcote, passing under nine road bridges and through two further locks at Fobney and Southcote. The towpath is tarmac for the first mile to the M4 viaduct, then compacted gravel beyond, wide enough for cyclists and walkers to pass comfortably. Fobney Lock sits beneath the thundering motorway, a curious spot where narrow boats queue in the shadow of six lanes of traffic, and the lock-keeper's cottage—now a café open weekends—serves coffee and bacon rolls to boaters waiting their turn. The stretch between Fobney and Southcote is the quietest in Reading, flanked by allotments, scrubby birch woodland and the backs of 1930s semis, with herons standing motionless in the shallows and cormorants diving for perch and roach.

County Lock marks the official western boundary of Reading's waterways, though the canal continues another ninety-two miles to Bristol. Most walkers turn back here, making a six-mile round trip from Blake's Lock that takes two to two-and-a-half hours at a steady pace. If you want a shorter route, the loop from Blake's Lock to Fobney and back via Vastern Road and Kenavon Drive covers four miles and fits neatly into a morning. The towpath is flat and entirely accessible, with benches every few hundred metres and pubs at Blake's Lock, Yield Hall Lane and Southcote Junction. I would walk this route on a Sunday morning in May when the canal is busy with boats and the hawthorn is out, starting early enough to claim a table at the Moderation, the canalside pub on Bridge Street that does a decent roast and keeps three local ales on tap.

The Thames Path through Caversham and King's Meadow

The Thames Path enters Reading from the north at Caversham Bridge, a five-arch stone span built in 1926 that replaced a medieval crossing washed away in the 1809 floods. Caversham itself sits on the north bank in Oxfordshire, technically outside Reading but functionally part of the town, with Victorian terraces climbing the hill toward Emmer Green and a clutch of riverside pubs clustered around the bridge. The path runs south from here along the eastern bank, past the Thames Lido—a restored 1902 outdoor pool reopened in 2017—and into King's Meadow, a flat expanse of common land prone to winter flooding but dry and firm from April onward. This meadow hosts Reading Festival every August, transforming into a city of tents for three days, but the rest of the year it is grazed by cattle and crossed by dog-walkers heading for the Kennet confluence.

From King's Meadow the path continues south to Blake's Lock, passing under Reading Bridge (a utilitarian 1923 concrete replacement for an earlier stone structure) and skirting the Oracle shopping centre's glass-and-steel rear elevation. The Oracle Riverside development opened in 1999, and while the mall itself is standard retail, the riverside terrace offers unbroken views across to Fry's Island, a narrow strip of land that splits the Thames into two channels. Fry's Island is accessible via a footbridge from Rivermead Leisure Centre, and the path along its spine leads to a weir and the remnants of a Victorian mill race. I would walk from Caversham Bridge to Blake's Lock, then loop back along the Kennet to Fobney and return via Vastern Road, a route of roughly five miles that combines both rivers and includes the best views of Reading Abbey's ruins from the south bank.

Reading Abbey and the Holy Brook

Reading Abbey was founded in 1121 by Henry I, who was buried there in 1136, and at its height ranked among England's wealthiest monasteries, holding lands across Berkshire and beyond. The Dissolution in 1539 reduced it to rubble, and centuries of stone-robbing left only the Chapter House's flint outer walls and fragments of the refectory arcade standing in Forbury Gardens. The abbey precinct once extended from Forbury Road to the Thames, and the Holy Brook—an artificial channel cut from the Kennet to power the abbey's mills—still flows through the site, though much of it now runs underground in culverts beneath the Oracle. The visible section emerges near Blake's Lock and skirts the southern edge of Forbury Gardens, a narrow, fast-flowing stream edged with willow and alder that rejoins the Kennet at the Blake's Lock junction.

Walking the Holy Brook is tricky because only short sections remain accessible, but you can trace its course from Fobney Meadow (where it diverges from the main Kennet channel) to Blake's Lock, a distance of about two miles. The clearest stretches run through the meadows west of Vastern Road and behind the Abbey Quarter development, where the brook passes under low brick bridges built in the 1800s. This route is less maintained than the main towpaths—expect mud after rain and overgrown nettles in summer—but it offers a glimpse of Reading's medieval hydrology and a quiet alternative to the busier canal. I would combine a Holy Brook walk with a visit to the Abbey Gateway on Abbot's Walk and the ruins in Forbury Gardens, booking a hotel on Friar Street or Chain Street to stay within a five-minute walk of the abbey precinct and the Kennet towpath.

Sonning and the eastern Thames Path

Sonning sits three-and-a-half miles downstream from Blake's Lock, a picture-postcard Thames-side village with a medieval stone bridge, half-timbered coaching inns and a working watermill grinding flour since the eleventh century. The Thames Path follows the southern bank from Reading, passing through Rivermead Leisure Centre's grounds, across the footbridge to Fry's Island and onward along a tree-lined track that skirts the Thames Valley Park business campus. The path surface varies from tarmac near Reading to compacted earth and gravel past Sonning Eye, with occasional muddy patches in winter where the river floods the low-lying sections. Sonning Lock sits just upstream of the village, a deep chamber with a long weir and a lock-keeper's garden famous for its wisteria, which blooms pale-blue in late May and drapes the lock cottage in cascading flowers.

Most walkers do the round trip from Reading station to Sonning and back in three to four hours, stopping at the Bull Inn or the French Horn for lunch before retracing their steps. The route is entirely flat and well-signposted, with Thames Path acorn waymarks every few hundred metres and interpretation boards at Sonning Lock explaining the history of the weir and the mill. If you want to extend the walk, continue past Sonning to Shiplake Lock (another two miles) then loop back via the parallel road to Sonning Common, making a ten-mile circuit that takes five to six hours. I would choose a weekday in April or September to avoid the weekend crowds that cluster around Sonning Lock, and I would book a hotel on Caversham Road or near Reading station to minimise the walk to the trailhead at Blake's Lock, cutting fifteen minutes off each leg.

Practical details for walking Reading's rivers

Both the Kennet towpath and the Thames Path are open year-round and free to access, with no permits or fees required. The towpaths are maintained by the Canal & River Trust and the National Trails partnership, and surface conditions are generally good except after heavy rain, when the unmetalled sections west of Fobney Lock and east of Sonning become muddy. Waterproof boots are advisable October through March, but trainers suffice in summer months. The paths are flat and suitable for all fitness levels, though the Sonning route's seven-mile round trip is long enough to tire casual walkers. Blake's Lock and Caversham Bridge both have cafés and public toilets, and there are benches and pubs at regular intervals along both routes.

Reading station is on the Great Western Main Line, with four trains per hour to London Paddington (twenty-eight minutes) and two per hour to Oxford (twenty-six minutes). From the station's main exit, turn left on Vastern Road and walk two hundred metres south to reach Blake's Lock and the start of both rivers' towpaths. Hotels cluster around Friar Street, Broad Street and Caversham Road, and most sit within a ten-minute walk of the Kennet or Thames. I would choose a place on Friar Street for the shortest walk to the abbey ruins and the Kennet towpath, or on Caversham Road for easy access to the Thames Path's northern section. Budget hotels near the station start around seventy pounds per night midweek, rising to ninety or more on festival weekends in August. The best walking months are April, May, September and October, when the weather is stable, the paths are dry and the river traffic peaks without the summer crush.

Questions, answered

How long does the complete Kennet and Thames walk take?

A full circuit from Blake's Lock west to County Lock and back, then east along the Thames to Sonning and return, covers roughly fourteen miles and takes six to seven hours with stops. Most walkers split this into two separate outings: the Kennet route (six miles round trip, two to three hours) and the Thames route to Sonning (seven miles round trip, three to four hours).

Are the towpaths accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs?

The Kennet towpath from Blake's Lock to the M4 viaduct is tarmac and fully accessible, as is the Thames Path from Caversham Bridge to Blake's Lock. The sections beyond Fobney Lock westward and past Sonning eastward are compacted gravel and earth, passable in dry weather but challenging after rain. The Oracle Riverside section and King's Meadow paths are entirely paved.

Which section offers the best views of Reading Abbey?

The Kennet towpath between Blake's Lock and Fobney offers glimpses of the abbey ruins across the water, but the clearest views come from Forbury Gardens itself, reached by a five-minute walk north from Blake's Lock on Vastern Road. The Holy Brook path behind the Abbey Quarter also passes close to the Chapter House remains.

Can I walk from Reading to Henley along the Thames Path?

Yes, the Thames Path continues from Sonning to Shiplake, Marsh Lock and onward to Henley-on-Thames, a total of eleven miles from Reading station. This makes a long day walk of roughly five to six hours one way, so most people either arrange a pickup in Henley or use the train back via Twyford.

Where should I stay to minimise walking to the trailheads?

Hotels on Friar Street, Chain Street or Vastern Road place you within five to ten minutes' walk of Blake's Lock, the junction of both rivers. Caversham Road hotels are equally close to the Thames Path's northern section at Caversham Bridge. Avoid staying near the M4 or Calcot, which require a bus or long walk to reach the towpaths.

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