Caversham Lakes

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.

In 2006, the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake was added to the lakes in the park. The GB Rowing team use this lake as a main base at which to train. They carry out land-based training at Bisham Abbey and train 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 here through Reading Sailing Club

A wide variety of waterskiing courses with fixed jumps is available and used by the Isis Waterski Club.Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon waterskied here during the 1960s.

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