The 7 best Thames Path walks near Reading, ranked
Thames Path towpath near Sonning Lock with narrowboats moored under willows
Seven ranked stretches of the Thames Path within 30 minutes of Reading, from a lazy 2-miler to a full 12-mile day.
1. Sonning to Shiplake via the towpath
This is the best short Thames walk from Reading, no argument. Catch the number 4 bus from Broad Street to Sonning (25 minutes, £2.50 single), start at the Great House by the bridge, and follow the north bank downstream through willow-lined water meadows to Shiplake Lock. Four miles one way, flat, well-drained. The lock cottage sells ice cream in summer. Return by train from Shiplake station to Reading via Twyford — £5.50, runs hourly, takes 20 minutes.
What lifts this above the alternatives is the density of good things per mile: two working locks, three photogenic pubs (the Bull at Sonning, the Baskerville at Shiplake, the French Horn if you’re feeling flush), swans, moored gin palaces, and a proper river-village atmosphere that Reading itself lacks. Do it on a Sunday, book a table at the Bull for lunch on the way out, and you have a perfect day. Avoid regatta week when Shiplake fills with rowing traffic.
2. Pangbourne to Goring loop via the Chilterns
Pangbourne is 10 minutes on the train (£4.50 return), and the walk from there to Goring and back via the Ridgeway on the Oxfordshire side is a proper six-mile loop with 150 metres of climb — enough to feel like a hike, not a stroll. Cross the toll bridge into Whitchurch, follow the Thames Path along the base of Hartslock Wood, come out at Goring for a pint at the Miller of Mansfield, then return on the higher path with views back down the Goring Gap. This is the walk to do when you want the Chilterns without driving.
The Gap itself is where the Thames cuts through the chalk between the Chilterns and the Berkshire Downs, and the geology reads clearly from the ridge path. Bring boots — the Oxfordshire side is chalk and gets slick after rain. Trains from Goring back to Reading run every 20 minutes and take 12 minutes. Total time on the ground about three hours plus lunch.
3. Reading to Sonning via Kings Meadow
The default local walk: start at Caversham Bridge, head east along the north bank past the Thames Lido, King's Meadow, the Tesco footbridge, and Blake's Lock, then along Kennetmouth to the confluence and out to Sonning. Five miles one way, entirely flat, entirely on tarmac or firm gravel. Suitable for buggies, wheelchairs on the western half, and dogs. Return by the number 4 bus from Sonning or double back for a 10-mile round trip.
The reason this isn’t higher is that the first mile past Tesco is not scenic — you’re walking behind car parks and industrial units. It gets steadily prettier from Kennetmouth onwards. If you’re short on time, start at Kennetmouth (behind the Oracle) instead and save yourself 30 minutes of tarmac. In flood conditions (river gauge above 1.8m at Reading) the Kings Meadow section closes and there's no good diversion.
4. Mapledurham to Whitchurch via the north bank
A quieter, less-walked stretch that starts from the Roebuck pub car park on the A4074 north of Reading. Drop down through the woods to Mapledurham Lock, cross on the footbridge, and follow the south bank west for three miles to Whitchurch. This is the walk to do when the Sonning stretch is crowded — you’ll see more herons than people. The section past Hardwick Estate is the prettiest half-mile of Thames within ten miles of Reading.
The catch is logistics: no train station at either end, so you either double back (six miles round trip) or arrange two cars. Bus 143 from Whitchurch back to the Roebuck stops runs four times a day and can strand you if you miss it. Best done on a mild autumn weekday when the beech woods above the path are turning. Not buggy-friendly — several stiles and a set of steep steps at Hardwick.
5. Henley to Hambleden Lock and Aston
Not strictly Reading, but a 25-minute train ride and the classic Chilterns Thames walk. From Henley station, cross to the north bank, walk upstream past the Leander Club and Temple Island to Hambleden Lock (two miles), cross the weir on the plank bridge (only one metre wide, single-file, hold the handrail), then return through Aston village and the Flower Pot Hotel. Six miles round trip, one climb of about 40 metres, one pub lunch stop mandatory.
This is the walk visitors remember. The weir crossing is genuinely dramatic — you’re on a series of plank bridges over the full flow of the Thames, spray on your ankles in wet weather — and Hambleden Mill on the far side has been the film location for everything from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to Midsomer Murders. The Flower Pot is a proper old walkers' pub. Book Sunday lunch.
6. Purley to Mapledurham
The overlooked western option. Purley-on-Thames is a five-minute train from Reading (Elizabeth Line services stop there), and from the station you can drop down to the river and walk east to Mapledurham Lock in about 45 minutes. Two miles one way, flat, quiet. The stretch passes Roebuck Ferry — long defunct — and a series of moored houseboats that give the walk its character.
Combine this with Mapledurham House if it's a Sunday afternoon April to September and you have a solid three-hour outing. Otherwise this is a there-and-back or a link to walk 4 above for a longer day. It ranks sixth because the scenery is pleasant rather than remarkable and the return options are limited — but as an evening leg-stretch from Reading it's hard to beat, and the trains run late enough to catch a sunset.
7. The Reading to Wallingford full-day
For serious walkers only: 12 miles from Reading station to Wallingford following the Thames Path continuously via Mapledurham, Whitchurch, Goring and Moulsford. Allow six hours plus a lunch stop at the Beetle and Wedge in Moulsford. Trains back from Wallingford require a change at Cholsey (short heritage-railway hop) then a mainline connection to Reading — total return journey about an hour and £10.
This is a proper day on your feet with 200 metres of cumulative climb, three pub options, two lock crossings and one genuinely wild stretch below Hartslock where you might see red kites, buzzards and if you’re very lucky an otter. Do it in April or October when the towpath isn’t baked hard or muddy. Not a beginner walk — bring a paper map (OS 171) as phone signal drops out between Whitchurch and Goring. The best full day the Thames offers within Reading's reach.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Caversham.
Trainers are fine for walks 1, 3 and 6 which are surfaced towpath. Boots recommended for walks 2, 4, 5 and 7 which include unsurfaced or muddy sections and, in the case of Henley to Hambleden, a wet weir crossing. Check river levels before any of them after heavy rain.
Reading to Sonning (walk 3) is fully buggy-accessible on tarmac and firm gravel. Sonning to Shiplake (walk 1) is passable with a robust three-wheel buggy in dry weather but has one narrow stile near Shiplake Lock. The rest involve stiles, steps or unsurfaced paths and aren’t buggy-friendly.
There are no dockless hire schemes in Reading currently. You can bring a bike on the trains to Pangbourne, Goring and Henley off-peak and cycle sections 2, 5 and 7, but the Thames Path is officially foot-only in England — cyclists should use the National Cycle Network parallel routes, notably NCN 5 which shadows the Thames from Reading to Oxford.
Kennetmouth to Sonning and back by bus, or Caversham Bridge to Thames Lido and back for lunch. Both give you the essential Reading-on-Thames experience in under two hours and neither needs a car or a train ticket. Start from the Oracle riverside and head east.
