Dinton Pastures Country Park

Dinton Pastures is a country park created from 1970s gravel workings between Winnersh and Hurst, run by Wokingham Borough Council. Seven lakes (Black Swan, White Swan, Herons Water, Sandford, Tufty and others), meadows, hedged bridleways and 335 acres of managed habitat make this the biggest and most-used piece of open country within easy reach of Reading. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its overwintering waterfowl and is on the migration route for terns and warblers.

The core loop (about 3 miles) circles the two largest lakes on flat gravel paths suitable for buggies and wheelchairs. Two bird hides overlook Black Swan Lake with good views of grebes, cormorants and, in winter, big flocks of pochard and tufted duck. Sandford Lake is used for watersports — a small operator runs paddleboard and kayak hire on weekends (£15 an hour). The Museum of Berkshire Aviation is on the far side of the park and worth an hour on its own, with a Handley Page Herald and Miles aircraft.

Six miles east of central Reading, 25 minutes on foot from Winnersh Triangle station or a straightforward drive. Parking is £4 all day at either the Sandford or Black Swan car parks. Come at any season: April-May for warblers and dawn chorus walks, July-August for the watersports, October for autumn colour, January for wildfowl. The cafe by the visitor centre does decent hot food and a good playground sits behind it. Dogs welcome on leads. This is where Reading families spend Sundays.

Walk it in a sensible order and the park opens up properly. From the Sandford car park the shortest circuit is the mile-and-a-bit round Sandford Lake, compacted gravel the whole way, past the watersports pontoon and back to the cafe in about half an hour. Extend north and the path runs between Black Swan and White Swan; the western hides are the ones worth sitting in, while White Swan's eastern shore is largely fenced angling swims and can be skipped without missing anything. Cross Sandford Lane on the footbridge and you reach Lavell's Lake, the quieter nature reserve end, where the Bittern, Teal and Ashley hides look over scrapes managed for waders and the Friends of Lavell's Lake keep the feeders stocked. Tufty's Corner, where the Emm Brook meets the River Loddon, is the reliable kingfisher spot. Walk it anticlockwise and finish at the cafe rather than starting there.

Trains do this trip better than buses. South Western Railway runs Reading to Winnersh Triangle on the Waterloo line in about eight minutes, roughly twice an hour off-peak, and a return costs only a few pounds; from the station turn along Reading Road and into Davis Street and you are at the Sandford entrance in 25 minutes on flat pavement. Reading Buses' Leopard services 13 and 14 reach Woodley every 10 to 15 minutes from Reading station, but the walk on from Woodley precinct is closer to 35 minutes and far less pleasant. Driving from central Reading takes 15 to 20 minutes: A329 east, then Davis Street off the B3030 at Hurst, with sat nav set to RG10 0TH for the Sandford car park or the brown signs followed to Black Swan. Cyclists can ride out along the A329 shared path in about 40 minutes and lock up by the visitor centre.

Nothing is charged at the gate, and the costs beyond it stay small. Pay-and-display parking is £4 for the day at both Sandford and Black Swan, dropping to £2 after 15:00, and if you expect to come most weekends it is worth asking at the visitor centre about a season permit rather than feeding the machine every time. The Museum of Berkshire Aviation is £5 and charged separately, with its own car park, so you never pay twice. Paddleboard and kayak hire on Sandford Lake is £15 an hour at weekends between April and September. Fishing on the bigger lakes is permit-controlled through the club rather than sold casually on the day, so arrange it well in advance or leave the rod at home. A family of four walking, parking and buying drinks and cake will get change from £25.

The gates open at 7:00 and the first two hours are the best of the day: empty car parks, birds on the water, no dogs off the path yet. Saturdays bring the 9:00 parkrun and a surge of a couple of hundred runners that fills the Sandford car park before 08:45, so arrive earlier or make it Sunday. Between 11:00 and 15:00 at weekends the cafe queue runs ten to fifteen minutes and the playground is loud. By season: January and February for wildfowl rafts and the outside chance of a bittern at Lavell's, April and May for warblers, terns on the nesting rafts and the dawn chorus walks, July and August for watersports and midges in equal measure, October for the best light on the water. From late November the Loddon-side paths flood and churn to mud — wellies, not trainers. A weekday morning in May is the pick.

Families with buggies and wheelchair users are well served on the Sandford and Black Swan circuits, which are flat, wide and firm underfoot; the Lavell's Lake side has narrower paths, gates and a boardwalk section and is noticeably harder work. Teenagers need the paddleboards or they will be bored by lap two, so book the hire before you promise them anything. With an hour before a train from Winnersh Triangle you can still manage the Sandford loop and a coffee if you turn straight round at the pontoon. On a wet afternoon this is a thin proposition — the hides are the only shelter and the aviation museum opens Wednesday and Saturday only — so save it for dry weather. Anyone hoping for hills, long views or genuinely wild country should drive on to the Chilterns; this is flat restored gravel workings, handsome but level, and it never pretends otherwise.

Fold in the Museum of Berkshire Aviation on a Wednesday or Saturday — an hour among the Miles airframes and the Handley Page Herald, a short drive round or twenty minutes on foot across the park from the Sandford car park. Hurst village is a mile east along Davis Street, worth the detour for the Castle Inn and the bowling green behind it, one of the oldest still in use in the country. Sonning and the Thames lie three miles north for a lock, a bridge and a longer lunch. Two warnings before you set off: swimming in the lakes is not allowed, however hot the day, and the Sandford car park is full by 11:00 on the first warm Sunday of spring, at which point drivers circle for twenty minutes. Dogs stay on leads near the wildfowl. The nearest bed is Premier Inn Winnersh, ten minutes by car.

Hours & entry

Free entry — parking £4 daily

Daily 7:00-dusk · Visitor centre Mar-Oct 10:00-16:00 · Cafe daily 9:00-16:30

What to see

{'what': 'Black Swan Lake bird hides', 'where': 'West shore of the north lake, signed from Sandford car park'}

{'what': 'Museum of Berkshire Aviation with a Handley Page Herald', 'where': 'Southeast corner of the park, own car park'}

{'what': 'Sandford Lake watersports centre', 'where': 'Southwest lake, next to the main cafe'}

Tips from the ground

Paddleboarding £15 an hour weekends Apr-Sep — book by phone the Friday before.

Dawn Chorus walks Sunday mornings in May — free, meet at the visitor centre at 05:30.

The playground behind the cafe is one of the best free ones in the region.