Maiden Erlegh Local Nature Reserve — Attraction in Earley

Absolutely beautiful place, which I'm glad I visited. I will definitely return.

I spoke to quite a few people walking their dogs. Everyone was super friendly.

As you walk along the path, there are various points where you can walk right down to the river side and get up close to the birdlife. I fed them with floating bird feed c/o Homecrafts in Caversham. They ate heartily.

Today, there were ducks, swans, geese, gulls, moorhens, and coots. There was a solitary Egyptian goose and a Mandarin duck with beautiful colours.

I saw a Grey Wagtail near the wooden deck, which affords a clear view of the entire lake.

Maiden Erlegh Nature Reserve is a great place to visit. You get really close to nature. It's such a pleasant, relaxing place with a lovely atmosphere.

UPDATE

I returned to the reserve today (Sat 30th March), and as well as seeing a Vole, I saw an Egyptian goose family - Mum, Dad, and 7 cute, fluffy offspring

I have added a photo of them. Warmed my...

Taking a stroll beside the lake on a brisk October afternoon evokes a sense of childish wonderment in a person. This sanctuary of nature nestled amongst a mass of housing estates offers a brief escape from the bustle of everyday life, whether admiring the ducks or simply taking a stroll amongst the trees it is easy to lose yourself in the moment. It acts as not just a habitat for our native species but as a social hub for the local area, facilitating the perfect day out for the family with a wonderful play area and plenty of open space. If you find yourself in the area and do not visit the nature reserve you would be doing both it and yourself a disservice. I wish I could properly put into words the effect it would have on you as a person but instead you will just have to go and find out...

What a lovely little place! For the first time today my very almost 6 year old discovered the play park here and was very impressed. It was nice that the 2 sections were separate but easy enough to go back and forth too. All seemed clean, safe and well kept in both areas too. The walk around the lake is so nice. The signs all the way around are so simple yet I found very informative. Really nice that there are separate little areas for people to stand to look at/feed the ducks. The easter eggs were a big hit my son, as were the beautiful hand made flowers along the walk. Whilst we were walking there was a man which I'm sure was working as a grounds man for the area. Car park isn't massive, but free, so that is a definite bonus. Quite and easily...