It can be hard to look up but, hey, it’s worth it for your brain and your body.
I was trying to think of anywhere in Caversham with a big view. Given that a lot of Caversham/Emmer Green is well above The River Thames, it’s surprisingly difficult.
By way of a back story – I’d been talking with a friend who bought his house, in part, because it had a bigger view from his kitchen window than just his garden. Looking out across a broader horizon was – and is – important to him. And that chat set me thinking.
Personal experience tells me that the grounds of Caversham Park (the former BBC Monitoring place) offers great views over the east of Reading (e.g. Earley and beyond). But that’s all private land. Lowfield Road in Caversham Park Village runs alongside the grounds but doesn’t offer any good vantage points. To the west there’s The Horse Close and that’s the best approximation I can find. (The view from Harvey’s Nurseries, next to The Horse Close, must be similar but that too is a private area.)
The photo, below, is taken from the top of The Horse Close. No, it’s not a great picture, it’s very foreshortened and the view isn’t as good as it is from the Caversham Park grounds. But it’s the best I can come up with for a snap-shot ‘big view’ from this part of Caversham/Emmer Green.
And all this led me to wonder, does ‘a big view’ really matter?
My default belief for a long time is that it does. There’s been plenty written – particularly of late – about the genuine mental and physical benefits from time spent outside. And I’d definitely say that for me going out for a walk will generally improve the day and how I feel in that day.
Thus, on that basis I’d say that if you take ‘a big view’ to mean not necessarily being able to see for miles but to mean walking about, looking up and looking around, then I’d say, yes, ‘a big view’ matters. And it’s not difficult to achieve where ever you live, nor does it cost anything.
But beliefs are one thing … I then wondered about the science of these benefits. With a very brief search, I found these as, as it were, ways in to the topic if you’re interested.
Since I first wrote this entry, the RG4 site has launched, intended to feature photos of all the RG4 area. The Balmore Park Views gallery offers what the title suggests – some big views.
