Berkshire’s reputation as one of the most popular commuter counties in the south is more than justified for many reasons.

Excellent rail and road links and some of the UK’s best schools combined with a higher standard of living make the Royal county an attractive place to live.

With London only 25 minutes away, it has never been easier to travel to work every morning and still enjoy the perks of countryside living.

Berkshire offers a mixture of built-up towns and suburbs with their shopping and leisure attractions and beautiful rural landscapes adorned with quaint villages, many of which are nestled along the banks of the River Thames.

Data collected by local serviced apartment providers Berkshire Rooms revealled that the best commuter towns in Berkshire are based on not just average rail journey times and train ticket costs, but average house prices and crime rates too.

Journey times were calculated from each Berkshire town or village into London Waterloo, the busiest London station with more than 41 million annual passengers.

Top 3 Commuter Towns in Berkshire:

1. Woodley

The town that came out on top is Woodley. Situated four miles east of Reading and five miles from Wokingham, Woodley is a mere 52-minute rail commute to London Waterloo.

With average house prices of £448,772 and plenty of shops, schools, local amenities, and sports and leisure facilities, Woodley has everything you would expect in a popular commuter town. Commuters may also be attracted to Woodley because of its relatively low crime rate of 38 per 100,000 people.

2. Spencers Wood

The pretty village of Spencers Wood can claim to be the second-best commuter town in Berkshire. The population of Spencers Wood is around 7,400 and with Reading four miles to the north and Basingstoke 10 miles to the south, it is only a short distance away from much larger towns and all their amenities, and only a swift 38-minute commute to London Waterloo.

Yet Spencers Wood maintains that ‘villagy’ feeling with its schools, churches, library, village hall, and cosy pubs, all of which are surrounded by picturesque countryside. The average house price in Spences Wood is £461,141 and the crime rate is so low it returned a zero rating per 100,000 people.

3. Knowl Hill

The third-best commuter town in Berkshire is Knowl Hill. With a population of just 900, Knowl Hill is a village five miles west of Maidenhead which boasts strong rail links to London railway stations, and the speedy commute to London Waterloo takes only 38 minutes.

Like Spencers Wood, the crime rate in Knowl Hill is zero based on 100,000 people making it a popular commuter choice for families. This, combined with an average house price of £489,000, places Knowl Hill among the best commuter towns in Berkshire.