Places to photograph in Berkshire

maybe you need to broaden your horizons a bit - it sounds like you're after 'picture-postcard' shots and I well agree, having lived in Reading for many years, it's not really the right county for that. there's plenty of other things to photograph though in town and city.
For scenery, try heading west along the canal towards and through Hungerford etc
Ifyou don't mind straying into Wiltshire, the scenery gets much better - Savernake Forest, plenty of White Horses (the chalky sort) plus the bonus of the crop circles (try Alton Barnes, then you can drop into the Barge Inn for lunch !)

Some ideas from someone that grew up in Berkshire and went to school in Sonning:
The Chilterns between Henley and Marlow for postcard villages and red kites.
Ascot for horse racing
Goring / Streatley for down land
Windsor for Martin Parr esque tourist photos
Slough for more varied street photos
Avoid - Maidenhead town, Bracknell town, Earley and the other suburbs of Reading
Berkshire does have a lot of large secluded prvate houses/land which are not great for photography unless you can get inside, but there is enough variety between Slough and Newbury to satisfy most photographers wishes. The main strengths are the Thames and Chilterns for picturesque scenes, but the county includes a good deal else. To be honest though excepting Windsor for street I'd pop into London as it doesn't take long.

This post made me laugh, I am from London and have lived in N.C for 4 years, the very small town I live in has a serious lack of subject matter, 3 hours in an direction out of here pretty much gives me the same photograph. I would love your options.

Finding pretty scenes mentality can be very restrictive, I live by the beach, but they are not commercialised in any way and all look very similar, I have been going to the same 5 locations for 4 years, my whole portfolio is in these 5 places. The upshot of this is I look extremely hard for pictures, I don't write anything off.

If you find 80's housing estates really depressing as you mentioned that sounds like a really good reason to take your camera there and project that through your pictures? I bet there are some great photos to be taken there.

I've gone into Slough and Bracknell and the depressing housing estates and I've also gone into London and Oxford to do street photography.

I'm posting here, not because I want pretty pretty cliche scenery, but because Berkshire doesn't seem to offer as much diversity as Hampshire and Dorset or London and Oxfordshire for that matter.

I will still travel to photograph, but it would be nice to have options at a shorter travelling distance.

In Hampshire there is the New Forest and wild animals, downs, commercial and military dock yards and pleasure marinas, the Castles and Marine forts, cathedrals and medieval cities as well as the Oil Refinery, Power Station hard 60s and 70s concrete architecture in Portsmouth and Southampton, I'm also able to go out on the boat to photograph as well as visit the Isle of White.

Dorset then offers a whole host of more rural and wild locations.

I grew up photographing at all these locations. None of the kind posters so far have listed anything like the variety found in Hampshire or Dorset.

as well as visit the Isle of White.

Isle of Wight (where I live).

Dorset is a beautiful county you could have been spoiled there, Slough is a horrible place but my point is there are pictures to be taken absolutely everywhere, some places you have to look harder than others.

I like Street Photography and being a Londoner that would be my natural lean, but there are not enough people here, streets are deserted as it's not a walking town, so I had to adapt to what I do have. I would have this approach to anywhere I lived.

You are perfectly placed to travel to some of the most beautiful places in England, I don't understand your problem, nothing is very far away in England.

Well corrected, Steve; that's what I get for typing whilst on a conference call at work I suppose. The Isle of Wiggit, we used to call it.

In fact the Island is a good case in point. In a small area there are numerous forts, piers, abandoned railway lines, the Black Night/Arrow site, steam railway and all the wonderful tackiness of the seaside resorts and Blackgang Chine.

If you get the chance you should walk the west estuary of Newtown Creek, there are some interesting hidden treasures up there. Also, the caretaker of Carisbrooke Priory used to be very obliging to photographers, there's some great stuff in the roof space and cellar.

Simon, I take your point about taking inspiration and expanding my repertoire by photographing what's available. However, I've been doing nothing but that lately due to limited time and wanted to draw on some local knowledge for something a bit different.

I'm just starting street photography and have found Dalston, Greenwhich and Notting Hill interesting for some candid street photography. I still feel like I'm doing something slightly suspect, but nobody has accosted me yet!

Do you have any suggestions for good locations in West and Central London when I have more time?

I'd love to get access to the old underground tram or mail-rail network, or maybe the Crossness pumping station, but I think the kind of "urban exploration" necessary is too bold for me!

that's what I get for typing whilst on a conference call at work I suppose

Anything's more interesting than a work conference call!

If you get the chance you should walk the west estuary of Newtown Creek

Newtown Creek is one of my favourite places. I can't let a month go by without going there at least once.

Newtown is wonderful. I grew up in Lymington and we often sailed over to camp in the woods for the night or stay in the bigger boat for the weekend. Of course, once I was older and discovered the delights of real ale, the walk up the gravel track to the pub found added appeal.

In fact one of my earliest photos was a rusted cog chain on some old piece of machinery at the small quay there. Probably taken on 110 or Kodak disc with a pocket money camera :)