Reading

Mini guide to Reading

Reading is a cosmopolitan university city in Berkshire that embodies more than one thousand years of history with all the assets of a modern, vibrant metropolis. From museums and heritage houses, to fine restaurants and nightclubs, Reading has something for everyone.

Reading is renowned for its museums, two of which can be found at The University of Reading. The Museum of English Rural Life tells the story of the town through the ages, while the Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology contains a collection of ancient Greek pottery and Egyptian antiquities.

Walking through the town, you will see the Victorian red-brick buildings for which Reading is famous. The 19th century Museum of Reading boasts a fine museum and art gallery, while the gothic Town Hall complex next to it serves as a concert hall and conference centre. The nearby Forbury Gardens and Abbey Ruins should also be explored, as they contain beautiful formal gardens and the burial site of King Henry I.

The Oracle Shopping and Leisure Complex offers numerous bars, cafés and restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. St. Mary’s Butts and Broad Street also boast a wide variety of restaurants, while Friar Street is firmly established as Reading’s pub heartland. Reading also hosts two important British festivals, WOMAD and the Reading Festival during the summer.

Away from the centre is the picturesque banks of the Thames river and you can wander for miles along barge tracks or through parks, admiring the enormous swan population and pretty views. Caversham, a suburb north of the river is also pretty with its undulating suburbs.

Exploring the countryside is a must to further discover Berkshire and Oxfordshire’s history and natural beauty. Take a boat cruise down the scenic Thames River, spend an afternoon at Dinston Pastures Country Park with its acres of meadows, lakes and rivers, or visit Mapledurham House and Watermill, a lovely Elizabethan mansion beside the Thames with one of the country’s last working watermills.

Reading is easily accessed by car, coach and train. A frequent coach service (half hourly) connects London’s Heathrow Airport with Reading’s central train station in the town centre. Fast trains depart from London Paddington station several times an hour (duration 30 minutes), and occasionally from London Waterloo station. Motorists find it easy to reach from West London on the M4, but routes to Hampshire, in the South, Oxford and northwards are all very convenient.

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