Reading (England)

Reading (pronounced like "redding", not "reeding") is a large, historic town in Berkshire in the South East of England. It is one of the largest towns without city status in the United Kingdom with just under 235,000 inhabitants. Its main attractions are the medieval abbey ruins and minster church, the rivers Thames and Kennet and surrounding countryside of the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills. It is a major regional shopping centre with a wealth of restaurants and pubs.

Understand
There are several possible derivations of Reading's name, however, the true source is obscured. Reading holds several Royal Charters permitting Parliament to be held there during times of plague or rebellion in London.

Reading grew rich through the medieval and Tudor periods thanks to a booming trade in cloth. The siege imposed by Parliament on the town during the English Civil War crippled the town's economy which never recovered. The economy of the town is historically most famous for the "three Bs" of biscuits (US English: cookies), beer and (flower) bulbs. However, information technology and insurance have replaced these traditional businesses. As such, it is not an obvious travel destination in its own right, but if you happen to be here on business, there is plenty to see and do.

The Forbury Gardens, near the centre of town, have been restored to their original Victorian splendour. The adjoining Abbey Ruins, which reopened to the public in June 2018, are the remains of a once powerful abbey, sacked by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. They have long been held to be the burial place of King Henry of England. The Heritage Lottery Fund funding for the Reading Abbey Revealed project also included the Abbey Gateway, which was the former school room attended by Jane Austen.

Reading is also home to the former jail in which Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for homosexuality and where he composed his famous "The Ballad of Reading Gaol". The prison closed in 2013 but the buildings remain and are to be preserved and redeveloped.

Reading is at the heart of an attractive area of the Thames Valley, sitting across the confluence of the rivers Thames and Kennet amid green rolling hills, thatched cottages and pubs. It is surrounded by numerous small towns and villages such as Caversham, Thatcham, Pangbourne, Purley on Thames and Streatley, many of which are of great age and beauty. Much of it is now part of the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the Cotswolds being easily reachable.

It is a long-inhabited and well-domesticated area that sits at the junction of several major transport rail and road routes. As such, Reading serves as a major hub for commuter traffic into and out of London.

Incidentally, describing Reading as a city could raise the odd eyebrow locally. Despite its size and population, it is not designated as a city. To become a city in the UK a royal charter is required, and to gain a charter the town used to have to contain a cathedral. Because of Reading's large abbey, a cathedral was never built there, so Reading was never made a city. This law was changed in 1889, but many people still believe it to be in force. Charters are now granted periodically with Reading losing out, such as to Newport, Wolverhampton and Brighton and Hove. However, none of this has stopped a number of signs and services referring to the "city centre".

Reading has become more famous as the local football team has fluctuated between the Premier League and the Championship, where it resides as of 2019. Reading FC play at the Madejski Stadium south of the town centre. The club has raised awareness of the town throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. There has been a resurgence in the south of the town with new commercial properties, new housing developments and new superstores such as B&Q and Costco and there are plans for an international convention centre, Royal Elm Park, next to the football stadium.

The town centre has been transformed with a modern shopping centre called The Oracle, a £900-million railway station and major private sector investment from a Business Improvement District. Further developments and apartment blocks continue to be built.

By plane
Reading is well served by London's collection of airports. For travellers coming directly to Reading, here are the most convenient (in increasing travel time) ones. The times given for road travel assume no hold-ups - at busy times or in case of bad weather, road maintenance or traffic accidents you should allow considerably longer, especially if travelling to the airport to catch a flight.


 * Heathrow Airport is about 40 min via the M4 motorway. It is also linked directly to Reading rail station by the RailAir express coach service running every 20 min or so and taking about an hour and, indirectly, by the Elizabeth line train service (change at Hayes & Harlington station).
 * Luton Airport is about 65 min away via the M1, M25 and M4 motorways. Luton Airport Parkway connects the airport to Kings Cross station every 35 min, the tube to London Paddington station and then follow the directions below.
 * Gatwick Airport is about 70 min away via the M23, M25 and M4 motorways. There is an hourly direct train service to Reading from the rail station in the South Terminal with a journey time of 75 min.
 * Stansted Airport is about 90 min away via the M11, M25 and M4 motorways. By train you will need to catch a Stansted Express train to London Liverpool Street station, the tube to London Paddington station, then follow the directions below.

By train

 * Wikivoyage has a guide to Rail travel in Great Britain

From London, you should travel from London Paddington station and catch an intercity train whose first stop is Reading (there are several of these an hour); the travel time will be about 30 min. Slower direct services can be taken from London Waterloo station (journey time approximately 80 minutes).

There are other stopping services from Paddington with travel times of up to an hour. Reading is also served by twice-hourly direct stopping services from London Waterloo. The typical journey time on this route is 1 hr 25 min and so is only suitable for travellers from south west London.

Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling from anywhere in the UK.


 * Great Western Railway (GWR)
 * South Western Railway
 * Elizabeth line (Crossrail) – Reading is the western terminus of the Elizabeth line to Heathrow Airport, Shenfield and Abbey Wood. As of mid-December 2019, the route from Reading to London Paddington or Heathrow Airport is open providing a relief route.

By car
Reading is served by the M4 motorway (US English: freeway) which runs from London to Bristol and South Wales. It is about an hour's drive from central London. The best junction to use for central Reading is junction 11 and then follow the signs.

If you are visiting for the day by car, consider using the Park & Ride site at Mereoak on the M4 at Junction 11 or the Madejski stadium complex (just north of M4 J11 and well sign-posted) and catching the dedicated express bus from there. An alternative Park & Ride site is found at Winnersh Triangle at the north end of the A329(M).

There are a number of car parks in the town centre, including Oracle Riverside, Oracle Holy Brook, Broad Street Mall, Queen's Road and Garrard Street. On-road parking in central Reading is available only to disabled badge holders and is in the area near Friar Street.



By foot
The central area of Reading is easily traversable on foot. From the main rail station, you will be able to take in the Abbey Ruins, the Forbury Gardens, both rivers, both shopping centres, most (but not all so check) hotels, pubs and restaurants without needing more than shoe leather.

By bus
Buses provide a moderately good way of getting around Reading (say 3–5 miles out), with several buses an hour on most routes during weekdays, and hourly services in the evenings and on weekends. Beyond that distance, bus routes are much less frequent, with often only a handful of buses per day. Route 17 (Earley Wokingham Road—Tilehurst via town centre) runs a 24-hour operation with buses every 7 minutes in peak hours.



Their fares are not particularly cheap, however, if going with a group of people, between 2 and 4 people, you can buy a group ticket for £9 (reduced to £6 in the school holidays or weekends).

Reading's local buses have introduced contactless payments (credit/debit cards or Reading Buses' own payment card) to avoid the issue of having the correct change. When you board the bus, the driver will issue your ticket once the correct fare in coins is inserted into the slot. You can be smart though and buy either single, return, day or group tickets.

For a trip planner see Planning your trip section at the United Kingdom page.

By taxi
There are two sorts of taxis operating in Reading, although only black cabs are strictly allowed to call themselves taxis:

By car
Whilst not as bad as either London or Oxford, Reading's roads can get very congested at peak periods, in particular London Road. Especially if you are not used to driving on the left, central Reading is probably best avoided.

On the other hand, a car is one (possibly along with cycling) of the only really practical ways of seeing a lot of the local countryside and villages. Here the roads are quieter too.

Named after Reading Old Cemetery, the junction of London Road with King's Road/Wokingham Road is locally known as "Cemetery Junction", which is the origin of the name used by the Ricky Gervais film.

By bicycle
The local authority has published a cycle map, which shows off-road and low-traffic routes around the town. In practice, if you are a reasonably confident cyclist you can comfortably use most of the roads in Reading.

That said, there are a few places that may be a little daunting - these are mostly near or outside the edge of town, and include the A33 (especially difficult) and A4 crossings of the M4, parts of the A33 between the M4 and the town centre, and parts of the Inner Distribution Road. If you need to pass these places and are uncomfortable cycling, there are easily-found alternative routes.

The town centre can be confusing. There are a number of one-way streets. Cycling is not permitted in the central pedestrianised areas but if you cycle slowly and give way to all pedestrians it is unlikely anyone will seriously object.

Cycle parking is generally adequate, with "Sheffield" stands in the town centre and elsewhere. The stands around the station are often overcrowded and it may be easier to park around Friar Street and walk back. Make sure your bike is locked as discreetly and securely as possible, as bike thefts in Reading are above the national average, and the number of thefts recorded by the regional police force (Thames Valley Police) is second only to Greater London.

You can rent a Brompton Bike at the railway station.

Central Reading
Reading has several interesting sights to see within the central area.

Surrounding area
There are also many interesting things to see around Reading.

River trips
There are lots of things to do in and around Reading. You could try taking a river trip:

Walks
Or there are many possible walks in the area:

Events

 * Reading Festival is the big one, held on the Rivermead site. The next is 25-27 Aug 2023, and town will be packed out around these days.
 * Beer and Cider Festival in May was cancelled in 2022 and 2023 so its future looks doubtful.
 * Water Fest is kiddy-oriented. It's held along the Kennet Canal. The next is probably 8 June 2024, tbc.
 * Mela celebrates Asian culture, with the next on 5-6 Aug 2023 in Palmer Park.

Sports

 * Reading FC Women also play at Madejski Stadium. They too were relegated in 2023 and now play in the Women's Championship, their second tier.
 * Rugby Union: Rams play in National League One, the third tier. Their home ground (capacity 2000) is Old Bath Road in Sonning four miles east of town centre.
 * Rugby Union: Rams play in National League One, the third tier. Their home ground (capacity 2000) is Old Bath Road in Sonning four miles east of town centre.

Learn
Reading is the home of The University of Reading which is ranked as one of the UK’s 10 most research-intensive universities and as one of the top 200 universities in the world. The main campus, Whiteknights Campus, is two miles from the town centre and is based on the beautiful 321-acre (1.3 km²) Whiteknights Park, which includes lakes, conservation meadows and woodlands, and most of the university's academic departments and several halls of residences. The university provides a full set of university courses, and enjoys a world-class reputation for teaching, research and enterprise.

Associated with Reading University is Gyosei International College, a Japanese/British bi-cultural institution which has led to Reading having a significant Japanese student population. Around 1988, Gyosei International College's links with the Japan-based Gyosei organisation were broken, and the College became a charitably funded institution called Witan Hall. It appears that this has also failed and Witan Hall has been purchased by the University of Reading, who have closed down student recruitment.

Reading is also host to one of the largest universities in England, Thames Valley University (renamed University of West London). Although the university is spread across the Thames Valley, the campus in Reading serves 20,000 students alone.

Formerly Reading College and School of Arts and Design, TVU merged with the College in 2004.

Reading is also the home of several commercial English language summer schools, including:
 * Padworth College
 * Parkland Language School

Work
Reading is a significant commercial and information technology centre and if you have skills in these areas and the appropriate legal paperwork then finding a job should not be a problem. Reading also suffers from staff shortages in public service areas such as teaching or nursing, and campaigns are regularly run to attract overseas candidates for such posts. Otherwise there is the usual selection of jobs in pubs, restaurants, etc.

Reading has a diverse economy with string clusters in finance, technology, energy, professional services and pharmaceuticals. It is home to UK or European HQs for many large corporates, from Oracle and Microsoft to PepsiCo, Bayer, Thales and SSE.

Shopping
Reading is a major regional shopping centre, with most of its shops clustered in a fairly compact downtown area. Shops are split between those on outdoor pedestrianised shopping streets, of which the principal is Broad Street, and those in indoor shopping malls such as the Oracle Centre and the Broad Street Mall.

There are two major department stores, John Lewis on Broad Street (often still known locally by its old name, Heelas), and House of Fraser both in the Oracle Centre.





One store that should definitely be visited is Waterstones in Broad Street, if only to see the way this old United Reformed Church has been reused as a good bookstore. This store stocks a good selection of local maps and guides.



Eclectic Games on Butter Market is a specialised hobby board-gaming store that does regular game nights. It stocks a wide range of Magic and role-playing materials as well as eurogames.



In general stores open M-Sa 9:30AM–5:30PM and Su 11AM-4PM although many stay open longer on some days and some do not open on a Sunday. The stores in the Oracle Centre are open M-F 9:30AM-8PM; Sa 9AM-7PM; Su 11AM-5PM. The John Lewis department store has now discontinued Heelas's reputation for benign eccentricity and is now open on Mondays and Sundays.

If it's pampering you're after Reading has a great town centre option. Ayurveda Retreat on Friar Street is a medispa offering health and wellbeing consultations as well as therapeutic massage treatments, facials, manicures and pedicures.



Money
Nearly all major British banks and building societies have branches situated in Reading, and most of them are based around the eastern end of Broad Street or around the adjacent Market Place which is also where most of the major financial institutions that make the town their home are based. These branches normally open M-F 9AM-4PM and Sa 9AM-noon.

Most bank and building society branches have 'through the wall' type ATMs that are open 24x7. There are also clusters of stand-alone ATMs in the Oracle Shopping Centre (see above) and the rail station.

Central Reading and Caversham
The following restaurants are all within walking distance of central Reading.



The following chains have branches in central Reading:
 * Burger King (Broad Street Mall and Kings Walk Arcade - this is a little-used shopping arcade with an entrance just beyond the old Debenhams site on the Riverside)
 * Giraffe (Oracle Riverside)
 * KFC (Broad Street)
 * McDonald's (Oracle Riverside and Friar Street)
 * Nando's (Oracle Riverside)
 * Pizza Express (Oracle Riverside)
 * Pizza Hut (Oracle Riverside)
 * The Slug and Lettuce (Oracle Riverside)
 * Subway (Friar Street)
 * TGI Friday's (Caversham Road Roundabout - walkable from the town center, but has its own car park)
 * Wagamama (Oracle Riverside)

Surrounding villages
Many of the villages surrounding Reading have interesting restaurants or country pubs that serve food, and here is a selection. You will probably need to use a car or taxi to get to most of them.

See also the Goring and Streatley article, for details of several other restaurants in these attractive twin villages which are some 8 miles west of Reading on the A329.

Drink
Reading, as a sizeable town, has many and varied pubs and bars. A healthy population (numberswise at least) of students and young city workers makes sure that pubs, wine bars and cocktail lounges are all well represented. The compact centre of town ensures stiff competition between establishments, which works well for the consumer, who has many drinking options within stumbling distance of each other.

Several formulaic wine bars and cafe bars are bunched around the east end of Friar Street and Station Road. These provide reasonably civilised drinking at lunchtime but becoming fuelling stations for binge drinkers in the evenings. Predictably, the area is heaving on Friday and Saturday nights.

The town's waterways provide atmospheric drinking: to the north, the Thames riverside hosts well-established pubs and bars in the well-to-do Caversham suburb. The Kennet runs through the Oracle mall, which hosts chain and independent bars jostling for positions along its banks.

Outside the centre, East Reading used to be largely Quaker and so was dry until the students moved in. A couple of pubs have cropped up since, not to mention the students' union. West Reading is less restrained, edgy and very cosmopolitan. It hosts a lively representation of the global village – there's a Jamaican restaurant, Asian supermarket, and Polish pub! Traditional British drinkers will like it here too: just off Oxford Road is Reading's best pub for real ale.

Sleep
There are a large number of hotels and guest houses in the Reading area, but sadly prices are often akin to those in London and getting a room can sometimes be difficult.

For mid or up market hotels, your best bet is to use one of the online booking services, such as those found in our article on Finding accommodation.



Stay safe
Reading is perfectly safe to visit, and most visits should be trouble-free. That said, Reading has an above-average violent crime rate and incredibly high rates of drug-related crime. Be careful not to get drawn into any confrontations, as these have been known to turn nasty (knife crime being pretty high in Reading). Also be careful if in the town centre on a Friday or Saturday night as binge drinking, with the associated violent crime, is on the rise in the UK, and Reading is no exception.

The riverside area in Newtown (just east of the town centre) is a known trouble spot, especially after dark, so it may be best to stay away. Suburban areas with seedy reputations include Whitley, Coley, Southcote, and Newtown. Of these, Whitley has a reputation for being the worst and should be avoided if possible.

Phone
Reading's area code (for landline numbers) is 0118 when dialled from within the UK or +44 118 from outside the UK.

Mobile phone coverage is generally good within the town and surrounding area; not surprisingly as most UK mobile companies are headquartered in the vicinity.

Internet
If you are travelling with a laptop then you will find broad-band internet access in the rooms of most, but not all, medium to high end hotels. If this is important to you check before booking.

There are also several places that offer web and other internet access if you are travelling without a laptop. These include:
 * Caversham Library, Telephone: +44 118 901-5103, . The library is a Carnegie building which opened in 1907. It is a busy branch library situated in the heart of Caversham. It has a very distinctive clock tower. Internet access. Check out the Costa coffee bar opposite. Open: M F 9:30PM-5PM; Tu Th 9:30AM-7PM; Sa 9:30AM-4PM. Access by bus: Caversham Library can be visited using bus numbers 9, 27,44, 45, 329. By car: The nearest car park to Caversham Library is in Chester Street. Disabled customers may use the car park at the rear of the library. There is a wheelchair ramp at the front entrance.
 * Quarks, Union Street (pedestrian alley between Broad Street & Friar street in town center also called Smelly Alley to the older locals ), . Cybercafe and online gaming centre. £3 /hour. Open M-Sa 7:30AM-9PM; Su 10AM-7PM.
 * Reading Central Library, Abbey Square (eastern edge of city center), . Open M W F Sa 9:30AM-5PM; Tu Th 9:30AM-7PM. Offers (free) web access, although this requires (free) library membership which in turn requires proof of address; not sure if they will take a foreign address, but worth trying.

Maps
If you are planning to do any visiting or exploring beyond central Reading, you will probably want to obtain a decent map of the area. You should ensure that any map you buy clearly shows the national grid reference lines and explains how to use them, as grid references are frequently used to indicate out of town locations. The best maps for this purpose are those published by the Ordnance Survey (Britain's national mapping agency) and the following maps cover all the locations mentioned below: These maps can be found in any good bookshop in Reading (see 'Buy' section below), or can be bought online.
 * Ordnance Survey Landranger 175. This map covers the area around and between Reading and Windsor at a scale of 1:50000 and is best for exploration by car or cycle.
 * Ordnance Survey Explorer 159. This map covers the area around Reading at a scale of 1:25000 and is best for walking.

Go next

 * Bath – a historic resort (spa) town and World Heritage Site (approx 1 hr by train)
 * Bristol – a large port city on the river Severn and the unofficial capital of the west country (approx 1 hr 15 min by train)
 * Caversham – across the river from Reading on the north side of the Thames River. Caversham has been mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as one of the areas where some of the earliest evidence of mankind in England has been found. Be sure to check out the Holy Well if you are a historian or religious. It is to be found, appropriately, on Priest Hill just next to the junction with St. Anne’s Road.
 * Goring and Streatley – a pair of Thameside villages with great views and country walks
 * Henley-on-Thames — a picturesque town "round the corner" of the river, within 15 minutes drive
 * London – only half an hour on a fast train
 * Oxford – a nearby Thameside city with its famous university
 * Swindon – The heart of the Great Western Railway, only half an hour on the train (or an hour by car on A417/A419 trunk road)
 * Winchester – a cathedral city within easy day-trip distance and with many interesting and historical sights
 * Windsor – a nearby Thameside town with a splendid castle and royal residence