Five Places You MUST Visit In Reading

As our regular readers know; Reading is the greatest town in England. In fact, it might even be the greatest town in the world. History tells us that Reading was once a very important minister town and indications show that the first settlement here came back in the eighth century. But we’ll get to that later. For now, why not have a browse below at five of our top locations, buildings and venues that you simply must visit whilst in Reading.

Reading Abbey

Founded by Henry I back in 1121, Reading Abbey is steeped in history. Now ruined, there is a £3 million development project ongoing to conserve and restore the abbey to a good standard. Once complete, Reading Abbey will reopen to the public and tourists from all areas will be able to visit; this is one for those with a keen interest in history and heritage.

According to the BBC, the work is expected to be finished in June and visitors will be flocking to the abbey in large numbers after its completion – so it could be very busy for a good few months. If the winter months are kind to us in Reading this year, go and check it out; it is a remarkable structure.

Basildon Park

Owned by the National Trust, this local country house is an absolute must for anyone who appreciates the finer things in life. Surrounded by picturesque grounds and blessed with the most beautiful architectural design, Basildon Park is now a Grade I listed building and it has stood tall between Goring-on-Thames and Streatley since its erection in 1783.

Regular viewer of the BBC's Downton Abbey? You may recognise this magnificent manor as the home of the Crawley family’s Grantham House. In addition, Basildon Park was used in 2005 film Pride & Prejudice; filming has been quite common at this iconic venue in recent years. It truly is a marvellous structure and tourists will not be disappointed by its sheer beauty.

Sporting Venues

The Madejski Stadium is home to Reading Football Club, as well as the London Irish rugby team. In years gone by, Reading have competed at Premier League level but currently play in the second tier of English football. Meanwhile, London Irish also feature at a high level – competing in every season of the Aviva Premiership since 1996 except for one year. The rugby is very popular with the local community and they regularly have good crowd numbers through the gate.

Cricket fans will know all about Reading’s link with England star Percy Chapman. Back in the 1920s, Chapman was captain of the England cricket team and took his side to Australia and the tourists claimed the Ashes for the first time in almost two decades. Joe Root and the current regime, 11/8 with Betway to win the 2019 series as of April 16th 2018, could learn from one of Reading’s most successful sportsmen.

Reading Museum

Another long-standing venue, Reading Museum has been teaching future generations about the past since 1883. An enjoyable and pleasant museum, visitors are taken on a journey through time – mainly focusing on archaeology, art, natural history and ethnography, as well as objects relating specifically to Reading and the surrounding area.

Located inside Reading’s beautiful Victorian Town Hall, this museum should be high up on your list of places to visit. In addition, weddings, conferences and exhibitions are regularly held here and that only helps to add to the buzz and vibe in the museum itself. It is steeped in history and any interested parties should certainly go out of their way to check it out.

Reading Music Festival

Last but not least, we have the Reading Music Festival. Spanning up to five days over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Reading – which has a sister festival up in Leeds – is one of the biggest events of the calendar year; to this day it remains the world’s oldest popular music festival still in existence.

With an estimated attendance of 90,000 passionate music lovers, the local area is inundated with a young, vibrant crowd during Festival week and it really does help to transform the town. At the time of writing, Fall Out Boy, Kendrick Lamar and Kings of Leon are confirmed to play the main stage in 2018; fans from all over the world will be booking their tickets in anticipation of a memorable weekend at this iconic venue for music.