Reading, Berks

[chef]

Hi,

Looks likely my next gig is in Reading in a few weeks time, thoughts anyone on:

Reading nightlife (company, food and beer)?

Any recommendations on places to stay? wireless broadband preferred.

Cheers folks
Chef

[The Master]

Does it have to be in Reading or will somewhere close by do?

I have an uncle that lives on the outskirts of Wokingham and that seems quite a nice place. I've certainly had several very pleasant boozy lunches with him there.

[chef]

Master,

Im flattered that you think were that close already, but seriously, offering your uncle as somewhere to stay is a little presumptuous

If, however, your referring to a great watering hole (pub before I get any alternatives) or area to look at finding digs then whereabouts is it? any recommendation is good.

[privateeye]

Hi,

Looks likely my next gig is in Reading in a few weeks time, thoughts anyone on:

Reading nightlife (company, food and beer)?

Any recommendations on places to stay? wireless broadband preferred.

Cheers folks
Chef

I know of someone who has a spare room to rent Mon-Fri in Wokingham but if you wnat the nightlife you will have to be inside Reading as public transport is non-existant as we are all to wealthy to use it in the surrounding areas. Reading allegedly has a great nightlife but I'm too old for that sort of thing, has a huge drugs gang type culture.

[The Master]

Master,

Im flattered that you think were that close already, but seriously, offering your uncle as somewhere to stay is a little presumptuous

If, however, your referring to a great watering hole (pub before I get any alternatives) or area to look at finding digs then whereabouts is it? any recommendation is good.

Chef, you are a comic wit of the first order.

I offer Wokingham as a nice place to stay. It strikes me as picturesque with a pleasant small town feel. There's a central green area surrounded by pubs and restaurants and a tidy looking High Street. If you're looking for banging nightlife and wild times I would guess it's probably not the place to be. I can't be very specific as I only ever go there to have a few beers with my uncle and as he knows the place I just follow him around and don't notice where we are. Anyways, it strikes me as a pleasant place as if I were contracting in Reading I'd look into places to stay there before going into Reading itself.

[wendigo100]

Sonning is very nice, with a nice riverbank pub, and it is a pleasant 20 minute stroll up the riverbank from Thames Valley Park. But you'll need a car or a very large trebuchet to get to Reading town centre in less than an hour.

[TheMonkey]

Reading is a bit of a dump if you ask me.

Typical student crap hole.

[VectraMan]

The whole area is nice, just a shame they put Reading in it.

[weboo]

You will have no problems finding good food, drink and entertainment in Reading. The Oracle shopping complex has everything you need. Shopping, food, drink and a cinema. Its lively at night too...

http://www.theoracle.com/Website/

In terms of living, all large towns or small cities have good and bad areas to live in.....the best thing to do in my opinion is look at the train stops around Reading....Wokingham, is highly recommended as its quiet and country like...only 15 mins on a train too. If you want to look in Reading, then search google for estate agents reading, they will be able to recommend nice places...then from there, get the nice places and look at BnB's or hotels in the area if thats your thing.

Good luck

[privateeye]

The whole area is nice, just a shame they put Reading in it.

I'll second that - but to be fair Reading is coming up the league fast not just football wise. The Oracle with its bars and clubs is highly regarded and probably everything you need is in Reading. A lot of Reading houses are being knocked down and replaced by apartments which to me just makes it a depressing area but probably makes for a lot of buy-to-lets in the centre.

When either Reading FC or London Irish (who play home games in Reading ) the away clubs tend to stay in the Hilton or Coppid Beech Hotels on the Wokingham/Bracknell border which may be a clue as to the decency of the area. I'll always vote for Wokingham but the whole area has some great traditional market towns - Twyford is well worth looking at and has direct train links to Reading and Paddington.

Romans Estate Agents are amongst the top in the area for letting and I'm sure they have a Reading Office as well as in most of the other towns in the area.