Reading. A stop on the way to Wales. I have never stopped there before but this time I did and wasted my time. It's a place which is not easy to see by car. Cars are not very welcome.
The buildings are all higgledy piggledy. You see a mixture of styles. Shops are interspersed with offices, residential buildings, churches and car parks, with no evident plan.
No easy parking by beauty spots or welcoming pub parks for visits. Didn't see a costa or coffee shop of any kind with nearby parking. Drove around in circles. Building sites. Dead end roads leading to turning circles, having to back from a taxi rank, confusing signs, no indication of no through roads.
No pretty landmarks, historic centres, or statues. Maybe there were in the pedestrian shopping area. But no welcome sign for motorists.
The few old buildings were dilapidated. Dated and dilapidated. I expect it will look nice when some of the new buildings are finished. Maybe I'll go back in a couple of years time. That was what I thought last time I dipped into a corner of the city (on a tow truck after a car accident, which dropped me the railway station, after being diverted down several no end turnings and getting stuck).
The only interesting thing was the bus colours. Not red like in London. I saw purple buses. Also a g o l d bus, rather jolly. I have had to put spaces in the word g o l d because spell checker keeps sneaking up and dropping the L.
For a more positive and detailed view of Reading, check on Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading,_Berkshire
Angela Lansbury
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