Visiting Reading, United Kingdom: Top Sights on Foot

Looking for things to do in Reading, England? This Berkshire city combines medieval history, museums, churches, sculpture and riverside heritage, making it rewarding to explore on foot. Reading is also home to the remains of one of England’s most important medieval abbeys. Neywo offers a free audio guide for Reading with 69 narrated places, so you can discover the city while you walk.

What to See in Reading

Reading Museum

Reading Museum, housed within Reading Town Hall, is a useful starting point for understanding the town and the surrounding area. Its collections include artefacts from Calleva Atrebatum, the Roman town of Silchester, along with finds connected with Reading Abbey. The museum also displays a copy of the Bayeux Tapestry and an art collection.

Reading Abbey

In the centre of Reading, the ruins of Reading Abbey reveal the scale and importance of a monastery that once ranked among the largest royal monasteries in Europe. King Henry the First founded the abbey in 1121 for the salvation of his own soul and those of his family and ancestors.

At its height, the abbey was among the most important in England and Europe. It was dissolved in 1539 by King Henry the Eighth, and much of the complex later fell into ruin. Saint James’s Church nearby was partly built with stones from the abbey ruins, while the site also became associated with HM Prison Reading.

The Abbey Quarter is one of the best areas to include in a visit to Reading. Within the ruins, look for Interpretation of Ruins, a sculpture by Jens Flemming Sorenson. Nearby, Robed Figure, by Elisabeth Frink, stands in a garden off Abbots Walk.

Riverside Museum at Blake’s Lock

At Blake’s Lock, the Riverside Museum explores how people have used the River Kennet and the River Thames in Reading. The museum occupies two historic buildings, the Screen House and the Turbine House. Its exhibitions bring together local history, community life and changing artistic displays, while its setting beside the water forms part of the experience.

Museum of English Rural Life

The Museum of English Rural Life, known as The MERL, looks at the changing face of farming and the countryside in England. Alongside the museum, its library and archive bring together records of rural life and its development over time.

The MERL is run by the University of Reading and stands on Redlands Road, behind the university’s London Road Campus, near the centre of Reading. The site was formerly known as East Thorpe House and later as St Andrew’s Hall.

Reading School Chapel

Reading School Chapel is a quiet historic place in Reading, Berkshire. It offers a change of pace from the city’s busier streets and is one of the stops that can be included when exploring the area east of the centre.

All Saints’ Church, Reading

On Downshire Square, All Saints’ Church is a Grade II listed Church of England parish church set among trees. Built between 1865 and 1874 as a daughter church of the Minster Church of St Mary, it served the growing population around Bath Road.

The church is built from coursed rubble with ashlar dressings and weathered buttresses. Inside, its five-bay aisled nave, short transept, painted arcade and five-window apse create a richly layered interior. Its glass mosaic reredos depicting the Last Supper came from the London workshop of Antonio Salviati and was installed in 1866.

Cartwheeling Boys

Cartwheeling Boys adds a playful note to Reading’s streets. Created by sculptor Brian Slack in 1981, the sculpture shows three boys caught mid-cartwheel, appearing to move together in a single lively scene.

Reading School Chapel, churches and local landmarks

Reading’s religious heritage is spread across the city. Depending on your route, you may also pass Abbey Baptist Church, All Nations Christian Centre, Carey Baptist Church, Caversham Baptist Free Church and the Royal Berkshire Medical Museum. These places form part of Reading’s varied local landscape, alongside landmarks such as Madejski Stadium, the home ground of Reading Football Club.

Explore Reading with a Self-Guided Audio Tour

If you are looking for a Reading self-guided walking tour, Neywo lets you explore without joining a group or following a fixed schedule. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages.

Reading currently has:

• 3 walking tours
• 1 bus route
• 1 bike route
• Routes ranging from 1.15 to 3.56 km for the walks, 5.6 km for the bus route and 2.3 km for the bike route
• Walk durations of 61, 106 and 75 minutes
• A bus route of 24 minutes
• A bike route of 12 minutes
• 40 narrated stops across the five routes

The walks cover the Abbey Quarter, Reading town centre, and the rivers and museums east of the centre. The bus route connects Christ Church with the Museum of English Rural Life, while the bike route follows cycle lanes from the Simeon Monument to Kings Road.

Download Neywo to explore Reading with its free audio guide and hear the city’s stories exactly where they happened. Reading is part of England and the United Kingdom, making it easy to continue discovering more destinations across the country.