Blogs from Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Lingfield – Reading (Aug 3 – Aug 11) The trip from Airbnb’s Liverpool to Lingfield was not a long travel day as we left the Liverpool train station at 12:47 and arrived at train station at Lingfield by 4:41 PM. The trip did entail 2 train trips and a subway trip in between the two. Fortunately, the train and subway stations almost blend together making for a pretty seamless transfer. Harriet very kindly picked us up at the Lingfield train station even though we could have walked, it definitely made it easier with the luggage we had brought with us (way too much!) It is always nice to have a chance to meet the people that we are going to house and cat sit for. They have had cat sitters before and it showed as they ... read more

12 September 2019, Thursday Pangbourne to Reading, day 11 of Thames Path, day 27 of travel. -The Elephant Hotel had an old India decor and charm with a husband/wife team comprising a Romanian bar tender and Jamaican waiter. We sat at the classy table and chairs for dinner. Chairs are made of large rough old boards and have 6 feet high backs. Several photos are included of the hotel including the knit elephant adorning our bed. The table was used for the fruit and cereal buffet the next morning. -We have a delicious breakfast at The Elephant. By the time the specially ordered porridge arrives we have satiated ourselves with freshly made raspberry yoghurt, fresh fruit, and nuts and finished with lovely chocolate croissants. -Fueled for the day we set off for Reading--a techie, business park, ... read more

I decided to book a couple of nights in Reading because we hadn't been there before and it wasn't too far from Heathrow from where we were to fly to Copenhagen. Well I can't really say that I very impressed with what we saw of the town but no doubt the rain didn't help the enjoyment of the place. We did only have one full day there, and for at least half of the day the rain was pelting down. But for us the best thing about Reading was the Reading Musem and the ruins of Reading Abbey, both of which we explored. Because of its Royal patronage, the abbey was one of the pilgrimage centres of medieval England and one of its richest and most important religious buildings. The museum had a great Story of ... read more

In an hour, we will be packing the taxi and heading off for the airport! Hopefully, all of our stuff will fit and none of us will need to walk to the airport! The cases have been packed and re-packed. All the weights have been checked and now we are filling the time! Some of us are doing the things we all do before a holiday! Have you got the passports? Who has the money? Did we pack ...? Is .. easy to get to! Suzy has disappeared to the allotment to pass some time and I have turned to the blog - after Rob pointed out that the original had a spelling mistake! Tim is juggling in the dining room with 18 suitcases and 6 rucksacks! Rob is pruning a bush after cutting the lawn! ... read more

My bags are just about packed, term has finished, I've had an amazing leaving do with wonderful people, the rest of my things are in storage (my poor Granddad probably has more of my belongings at his house than his own at the moment-thanks Granddad), I have a pile of paperwork stamped, signed and organised and am ready to set off tomorrow to spend the next year in Vietnam. Should probably be nervous but am just incredibly excited!... read more