There are several possible derivations of the Reading's name, however the true source is obscured. Reading holds several Royal Charters permitting parliament to be held there during times of plague or rebellion in London.

Reading grew rich through the medieval and Tudor periods thanks to a booming trade in cloth. The siege imposed by parliament on the town during the English Civil War crippled the town's economy which never recovered. The economy of the town is historically most famous for the '3Bs' of Biscuits (US English:Cookies), Beer and Bulbs (of which only Beer has survived though the brewery is scheduled to close by 2010) however, In recent years Information Technology and insurance have replaced these traditional businesses. As such it isn't an obvious travel destination in its own right, but if you happen to be here on business there is plenty to see and do.

The Forbury Gardens, located in the center of town, have recently been restored to their original Victorian Splendor. The adjoining ruins are the remains of a once powerful Abbey, sacked by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries.

Reading is also home to the gaol in which Oscar Wilde was imprisoned for homosexuality and where he composed his famous ballad. These days it is mainly a remand prison for young offenders.

Reading is at the heart of an attractive area of the Thames Valley, sitting across the confluence of the Thames and Kennet rivers amid green rolling hills, thatched cottages and pubs. It is surrounded by numerous small towns and villages such as Thatcham, Pangbourne and Streatley, many of great age and beauty. Much of it is now part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with the Cotswolds being easily reachable.

It is a long inhabited and well domesticated area that sits at the junction of several major transport routes, both rail and road. As such, Reading serves as a major hub for commuter traffic into and out of London.

Incidentally describing Reading as a city could raise the odd eye-brow locally. Despite its size and population it is not technically a city. To become a city in the UK you need a royal charter. To gain a charter the town used to have to contain a cathedral and due to Reading having such a large abbey a cathedral was never built there, the law was changed in 1889 however many people still believe this to be the case. Charters are now granted periodically with Reading loosing out, most recently to Newport, Wolverhampton and to the locals most annoyingly to their south coast rivals Brighton and Hove. However none of this has stopped the council pretending, with lots of new signs directing people to the “city centre” and all buses (Reading Buses is owned and operated by Reading Borough council and controls nearly all routes in and around Reading) for a while displayed “City Centre” as their destination, although this has now changed to "central Reading".

Reading has become more famous recently as the local football team was promoted to the Premier League, in part at least thanks to benefactor, John Madejski, who built the Madejski Stadium located south of the town. This has raised awareness of the town throughout the United Kingdom. The promotion also led to a resurgence in the south of the town with new commercial properties, new housing developments and new superstores such as B&Q and CostCo.

The city centre has been transformed over the past 10 years with a modern shopping centre called The Oracle.   Further developments and new apartment blocks are being built... read more