Activities in Reading

The fun doesn’t stop there as there are plenty of thrills and spills to be had indoors. TeamSport Go Karting is a 900-metre-long track spread over three floors, with karts able to hit speeds of 40mph. Open to everyone over eight years old, the course is located close to the Madejski Stadium and is perfect for wannabe Mario Kart racers and experienced drivers.

Equally competitive is Escape Reading. With four challenges open for groups of two to six people, there are actually two locations in town. One is at Audley Street while you can find the other Queens Walk in the centre of Reading, right near The Oracle. Each session lasts 60 minutes and every second is priceless as you use all the clues and hints available to figure your way out of the challenge.

Great for everyone from beginners to expert climbers accustomed to bouldering, auto belay, top-rope climbs and leading, the Reading Climbing Centre is home to over 180 different climbing problems across 10 circuits. The centre is open daily and is a short drive from our Caversham Bridge hotel.

Jump for joy – or like a wallaby – at the Red Kangaroo Trampoline Park. With wall-to-wall trampolines, crash pads, a ninja warrior course, slam-dunk arenas and dodgeball courts, the park is open for hour-long time slots spanning kids, family and open-ages as well as fitness classes and even calm and quiet sessions.

Experience thrills of a different sort at the Grosvenor Casino Central Reading. A modern casino equipped with several bars and a restaurant, the roulette, blackjack and poker tables are open 24 hours a day and it’s just around the corner from The Oracle shopping centre.

And finally, catch up with the latest Hollywood blockbusters at the Vue Cinema at The Oracle. An 11-screen theatre capable of hosting 1,800 film fans, the cinema chain has four 3D screens and is literally over the road from our Reading Central hotel.

Covering everything from Segway tours to climbing walls, archery, paintball and bushcraft, Unique Outdoors Reading is also home to the Powerfan, a 50-foot-high jump that simulates the sensation of free fall.

Slightly less adrenaline-fuelled is Beale Park, a popular animal and nature reserve. Home to monkeys, exotic birds, wallabies and more, it’s great for kids, with a large play area, toy train, paddling pool and pond.

Perfect for cooling down during the summer months, Lagoona Park offers jet skiing, jet bikes and an outrageously fun inflatable aqua park where you can swim, dive and jump for 50-minute sessions. You can hire wetsuits and water shoes, and there is a bar and grill onsite with a large balcony overlooking the lake, ideal for reliving the day’s thrills and spills with a cold one.

Staying in the water, take a Thames River Cruise to see the region from a different perspective. There is a range of tours ranging from 30 to 80 minutes long as well as sunset cruises and even live music parties with a fully stocked bar and snacks.

If you want to have a bit of healthy competition with friends while in Reading, head to either the Reload laser clay shooting range or Delta Force Paintball, both of which will safely let you shoot off some steam.  

The second longest river in the UK, you can walk all 184 miles of the Thames Path from start to finish. From its source in the Cotswolds to the Thames Barrier in Greenwich, the trail takes around two weeks to finish – but make sure you break up the trip with an overnight stay in one of our three hotels in Reading, so you get a good night’s rest.

A short walk taking in gentle countryside and woodlands, Sulham Woods is a three-mile trail off Sulham village, several miles to the west of Reading. Spring is a great time to explore, with bluebell meadows and the River Pang burbling nearby. Spread over 50 acres of woodland, Clayfield Copse is a gorgeous area of open meadows and woodland full of hazel, wildflowers, orchids and more. Located to the north of Reading, it’s a great place to explore on a fine day.

Spread over 29 locations across Reading, Readybike is a 24-hour bike rental service equipped with over 200 bikes. You can hire bikes for as little as an hour, or as long as a year, and the scheme instantly opens up the streets of Reading.

A 12-mile round trip, the Reading to Lower Shiplake Cycling Routefollows the River Thames, taking in scenic country views and several notable pubs, including the Baskerville pub in Lower Shiplake. The trail largely avoids main roads and with flat, smooth cycling, is a comfortable ride for all ages.

Known as the R10 route, the Whitley to Reading Town Centre is a quiet ride through southern Reading that takes in some interesting sights including the Madejski Stadium, the River Thames and into the centre of town.