I will be in Reading UK on business in a few weeks, have a 3-day weekend to spend nearby. Have already been to London and Windsor Castle. Was thinking of Stonehenge/Salisbury (I've read that some Stonehenge tours start in Salisbury), Avebury, Bath, Oxford. Of course can't do it all in 3 days, looking for recommendations, havent had time to do much research. I love castles, archaeology, beautiful old architecture, cathedrals, etc. Is the inner circle tour of Stonehenge worth it? Renting a car might be an option, or sticking to trains/buses. I enjoy lots of walking or bicycling, but hear the roads are very narrow so bicycling might not be safe. Suggestions?

Note I am re-posting because I forgot to tag this for UK.

Actually w/ 3 days and a car for at least one of the days, you <i>could</i> do it all - or nearly so.

Reading is nasty itself (well more boring) but it is smack dab in the middle of lots of good sites.

One day do Avebury/Stonehenge/Salisbury and various other site like the canal, the long Barrow, Silbury Hill, old Sarum, etc. Easy by car.

Then the next day do Bath, which would be easy by train of course. But w/ a car you could also stop in Lacock and/or Chippenham.

And the 3rd day Oxford is super easy by train -- but by car you could also drive a bit around the eastern Cotswolds and/or visit Blenheim Palace.

The often derided Reading (it's bland and modern with lots of office buildings and shopping centres, but perfectly safe) is actually a very good base for exploring the surrounding area either by train or car. If you like walking you are well placed to do a bit of the Thames Path along the banks of the River Thames: http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/Thamespath/. The attractive riverside towns of Henley-on-Thames and Marlow are worth visiting in their own right, and you can easily do a walk in one direction, have a pub lunch in an old pub by the river and get the local train back to your starting point. I can give you some more specific suggestions if you'e interested.

Reading's not a bad place at all.
It's just like many other ordinary towns.
It does have a ruined abbey and of course there is Reading Gaol.
Walking along the Thames is a good idea.
If you want a short walk, Sonning is a nice little village
approx 4km (2.4 miles) from Reading.

I agree that you can do pretty much all that you have listed. If you're content with that -- you're all set! But, if you do want some other recommendations I'll throw out one of our favorite destinations. If you rent a car you can hop on the M4 and in about 90 minutes be in Wales! There you can visit Tintern Abbey http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tintern_Abbey and also have your pick of castle ruins, Raglan, Chepstow, White, Grosmont, etc. Raglan is our favorite! These are more ruins than castles -- walls are missing or have fallen down. No roofs. You can check them out on http://www.castlexplorer.co.uk/

This would probably take a full day so you would have to cut something out but it would definitely be our choice. If I were to do your weekend I would choose

Avebury/Stonehenge
Oxford/Blenheim Palace
Tintern Abbey/ Raglan Castle.

Have fun!

Gordon, I am definitely interested in more info on the Thames path. Does it allow bikes? We could cover more ground that way. Do you know if there is there good birdwatching along the Path? Does the path go through downtown Reading, as we'll be staying downtown, near the main train station.

All-thanks so much for the info!

cmlong, if you had clicked on the link provided by Gordon, you would have found this statement, "It is a long distance walking route only for most of it is a public footpath which CANNOT BE CYCLED (anyone wishing to cycle any of the Path should see our FAQs about cycling)".

But you can cycle the towpath of the Kennet & Avon canal, which passes through Reading, http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and...-canal/cycling

The Thames Path does indeed pass through the centre of Reading - just walk slightly north from the statin towards the river and you should pick up the brown coloured signs. As for cycling - it depends on which stretch of the river, as explained if you go thru the FAQ on the website. However the bit from central Reading to the village of Sonning IS a designated cycle path. No doubt there's a convenient cycle hire place in Reading but I'm a walker not a cyclist so I have no personal experience with this - try looking it up on www.yell.com .

There are loads of swans, ducks and geese on all stretches of the river. In the quieter areas you can see a kingfisher if you're lucky.

Hmmm... surprisingly enough for a place of its size, nothing came up for cycle hire in Reading itself on yell.com. Maybe someone else knows?

OK...here's another idea for you - apparently Reading has one of these schemes where you can rent a bike from a machine on the street (designed for commuters but I suppose its available to visitors as well). I've seen this in Paris before, didn't know it was in Reading too. Check-out the following link from Reading Council:- http://www.reading.gov.uk/cycling/Ge...X9452-A783F261. I see one of the rental stations is at Reading Station.