If you thought Reading was no more than the place where the Byzantine Empire failed to get help from the Angevin Empire, where a grunge singer pelted with mud by the audience responded by extracting her tampon and throwing it at them, and where my cousin "the Governor all in shiny black, With the yellow face of Doom" aimed to "knock the nonsense out of Wilde", think again! The first wave of Covid-19 did kill Britain's 3rd-largest beer festival, but there are still plenty of good beer pubs, without even leaving the Tube map. Come and try some - even come early to see a bit more of the town if you like.
To join the start of the crawl the 11:48 from Paddington to Swansea, arriving Reading 12:11, should do, but there are around 6 Great Western trains an hour each way, rather irregularly spaced (and some slower). The Elizabeth line takes twice as long from Paddington and South Western three times as long from Waterloo, but one of them may be best if you live near the route (and the Elizabeth is free with a London Freedom Pass). Usually the Elizabeth line trains arrive close to the right exit but Waterloo ones at the opposite end of the station. Tap-in & tap-out does NOT work at Reading station.
Pub crawling is not an exact science so times after the start are approximate. I'll try to make sure any major changes of timing are posted here, particularly if I know someone's planning to join us after the start.
If you haven't been on many (or any) events with the group and aren't certain of recognizing us, feel free to message me in advance to arrange something.
All the pubs have at least a couple of tables outside.
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12:15 Meet outside the North exit of Reading station (beyond Platform 15, signed for Caversham and the car park).
12:30 The Fox and Hounds, Caversham (51 Gosbrook Rd, Caversham, Reading RG4 8BN)
Local CAMRA's pub of the year, 6 hand pumps, 13 keg lines, and ciders, as listed on
https://www.thefoxcaversham.com/
No cash.
2:00 The Alehouse (2 Broad St, Reading RG1 2BH)
A Reading institution and local CAMRA's previous pub of the year, with a good range of well-kept draught and bottled beers, also real ciders, perry and mead. No website.
3:15 The Castle Tap (120 Castle St, Reading RG1 7RJ)
Wide range of beer in cask, keg, bottles and cans, also known for its real ciders. No website worth looking at.
4:30 The Nag's Head (5 Russell St, Reading RG1 7XD)
A Reading institution and the Daily Telegraph's Best Pub in Berks, with a dozen hand pumps, more keg lines and real ciders, as listed on
https://www.thenagsheadreading.co.uk
5:45 The Greyfriar (53 Greyfriars Rd, Reading RG1 1PA)
Reading's "Best Small Business" in the "Pubs and Bars" category. 4 hand pumps, 8 keg lines, bottles and cans, and ciders, as listed on
http://www.thegreyfriarreading.co.uk/
CAMRA members' discount, in sight of Reading station.
FOOD.
The pubs are chosen for their beer, not their food. The Fox does pizzas etc and the Nag's posh toasties etc - menus on the websites. The Alehouse offers nothing more substantial than a pickled egg (but seems happy for you to bring food in). The Castle does a cheeseboard, the Greyfriar that or a pretzel. We're never far from a supermarket or fast-food place, and between the Alehouse and the Castle Tap we cross the commercial centre of town (and pass another Reading institution, Sweeney's pie shop).
WALK BEFOREHAND
If you'd like to arrive earlier to see a bit more of Reading, message me. We'd walk to the Oscar Wilde memorial (picture) and back - mostly traffic, chain stores, blocks of flats and office blocks but some other possibly interesting things (connected to e.g. possibly the most murderous serial killer ever, possibly the best novelist ever, possibly the only King of England still buried under a car park, possibly England's coolest architect).
