Cycle

If you’re looking for a sustainable, eco-friendly way to travel to Reading, cycling might just be the answer, with decent parking facilities, signposted cycle routes - and even free guest bikes on offer at some town centre hotels!

Cycling in the town centre

Reading is a great place to travel by bike, with most places in the town centre within a 30 minutes’ cycle. There is also plentiful (although popular!) cycle parking options if you need somewhere to store your two wheels during your visit. However, as with any major town or city, if you plan on leaving your bike at a cycle park facility it’s important to lock it securely.

Reading Borough Council produces a useful map of the town's recommended cycle routes to get you around once you are here. While there currently isn’t a bike hire scheme in the town, two of our town centre hotels (The Roseate Reading and Premiere Suites) have free bikes to loan to guests. So, if you’re planning to stay, it’s worth checking if there’s a bike you can use to explore the area.

There are several bike shops in the town centre in case your bike needs a bit of TLC.

Cycling around Reading

Reading is perfectly located for exploring the wider Thames Valley by bike. It’s located on several of the UK's Sustrans Routes (routes 4, 5 and 23), which links the town with nearby places and points of interest, such as Oxford, Newbury and Basingstoke.

The Thames Path makes for a great cycling opportunity, with beautiful sites and riverside villages both East and West, as well as historical towns such as Oxford, Henley and Windsor.

Cycling in the wider Reading region and beyond

If you’re looking to use Reading as your base or a stop-off point for a bigger cycle adventure there are lots of opportunities. The King Alfred Way is a 350km cycle route which starts and ends in Winchester, with The Ridgeway section passing through Reading’s idyllic riverside villages of Goring, Streatley and Mapledurham, through to Reading town centre. The Chilterns Area of Outstanding National Beauty also offers great cycling, with the Chilterns Cycleway taking in the best of the scenery over a 170mile circular route.

Many trains accept bikes if you’re planning to travel further afield, although it’s worth checking your route in advance, as some bikes need to be reserved on board and there can be carriage rules and restrictions to bear in mind. National Rail’s PlusBike is a good general source of information on cycle facilities at train stations and advice on taking your bike on trains.