This Is What You’ll Find in Wonderful, Historic Reading, UK

Yesterday I arrived back home after an amazing week-long trip to England. This was my first vacation across the pond and as expected, I fell in love with the beauty and history of the land. I did not fall in love with driving on the crazy roads! But that was a mere blip in the trip that took us from London to the Cotswold area. I took lots of photos, but today I’m focusing on charming, historic Reading, UK. where we stayed the second half of the trip (the first half we stayed in Windsor). I’ll start with the beautiful old homes.

The houses you see below are located in Caversham, part of the county borough of Reading. Walking across the Thames River from one town to the next, you don’t even realize you’ve crossed the line into Caversham. My daughter was with me on this trip and we walked from our hotel to the Miller and Carter restaurant, about a mile away through a residential area. You truly felt the vibe of England walking uphill along the tree-lined street. Most of the front yards were gravel, like this red brick home. People park here as street parking was almost non-existent along this route. Grassy yards are either on the side or back of the home.

 

Homes are centuries old and feature unique details and architecture. The windows are large and impressive and most houses have appealing landscaping.

 

This large, gated home has a bit of grass adjacent to the gravel drive and parking area. Isn’t it pretty with the stucco and brick facade?

 

Tan bricks in a unique pattern appear as “shutters” around the windows of this beautiful red brick home. You’ll see a lot of bay windows on the old homes of historic Reading, UK. To the lower left of the bay window, you’ll notice a garbage can peeking out. Most homes keep their cans in front of the home behind a brick or stone wall so they’re not easily visible.

 

A gorgeous hedge of hydrangeas adorn the space below the bay window of this brick beauty. Hydrangeas were everywhere we went.

 

Our dinner at MIller and Carter was really good – I had sea bass with dauphinoise potatoes, commonly known as potatoes au gratin in the U.S. It took a while to get used to some of the differences in what things are called in the U.K. (like “loo” as opposed to “rest room” or “bath room”). Note the windows and front door on this old home.

 

The sun was setting as we made our way back to the hotel across the Thames River. With the lights on inside, it made it easier to see how people decorated the inside of these historic charmers.

 

Arched doorways are pretty common throughout the older residential neighborhoods.

 

We stumbled across the healing well of St. Anne, that once drew medieval Catholic pilgrims to the Caversham area. King Henry VIII ended Catholic worship and many of the religious sites were forgotten. This well was lost (not sure how you lose a well) and rediscovered in 1906. The church of St. Anne no longer exists, but the well was preserved.

 

Earlier in the day we explored the downtown area of historic Reading, UK, which isn’t as quaint as Windsor (photos coming soon), but was still enjoyable to explore and has its own share of historical sites and charming shops.

 

In the heart of the small city is Reading Town Hall that was built in phases from 1786 to 1897. The tower clock is just as beautiful as Big Ben in London, although not as tall.

 

I’ll wrap up this virtual tour of historic Reading, UK (and Caversham) with a photo of the view from our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. Swans, geese, and ducks float gracefully on the Thames River with the bridge to Caversham in the background.

 

I’ll share more photos of the beauty and architecture we saw during our trip to England. I’m especially excited to show some of the charming towns of the Cotswold area!