EDITOR'S NOTE
The heat finally breaks this week — and with it, possibly the longest dry spell Reading has seen in 170 years of records. Showers are due from Tuesday, so time your plans around them: a beer festival lands at Station Hill on Friday, Broad Street Mall throws a Pride party on Saturday, and Sunday is your absolute last chance to catch the dinosaurs before they leave town.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Station Hill Beer Festival — Friday 21 August, Siren RG1, Station Hill. Free entry
Reading BID brings together the town's own brewers — Siren Craft Brew, Double Barrelled and Zero Degrees — with live entertainment and street food in the new quarter beside the station. Just turn up; tables bookable if you're organising a group.
BEST FOR KIDS
Reading Dino Trail — FINAL WEEK. The 19 brick dinosaurs leave town after Sunday 23 August. Free; maps from The Oracle, Broad Street Mall and Central Library. If you've been meaning to do it all summer, this is it.
NEW THIS WEEK
Haute Dolci opens at The Oracle on Saturday 22 August — the luxury dessert restaurant takes over the upper-level unit left empty since Mission Burrito closed after 16 years. It joins Snowflake Gelato, whose new kiosk opened on the upper mall at the end of July.
HEADS UP
Roadworks season starts Monday. The council's summer resurfacing programme covers at least 17 sections of main road over the next five weeks — including Friar Street, Bath Road, Henley Road and George Street in Caversham — with closures, parking restrictions and signed diversions as each section is done. Details below.
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Reading Dino Trail — last chance. Ends Sunday 23 August. See Best for Kids above.
Bach to Baby family concert — Saturday 22 August: classical music for babies, toddlers and their grown-ups, the first date of the 2026 Reading series. A lovely rainy-morning option if the showers arrive.
Summer of Play, Basildon Park — free family games and activities in the National Trust grounds continue daily to 30 August (normal admission applies). Summer Crafts at Reading Libraries also runs right through the holidays, and the 48-Hour Film Challenge launches at Reading Biscuit Factory on Monday 17 — teams have until the 24th to shoot a short film.
Adults · Date Night
Under Cover Comedy, Renegade Brewery — Tuesday 18 August. Dave Fulton and Steve Williams headline stand-up under cover at the Caversham brewery, MC Jonathan Elston. Tickets £16.
Musical Theatre Karaoke Night, Angel Bar & Supper Club — Wednesday 19 August. Belt out the showtunes; book a table. The same venue hosts Divalicious Bingo & Karaoke with Grace Anatomy on Thursday 20th.
Cabaret Night with Bodacia, Oakford Social Club — Thursday 20 August, 8pm, free entry.
Weekend Events
Fri 21 Aug: Station Hill Beer Festival — see Featured above. Smoother Sounds brings DJs to Market House the same night.
Sat 22 Aug: Broad Street Beats returns to Broad Street Mall, 11am–3pm, free — a family-friendly celebration of Reading Pride with live music and DJs. Also on: a guided "Reading — the home of photography" walk at 10am, Readipop's Yard Party, and CAMRA's Saturday brewery social.
Sun 23 Aug: Reading Abbey Tour, 10am — a guided walk through the 900-year-old ruins. And the dinosaurs' final day.
Looking ahead: Reading Festival takes over Little John's Farm from Thursday 27 to Sunday 30 August — expect a very different town centre next weekend. Full survival guide in next week's Brief.
🏙️ What's New in Reading
Haute Dolci is opening at The Oracle. The upmarket dessert chain opens on Saturday 22 August in the upper-level unit vacated when Mission Burrito closed after 16 years. It's the second sweet arrival of the summer — Snowflake Gelato's kiosk opened on the upper mall on 31 July.
The old Central Library is being boarded up. The council won permission this week to put security hoarding and mesh screens around the vacant building on Abbey Square while its future use is decided — a visible marker that the landmark's next chapter is still unwritten.
Solar panels could be coming to the Select Car Leasing Stadium. An application went in this week to install solar photovoltaics on the stadium roof — the club's home may soon be part-powered by sunshine.
🚧 Useful Reading Updates
Roads — resurfacing programme starts Monday. At least 17 sections of main road will be resurfaced over the next five weeks, including Friar Street, Bath Road, Henley Road and George Street in Caversham. Expect rolling closures, parking restrictions and signed diversions; the council says access for residents and businesses will be kept open where safe. Full schedule at reading.gov.uk →
Rail — a clear week for Reading. No engineering affecting Reading services this week; the Bristol-area works running to 27 August only affect local stations on the Severn Beach line, not mainline journeys. Enjoy it — Reading Festival crowds hit the trains from Wednesday next week. Check gwr.com before travelling →
Planning — a quiet, householder week. The notable decisions: security hoarding approved for the vacant Central Library (above), and a bid to convert the upper floors of 58 Kings Road into three flats was refused. The most interesting new application is the stadium solar scheme (above). Otherwise: extensions, dormers and tree works.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 17 Aug: Resurfacing programme begins · 48-Hour Film Challenge launches at the Biscuit Factory
Tue 18 Aug: Under Cover Comedy, Renegade Brewery · showers likely from today
Wed 19 Aug: Musical Theatre Karaoke, Angel Bar
Thu 20 Aug: Cabaret with Bodacia, Oakford Social Club · Divalicious Bingo, Angel Bar
Fri 21 Aug: Station Hill Beer Festival, Siren RG1
Sat 22 Aug: Broad Street Beats, Broad Street Mall, 11am–3pm · Haute Dolci opens at The Oracle
Sun 23 Aug: Reading Abbey Tour, 10am · Dino Trail final day
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
Museum of Berkshire Aviation, Woodley
Tucked at the end of Mohawk Way on what was once Woodley Aerodrome, one of pre-war Britain's busiest airfields — and the place where Douglas Bader lost his legs in a 1931 crash. Volunteer-run and full of aircraft actually built in Woodley by Miles Aircraft, plus the stories of the thousands of local people who built them. Open Wednesdays, weekends and bank holidays. Perfect for a showery afternoon this week.
Museum of Berkshire Aviation © Matthew Gaylard (mgaylard.co.uk), CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
WEATHER THIS WEEK
The heatwave breaks: after Thursday's 38°C peak, the coming week is a different season — 22–25°C, cloudier, with showers likely from Tuesday afternoon through Saturday. Given the drought, nobody should complain. Friday evening's beer festival and Saturday's Broad Street Beats may catch a shower, so pack a layer; Sunday looks the better half of the weekend after a possible morning shower.
👀 WORTH KNOWING
Reading is on the brink of a 170-year weather record. The town's dry spell — measured at the university's climate station since the 1850s — has been running at record-breaking length, with the hosepipe ban still in force. The showers forecast this week could finally end it. Rarely has rain been so welcome.
Reading has been named one of the UK's top 10 places on the rise. A national study of jobs and growth put the town among the country's best performers — backing up what the cranes on the skyline have been saying for a while.
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Published by Getbrief, a trading name of RJP Group Ltd