EDITOR'S NOTE
Second week of the school holidays, and the weather holds — hot and dry through Thursday before rain arrives for the weekend. The real story this week is town-centre change: a long-awaited pub expansion finally gets the green light, a new food-court arrival draws in the Pokémon crowd, and one of Broad Street's anchor stores could be on borrowed time.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Summer of Play, Basildon Park — running 25 July to 30 August, seven days a week
Free family games and activities across the grounds of the National Trust house at Lower Basildon, running the length of the school holidays. Normal admission or membership applies for the house and gardens, but the activities themselves are free and need no booking — just turn up.
BEST FOR KIDS
Summer Crafts at Reading Libraries — running 22 July to 2 September at libraries across the borough. Free drop-in craft sessions to fill the holiday afternoons; check with your local branch for days and times.
NEW THIS WEEK
Chill Cup opens at The Village. A Hong Kong-style café on the upper floor of the old Kings Walk mall (rebranded "The Village"), serving bubble tea, egg waffles and stir-fry alongside Pokémon, Naruto and One Piece trading cards. Latest in a run of new arrivals turning the mall into a genuine food destination.
HEADS UP
Broad Street's TG Jones (the former WHSmith) could close. Up to 150 branches nationally are earmarked for closure amid parent company Modella Capital's restructuring, and shoppers are worried about losing the Post Office counter inside. No confirmation yet for the Reading branch specifically, but worth keeping an eye on if you rely on it.
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Summer of Play, Basildon Park — from Saturday 25 July, running to 30 August, seven days a week. Free family games and activities in the grounds. See Featured above.
Summer Crafts at Reading Libraries — 22 July to 2 September, various branches. Free drop-in sessions for kids through the holidays.
Reading Dino Trail continues — the 19 brick dinosaurs are still dotted round the town centre, free, running to 23 August. Trail maps from The Oracle, Broad Street Mall and Central Library if you haven't picked one up yet.
Adults · Date Night
Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, South Street — Thursday 30 & Friday 31 July, 8pm. New show from Xhloe and Natasha, triple Fringe First Award winners, previewing ahead of Edinburgh. £15 (£13 members). Book at whatsonreading.com →
Silhouettes of Society, Basildon Park — running to 1 November. A fashion exhibition on the life of Lady Iliffe; pairs well with a Summer of Play visit if you're heading out that way. Free with normal admission.
Weekend Events
Sat 1 Aug: Reading Dino Trail and Basildon Park's Summer of Play both continue — free, all day.
Sun 2 Aug: Last day of the Swindon–Bristol Parkway rail diversion through Reading — normal journey times resume from Monday.
Looking ahead: the Reading Biscuit Factory's monthly quiz night falls on Monday 27 July, 7:30pm. The Dino Trail runs right through to 23 August.
🏙️ What's New in Reading
The Purple Turtle's long-awaited expansion can now go ahead. The council has approved the external and internal works needed to turn the building next to the Gun Street bar into a café/restaurant with a new performance space and backstage area — a scheme first given the green light back in February 2025. No opening date yet, but the paperwork hurdle is cleared.
An Italian restaurant is coming to Market Place. Luftar Rusta, owner of Tasty Greek Souvlaki, has won approval to fit out the Bristol & West Arcade building — empty for 19 years — with kitchen extraction and air conditioning. He's hoping to open later this year.
McDonald's has reopened at The Oracle after a refurbishment aimed at improving the experience for customers and staff.
🚧 Useful Reading Updates
Rail — the long diversion is in its final days. The Swindon–Bristol Parkway engineering work that's been sending London–South Wales trains the long way round via Reading (adding about 25 minutes) finishes this Sunday, 2 August. Normal routing resumes from Monday. Check gwr.com before travelling →
Buses — new network beds in. The revised routes that started on 20 July (Pink 22 and Route 12 withdrawn, Aqua 28/28a's faster Henley route, Little Berries 29/29a's extra Sunday journeys) are into their second week. Check reading-buses.co.uk if you're still finding your feet with the changes.
A Caversham nursery is set to more than double its intake. Plans have been submitted to increase the number of children allowed at the nursery on Gosbrook Road from 30 to 60, with the external play area's capacity rising from 10 to 25.
Planning — a quiet week for major schemes. Nothing on the scale of last week's Castle Street police station proposal. The most notable validation: four new flats proposed above shops at 73–74 & 74A Broad Street, including a refurbished stairwell and entrance. Elsewhere, ventilation and extraction details were signed off for Shake Shack's Broad Street unit (confirming work is progressing) and for a frontage refit at the former Reading Cold Store site on Deacon Way, Tilehurst.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 27 Jul: Monthly quiz night, Reading Biscuit Factory, 7:30pm
Wed 29 Jul: Warmest day of the week, up to 29°C
Thu 30 – Fri 31 Jul: Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It, South Street, 8pm
Fri 31 Jul: Rain arrives by afternoon — first meaningful wet weather in weeks
Sun 2 Aug: Swindon–Bristol Parkway diversion ends — last day of the 25-minute delay via Reading
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
St Laurence's Church, Friar Street
One of Reading's three medieval parish churches, built by the monks of Reading Abbey in the 1120s and rebuilt several times since, most recently after bomb damage in 1943. Its handsome 15th-century tower closes the view up the old Market Place, but most shoppers walk straight past without a glance. Free to step inside — look for the memorial to Elizabethan mathematician John Blagrave and the 1522 font that christened a future Archbishop of Canterbury.
St Laurence's Church, Friar Street © stlreading.org
WEATHER THIS WEEK
Hot and dry Monday to Thursday — expect the high 20s, peaking around 29°C on Tuesday and Wednesday — before rain moves in Friday afternoon and lingers into Saturday morning. It clears for a drier, sunnier Sunday. UV is high (7) on Monday and Wednesday, so pack sunscreen if you're out at Basildon Park or on the Dino Trail.
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Published by Getbrief, a trading name of RJP Group Ltd