Welcome to Reading
You can find a little bit of everything in Reading! Below, you'll find some basic local information that may help you get your bearings and find your feet as a University of Reading Fresher. For a more complete guide to living and visiting Reading, take a look at the Living Reading website.
Public Transport
Rail
The nearest train station is Reading, which is a 35 minute walk from the Whiteknights campus. The National Rail website has detailed information about train timetables, tickets as well as a useful journey planner.
Bus
There are many bus services running to and from the University of Reading, the Halls of Residence and all around Reading. The Readingbuses are simple to recognise with their unique colour coded routes and timetables. The number 20 and 21 buses come from Reading station/town centre and onto campus every 10 minutes and then go onto Asda in Lower Earley. The number 19 goes to Bulmershe campus via Whiteknights campus every hour. You can pick up local bus timetables from the Reception in The Hub or you can find out complete route details and fare prices on the Readingbuses website .
Reading Buses have also introduced a new simplyUni card, which can offer you unlimited bus travel during your university term for just £99! For those of you that don’t wish to purchase a simplyUni card, single fares are available from the driver for £1.70 each way, or for the occasional travel there is an Easysaver 10 card, priced at just £15.00 for 10 journeys. Night services (on some night services a £1 premium may be charged) are also available in order to make getting back to your Hall of Residence safe and convenient after a night out socialising.
Safety Bus
For students working late in the library or involved in out of hours activities, the Students' Union runs a Safety Bus Service that operates on the hour from 6.00pm until 11:40pm Monday to Thursday leaving from the back of the library. Students can be dropped off at University Halls of Residence or private accommodation within a defined area, please see the Safety Bus Map (PDF, 274KB) for service boundaries. As the buses can only take eight passengers at a time, priority is given to lone students. If you miss the bus or cannot wait for the next run consider phoning for a taxi from Yell Cars Taxi Service (tel. 0118 966 6555).
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Local Shops
On Campus
In the Students' Union building and on the Whiteknights Campus, you'll find a range of shops and food outlets including a supermarket (Campus Central), oriental food store (Kimee), bookshop (Blackwell), hairdressers (Uni-Cuts), IT Repair store (Advance Solutions), café (Café Mondial), pub and restaurant (Mojo's Bar), and much more! RUSU also hosts a weekly fresh produce market. For full details and opening times visit the Retail & Other Services webpage.
Near Campus
There is a parade of local shops on Christchurch Green, close to the main University entrance, including a bakery, cafe, greengrocers, dry cleaners, Natwest Bank branch, a pharmacy and some takeaway food outlets. There are also a couple of general stores, some of which sell a range of international foods.
Grocery Shopping
There are various supermarkets in the local area including Sainsburys in the town centre (Broad Street and Friar Street), Tesco on Crown Street, Morrisons on the Basingstoke Road, Asda Supermarket in Lower Earley and The Co-operative on Erleigh Road and London Road. There's also a fruit and vegetable market on Hosier Street (behind the Broad Street Mall) and a fortnightly Local Farmers' Market at The Cattle Market, Gt Knollys Street.
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Banks & Cash Machines (ATMs)
The Students’ Union will be hosting an ATM soon and there is Natwest Bank branch on the row of shops at Christchurch Green, by the main University entrance which also has an ATM. You can also find most main high street banks in the Town Centre. More information on the local area facilities is available from the Reception in The Hub.
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Postal Services
On Campus
You can have your post, such as letters and small packets, weighed at The Hub, the Students' Union reception, and postage stamps for national and international post can be purchased at Campus Central, our general store.
Off Campus
For large post and other services, there are Post Offices situated in the Asda Supermarket and on Market Place (Reading town centre), Whitley Street and Wokingham Road. For opening times and full service details visit the Post Office website.
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