An Overnight to Reading

Our first adventure outside the London city limits takes us to Reading, a moderately-sized town in Berkshire just about 40 miles west of London. History buffs will already know that Reading was an important stop along the River Thames during the medieval period, and became a place of pilgrimage with the founding of the Reading Abbey in the early 1100s. The Abbey was all but destroyed by Henry VIII’s Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-1500s; the last abbot was hanged, then drawn and quartered in front of the Abbey church.

And where exactly is that church? Why, adjacent to the Forbury Hotel, of course! The Forbury is the top luxury hotel in the area, a classic reuse of the former Berkshire Shire Hall and a beautiful example of townhouse-style construction from the early 1900s. Each of the 23 rooms and suites boast original works of art from the region and around the globe; pieces in the public areas of the hotel are on loan rotation from La Galerie in Pimlico.

Our stay included an overnight in a Superior Room on the first floor (second floor to us Americans); each room in the hotel is lavishly-appointed and no two rooms are the same. As is befitting a true luxury hotel (and that term gets tossed around inappropriately quite a bit) the staff were welcoming, knowledgeable of the area, and happy to assist with even minor trivialities (RJ11 phone cord adapter, anyone?) with a warm smile. And, as you know, a competent and resourceful staff is the backbone of any successful luxury establishment. Couple this with simply prepared, delectable offerings from the kitchen – the Eggs Benedict is my standard rule by which hotel breakfasts are measured, and this one came with a surprisingly lemony-fresh hollandaise (albeit a tad more than needed) and parma ham – and you have a recipe for success.

 

My main goal here in Reading was to explore the Hosier Street market – 60 stalls selling food, flowers, plants, crafts, and household goods – and see how many of the more than 100 pubs in town we could visit (quite a lot of pubs for a town this size…) The sheer number of pubs around the central town square was enough to fill both afternoons and evenings, and as is the case with many pubs in the UK, a diverse array of real ales and local pints were available at each stop. My personal favorite? The Abbot Ale from the Pitcher & Piano…

All in all, the trip was a pleasant diversion from the recent stress of getting the new office established. Up next for The Gastronomic Traveler? Ten days in London, Amsterdam, and Madrid watching the World Cup with local fans. Follow our gastronomic and sporting adventures over the next two weeks with live postings every day as we seek out the classic and the unusual in these three cosmopolitan capitals!