This page gives you information on The Open Group's office in Reading. It includes :-
The Open Group office is marked as _OG_ below, on the second floor of "Apex Plaza"
which is the monstrous pink building adjacent to the Railway Station.
<--- West (Bristol, Bath, Oxford) East (London)---->
(A41255)
| |
--------------------------------------------------------------| |------
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ River Thames ~ | | ~
--------------------------------------------------------------| |------
<<< ----- Holiday Inn ____ | |
\___/ \
______________ ___ \____
| | \___ O ____
| BR Car Park | \ /
|_________ __|__________| /
railway // |__________________ |
==========================//=================================
North =========================//==================================
^ _________________// __________ | |
| |________ |--foot--|_OG_| | | |
| Bus Stops | Rlwy Stn |-bridge-| Apex | | |
|__________| | | | Plaza | | |
Taxi Rank RAILAIR Bus Stop | | |__________| | |
_________________________________________ / \______________/ \_____
_ ______________________ O O O M4->
| | | > > > > | \ _________ _______________ ______
| | | GARRARD ST |v| \ / \ \ \___/ Abbey
|^ | | CAR PARK ^ |v| | / \ \ Gardens
| |____|_________|^|_|v|___/ | \ \
|^ ___<___<___<____^___<____ | \ \ RUINS
| | | | \ \ --->
| | | | \ \
| |________________________| |________________\ \________
| Friar Street \
| ________________________ __________________________ \
| | | | \ \
| | | | \ \
| | | | \ \
| |________________________| |______________________________\ \____
Oxford Rd Broad Street
<---- Broad Street westbound becomes Oxford Road here;
<---- continue short distance for the Ramada Hotel (on left)
___________________________________________________________________
| |
Main Shopping Area,
(Broad Street)
The text below assumes you are staying at the Holiday Inn or the Ramada, but this is not obligatory !
Tel: +44 (0)1734 391818
Fax: +44 (0)1734 391665
This hotel is 15 minutes walk away from the office/station, or if you have bags, a short taxi ride.
If you are driving, you can find the hotel by looking for the two bridges which cross the Thames in Reading. The hotel is beside "*Caversham* Bridge", which is the western one, on the route signposted "Henley and Caversham A4155".
Apex Plaza is close to the other bridge, on the route confusingly signposted to "Henley and Caversham (A4155)". The parentheses, which mean "leading to", are the only difference!
From the Holiday Inn, the most pleasant way to walk to The
Open Group takes 15 minutes:
Go down to the river and under the road to the right, then along
the towpath. Just before the next bridge, turn right, and you
will soon see Apex Plaza beyond the Railway line. Go under the
railway bridge and round to the far side: The Open Group is in
the corner nearest the railway station, on the 2nd floor.
Tel: +44 (0)1734 586222
Fax: +44 (0)1734 597842
This hotel is 10 minute walk away from Reading Station and Apex Plaza, or if you have bags, a short taxi ride. It is situated on the western side of the town centre, on the Oxford Road. If you decide to walk from the station (where the Railair bus also stops), cross the road in front of the Station into Station Road (you are now walking south). Continue across the next road (Friar Street) and the road you are on becomes Victoria Street. You emerge onto a pedestrian mall (Broad Street). Turn right (west) here. Cross West Marys Butts and walk past the Broad Street Mall on your left. The Ramada is shortly after this, on the left.
Apex Plaza from the hotel:
If you need to find Apex Plaza on your own, it is the large pink
building adjacent to the Railway Station. From the hotel, the
walk there will take 15 minutes:
Turn right out of the hotel forecourt, walking east along Broad
Street. Pass the Broad Street Mall on your right. Cross West
Mary's Butts into the Broad Street pedestrian mall. Turn left
(north) at Victoria Street and walk up two blocks (crossing Friar
Street; on the north side of Friar Street, it becomes Station
Road). You will emerge in front of Reading Station. If you turn
right here, there is a pedestrian crossing a few yards along. You
will see Apex Plaza on the right.
Taxi Cabs from the rank at London's Heathrow Airport will cost you 50 pounds or more.
If you phone The Open Group reception or email Margaret well in advance, she should be able to arrange with Transact Couriers for you to be met at the airport and taken to Reading for about 30 pounds. (The journey time is a bit over half an hour outside rush hour.)
Much cheaper, there are two "RAILAIR" buses to Reading Railway station every hour. The service is scheduled to take between 50 and 85 minutes, depending on Terminal and time of day, but it costs about 7 pounds, and the stop is right outside the The Open Group office. (See above)
Gatwick Airport is considerably further, but there are direct trains which take 80 - 90 minutes to Reading Station. The single fare is 11.70 pounds; return fares are less than double that, but vary depending on the day you travel. Morning trains (as at 26 July 95) leave Gatwick at 7:22 (arriving 08:48) and 08:11 (arriving 09:29).
Don't hire a car unless you really want to explore the countryside: Car rental in the UK is expensive, and you will still have to walk from the car park anyway! If you do drive, the British Rail Car Park is slightly more convenient than the Garrard Street Car Park, especially if it is raining: you can get to the office entirely under cover by going "through" the station.
Plenty of choice, (especially in the pubs out in the Chilterns) but we only dare a few suggestions: Just over the road from the Holiday Inn is "Chronicles Riverside Bar and Restaurant" - they have a pretty good menu, the restaurant has a view of the river, and it also has a fair selection of wines available (by the glass or bottle) at the bar.
A few minutes walk down the Caversham Road towards Reading is the Standard Tandoori Nepalese Restaurant - a rather forbidding exterior, but the food has an excellent reputation.
For Italian food, look for "Topo Gigio" or the more casual "Dolce Vita", both upstairs from Kings Walk, off King's Street, at the west end of Broad Street, in the middle of Reading. (20 minutes walk)
And for "any time of day" convenience, there are TWO American restaurants within easy walking distance of the hotels!
The Holiday Inn is right beside the River Thames, so if you would like to run alongside it, bring your jogging kit. And your swimming gear! (We are only half kidding: the river would be cold, but both this hotel (and the Ramada) do have a tiny pool.)
If you want to walk for an hour or so, and you don't like rivers, go to the Abbey Ruins. (See above, or ask the hotel staff. If they tell you the ruins all work at The Open Group, please ignore them!).
It is very easy to go to London from Reading: many trains take
under 25 minutes to Paddington. For evenings and Weekends, an
"Off-peak Travelcard" costs about 10 pounds per day,
and covers the return journey to London, plus unrestricted travel
on the Underground and London Buses when you get there.
Here's
more information on London in general.
You can also easily reach Henley On Thames, Oxford, Windsor,
or Bath by train.
Further information on the key attractions of many local cities,
for example London (including theatre ticket advice), Oxford,
Bath, can also be found in this unofficial but enlightening UK guide.
Information on the Reading area is provided by a local site, I-way
Enjoy your visit!
Wherever possible we have identified contact points for further information. If you can't find the information you need, please contact The Open Group at any of its offices.
