A while back I decided to walk all of the Inner Distribution Road (IDR), Reading’s least glamorous route. As a follow-up I decided to tackle the iconic number 17 bus route.
Running just under seven miles from the water tower in Tilehurst to The Three Tuns, in, er, where is it exactly? (Earley, apparently, on the border between Reading and Wokingham). This route is the back bone of the town taking in the greatest and most varied areas of Reading.
Getting There
I’d chosen to start at the Tilehurst end, as this direction is (slightly) more downhill, although there’s not much in it as the OS Map shows. The route is ever so slightly different through town in each direction, but there’s not a great deal in it.
So I set off for Tilehurst from Lower Earley in what was a very eco friendly journey. Electric buses have recently been added on both the 17 and 21 routes. And my my legs are zero emissions!
Park Lane/School Road
Despite having passed it numerous times, I’ve never really stopped to look at the water tower before, seeing it as something functional rather than of interest. Built about 100 years ago it is rather an attractive and elegant piece of architecture. It was a good start to the walk.
To keep me company, I listened to Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan, possibly the band with the longest name, but with a mission and purpose that seemed to suit what I was doing.
I walked along Park Lane before reaching Tilehurst Triangle. I have never really understood why it is called that as it doesn’t appear that triangular to me and I can’t find the reason so it will have to remain a mystery.
Norcot Road
I turned right off School Road and joined Norcot Road, this is the significant and welcome downhill bit on the elevation chart above.
The first point of interest on Norcot Road is the cute Fiat 500 outside the Italian restaurant Vesuvio Pizzeria. I wonder if they move it each night?
Just a little bit further down the road on the opposite side of the restaurant is a low-lying, ugly building that is very obviously the telephone exchange. At one time, this would have been full of large mechanical machines routing your calls. It’s probably just a small PC sat in a corner now!
Further on is Tyler’s Rest with what must be the most vicious traffic calming I have seen. A very narrow section of road is bounded by two metal bells in the ground. It is highly effective. Nobody that wants an undamaged car rushes through there.
Now it’s downhill to the Oxford Road with just one last point of interest at the bottom of the hill – Norcot Road Cemetery. I had no idea it was there. According to Reading museum this is the burial ground for Tilehurst St George church which is some distance away.
Oxford Road
Another right turn, this time into Oxford Road and possibly the most interesting section of the walk being a multi-cultural and visual delight.
The first place of interest is Brock Barracks, the majority of this is owned by the Ministry of Defence but the keep is owned by the Council although this now has a ‘For Sale’ sign on it. There is a campaign to keep it for it’s current purpose, an arts venue, and recognise it as a building of public value and interest. The for sale sign might suggest that has been lost. I hope that we don’t lose yet another building of interest to flats.
Heading further on towards the centre of town, there are a couple of interesting old buildings: the Battle Library and the entrance place to the Battle Hospital. The hospital has long gone now, replaced with a Tesco and the inevitable flats but the library has been cleaned up and looks great. These contrast with the throughly modern Abu Bakr Islamic Centre just a little further up the road with it’s blue and gold tower and dome.
At the bottom of Russell Street, in a conservation area, is a mural celebrating all the people and businesses that have occupied 139-141 Oxford Road, a grade 2 listed building, since 1829. I have written about this before so you can read more about this piece here.
I’ve never really understood the need for Reading West Station, it being so close to the main station but given all the work done to improve it recently it clearly must get well used. There is now a modern ticket office before the bridge and this seems to fit in well.
Finally, I crossed the IDR with a quick look down and past the, what is now the Penta Hotel but was always the Ramada when I worked in Queens Walk behind it. Past the Mall to the crossroads where the Oxford Road, West Street, Broad Street, and St. Mary’s Butts roads meet.
I am old enough to remember when there were traffic lights here, and I still think that there needs to be a pedestrian crossing from the Butts to the Broad Street side, either that or maybe the buses might like to stop to let people cross occasionally but that’s just me.
Intermission
I took a short break here, having lunch in Lebanese Flavours (née The Bakery House) on London Street. If I’m honest, the ‘short break’ was actually about ten days, not all of which were spent in The Bakery House!
Kings Road
The bus goes down Friar Street but I cheated and went down Broad Street instead, picking up the 17 route at Jackson’s Corner and headed into Kings Road.
At the start of Kings Road you pass the Reading Library, or at least you do at the moment, it is due to move the the council building on Bridge Street shortly. However, if you look just in front of the entrance you will see a very short stretch of the Holy Brook as it passes under the building.
Futher interesting views before you reach the old Prudential Building are the Blade and the Abbey on the left hand side of the road and the sculpture “Girl and Swan” on the right at 100 Kings Road.
You then pass the only building that remains from what was once the vast Huntley & Palmer biscuit factory before heading over the canal and on to the straight stretch of the road. Here you will find Reading College and next to it the Reading Rep which opened in 2012. Eventually, you reach Cemetery Junction, where the King’s Road meets the London and Wokingham Roads.
The junction is named after the Old Reading Cemetery that sits between the join of London Road and Wokingham Roads. Sadly you cannot enter via the arch at the moment as it isn’t safe to do so but you can see pictures of it and the cemetery here.
Wokingham Road
At the junciton you turn right to head up Wokingham Road with the cemetery on your left. Just before you reach Palmer Park there is a Victorian building that I remember well as housing the Colleys Supper Rooms. Here you were treated to several courses of traditional food and at the end the puddings were paraded before you to help you make a selection. Sadly long gone, and its latest incarnation is as a Greek grill.
Palmer Park was donated to the town by Huntley and Palmers and has recently had a bit of a spruce-up with the addition of a smart new sports centre behind which is a stadium incorporating a velodrome. There is also a couple of playgrounds and lots of green space for kids and adults alike.
Onto the final stretch past the Alfred Sutton school on the right and the parade of tired-looking shops on the left, after which the houses start to get bigger and a bit grander.
A bit further on and we reach our final destination The Three Tuns pub where the 17 terminates before doing an elegant u-turn and heading back to Tilehurst which it does several times an hour.
Overview
In total the walk was 6.15 miles, slightly less than had I followed the route properly through town, and took a total of two hours and six minutes. It passes through a variety of different and vibrant areas of Reading and there is plenty to see and do on the way. If you fancy doing the same you can view the route here or let the bus do the hard work and catch the 17!
