READING is a modern, prosperous town on the south bank of the River Thames, ten miles south of Henley. Guarding the western approaches to London, it has always been important, long a stopping-off point for kings and queens and once home to one of the country's richest abbeys. Henry VIII took care of the abbey, seizing its lands and hanging the abbot from the main gate, and today almost nothing remains of the old town except the shattered remains of the aforementioned abbey, a short walk to the east of the pedestrianized shopping centre.

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There is a flourishing arts scene in the town, with both the Reading Film Theatre (tel 0118/9868497) and the Hexagon Theatre (tel 0118/9606060) offering a good programme of shows, but you wouldn't make a beeline for the place were it not for its two big summertime music festivals . The first, the three-day WOMAD festival ( ; tickets tel 0118/9390930), held each July, is a celebration of World Music, Arts and Dance, originally inspired by Peter Gabriel. Since the first WOMAD in 1982, there have been about a hundred spin-off events in twenty countries, but the Reading festival remains the focus, held at the Rivermead Leisure Complex, Richfield Avenue, just to the north of the town centre. Also held at the Rivermead Leisure Complex, but a little later in the summer, the Reading Festival ( ) is a three-day event featuring many of the big names of contemporary music. Details of who is performing are published in the music press at least a couple of months in advance and tickets are available from record shops across the country. The vast majority of festival-goers camp on site and special buses run there in their hundreds, or you can walk from Reading train station - it only takes fifteen minutes.        

Reading can be reached by train from London Paddington and Waterloo. The tourist office , in the town hall, in the town centre on Blagrave Street (Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm; tel 0118/9566226), runs an accommodation-booking service; be sure to reserve a room months in advance if you're planning on being here for either festival.

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