Buggy-Friendly Bus Routes Around Reading: A Parent's Guide

Routes through the town centre that cope with a pushchair

Reading Buses runs the town network, and the flat, frequent routes through the centre are the easiest with a buggy. The purple 17 and 18 link Reading station's north side with the Broad Street Mall and St Mary's Butts, stopping close to the Oracle's riverside entrance. Buses on these town corridors are typically high-floor-friendly with a dedicated buggy bay behind the driver, and the stops along Friar Street and Blagrave Street have level kerbs and shelters you can wait under in the rain.

For the Kennet Island and Whitley sides, the green 6 and 50 services run south from St Mary's Butts along the A33 corridors, useful if you are staying at a hotel near Junction 11 rather than in the centre. Reading's buses generally ask you to fold or park a buggy in the marked area and give priority to wheelchair users, so board early at quiet stops like Cheapside or the station forecourt rather than at the Oracle on a Saturday.

Out to Caversham, Tilehurst and the Thames Path

Caversham is the obvious buggy outing: the 23, 24 and 27 run over Caversham Bridge from Friar Street into Caversham precinct, where pavements are wide, the library has a lift, and Christchurch Meadows gives you a flat grass loop with a playground. From the precinct, the Thames Path west towards Mapledurham is mostly level gravel, though it narrows after Caversham Lock. Buses here are frequent on weekdays and roughly every 15 minutes on Saturdays; Sunday timetables thin out after mid-afternoon, so plan the return before 4pm.

Tilehurst, west of the centre along the Oxford Road, is served by the 15, 16 and 17; the buses drop on Norcot Road and School Road near the Meadway precinct. The slope up from the Oxford Road is real, so take the bus rather than walking with a pram uphill. Prospect Park has tarmac paths and a café, and the Number 33 to Turnhams Farm is a shorter hop. I would book a Caversham outing over Tilehurst with a toddler, because the river loop gives you a natural turning-back point.

Earley, Woodley and the A329 corridor

East of town, the 21, 21a and 14 run from Reading station and St Mary's Butts out along the Wokingham Road to Earley and Woodley. These are long, straight routes with stops at Cemetery Junction and the Three Tuns crossroads, and the lower Earley buses (the 21 and 21a) serve the University's Whiteknights campus, where the lake path is buggy-suitable and the cafés are used to families. Journey time from the station to Woodley precinct is about 25 minutes outside the peak.

The A329 corridor is where buses bunch in the school run, roughly 8am to 9am and 3pm to 4pm, so avoid it with a pushchair if you can. Woodley's precinct has level access and a small park behind the library. If you are staying near Thames Valley Park or the Madejski Stadium, the leopard 50 and the Mereoak park-and-ride give straightforward hops into the centre, though neither is a scenic ride.

Practicalities: tickets, kerbs and what to skip

Reading Buses uses tap-on, tap-off contactless and its own app; child fares and family day tickets exist, but check current prices at the time of travel rather than trusting a number from a blog. Buggy spaces are limited to one or two per bus, so at busy stops like the Oracle or Reading station in the commuter peak, let the first crowded bus go and take the next. Drivers generally lower the floor, but older buses on school routes may not, so keep the pushchair light.

What I would skip: the park-and-ride from Mereoak on a Saturday if you have a double buggy, because the shuttle fills up; and any attempt to take a pram on the narrow Victorian footpaths around the Oxford Road terraces in the wet. Best months for bus-and-walk days are May, June and September, when the Thames Path at Caversham is dry and the buses are not packed with school traffic.