Question about The Oracle Reading

[caravantulips]

Any locals about? I hate driving in cities but my daughter wants to go shopping in Reading tomorrow. I’ve never driven there before. How hellish is the car parking going to be? Is it always possible to get a space at Riverside?

My daughter is very ill and in a wheelchair so need the journey to be as hassle free as possible. I’d normally get the train but the cold weather is putting me off.

Riverside is the best to park for access to The Oracle and the car park is easy to navigate. I think it will be busy so I’d get there early. I’ve seen queues to get into Riverside at this time of year.

Thanks @chimesandrhymeswe wouldn’t be able to get there much before 10/10.30 and I was worried they’d be long queues. Have you ever heard of it being full or are the queues just a bottleneck to get in?

There are signs to let you know if the car parks are full before you get to them, so look out for those. Queues are usually just bottlenecks. I usually go for Holybrook because you can get straight in to the shops from there. If you head to the area of the carpark that used to be the carwash (which I think still has signs up) the lift takes you into TK Maxx, and less people park there, but all entrances to the shops are accessible. If Holybrook is full you can keep going round the roundabout into Riverside.

Ah, that’s good to know @NicolabadeuxHolybrook sounds perfect as we can avoid the cold.

I live locally and shop at The Oracle regularly, and I’ve never had an issue with parking. Occasionally the signs say the car park is full, but if you wait 2–5 minutes it usually clears and lets you in.

Holybrook car park gives you direct access to the shops, whereas Riverside is more convenient if you’r visiting the restaurants. Riverside also stays open till later.

I’d also suggest Holybrook as it is in the Oracle rather than across the river.
Does your DD have a blue badge? I’m trying to remember if there are disabled spaces before you actually
go through the ticket barriers or anywhere else (as, if the car park is full, they may stop people going through the barriers until a few cars exit but I think they only determine if the car park is full
based off the non-blue badge spaces)

I livecloseby. Always spaces in the oracle carpark. It's qr code to pay on exit now. Park top floorby the exit as there are lifts. Have fun !