At the start of the season I got caught out by a ridiculous parking change at the Madejski Stadium car park where the price to park had gone up from £8 to £15. I phoned the club to complain and they have made a slight concession. You can now book a space in advance of match day for a tenner otherwise it’s still £15 on the day. Sod that.

I now use the Mereoak Park and Ride. The post code is RG7 1PB.It’s an excellent service. Just come off the usual M4 exit at Junction 11 and head along the A33 to Basingstoke for about a mile before you see a signpost for Mereoak park and ride where you take a turning to the right. Then go around the mini rab and turn right into the car park. Walk across the carpark to the buses where you will see one for the Madejski. If you are travelling alone ask the driver for a return ticket to the Madejski. It will cost you £4 for the ticket and parking is free. If you are travelling with family members ask for a family return ticket to the Madejski. It will cost you no more than £5. If you are coming with other adults ask for a group return to the Madejski. It will cost you no more than £5. The journey takes 10 minutes. The bus drops you off at the foot of the incline you walk up to the stadium. You get the bus back to the carpark at the foot of the incline on your way home. There will be long queues waiting for the bus back after the game but they lay on plenty of buses and you will get one after no more than about 20/25 minutes. The journey back to the carpark will take ten minutes. Once back in your car it will only take five minutes until you are back on the M4. It’s a great and cheap service and one that I now always use.

There are other options including a free one. The freebie is at the World Turned Upside Down pub along Basingstoke Road. They do a decent beer and carvery but it’s about a 25 minute walk to the ground and you would need to get there about 90 minutes before kick off for a parking place.

You can also use the old Greyhound carpark along the A33 but would have to go through all the match day traffic to get there. It will cost you a tenner. It will also cost a tenner to park at Cordwallis, 40 Bennett Road, RG2 0QX. It’s opposite the Jaguar garage.

There is also the Holiday Inn, 500 Basingstoke Road RG2 0SL which is also a tenner but Reading fans have had issues with purchasing parking tickets there this season.

I hope this helps and have a safe journey