Reading Audio Trails

We have worked with Sound UK to create two self-guided audio trails for Reading’s High Street Heritage Action Zone.

Listen and walk the trails

• Huntley & Palmers: Market Place and London Street
  Take a journey through time and the world of biscuits with this fascinating audio trail through Market Place and London Street, by Aundre Goddard and Richard Bentley.
• St Mary’s Butts and Castle Street
  Join BBC presenter and long-term Reading resident Fiona Talkington on an engaging walk that brings the rich history of St Mary’s Butts and Castle Street to life.

Two journeys of discovery

Each audio trail takes listeners on a journey of discovery. The walks bring hidden histories and stories to life, helping people to see their high street in a new light.

Listeners can take a self-guided route, supported by an illustrated map created for each place. The walks will encourage people to slow down, pause and reflect, and experience their environment in a new way.

Local artists have worked with communities to collect stories so that each walk is informed by and represents authentic local voices and experiences. These works connect listeners with the people, past and present, who have made their high street what it is today, transforming the everyday into something magical.

The audio trails are produced by Sound UK in association with local arts organisations Readipop and Berserk Productions, commissioned by Reading Borough Council and funded by Historic England as part of the wider national High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) project.

About Reading High Streets Heritage Action Zone

The HSHAZ scheme is a heritage-led regeneration initiative by Heritage England, working with local councils and the community to create economic growth and improve the quality of life in our historic high streets.

About Sound UK

Sound UK produces and commissions extraordinary musical encounters in venues from national concert halls to village greens. It works with the world’s most creative artists to create memorable performances that excite and move audiences across the country and beyond.