It was a very hot and sunny afternoon as Year 3 set off to visit Forbury Gardens to learn more about the history of Reading. The girls enjoyed the shade of Chestnut Walk and walked along the River Kennet finding and admiring the memorials to Oscar Wilde. We then turned our attention to Reading Abbey. The abbey ruins are no longer open to the public as they are unsafe but the girls saw some of the exterior abbey walls and had more glimpses as we walked through Abbey Walk. Lower I learnt about Reading Abbey’s history and spent some quiet time sketching the Chapter House.
Our walk then took us into Forbury Gardens, where we sat under a large tree to eat our packed lunch. There were plenty of interesting things to see and read about in the park, especially the Maiwand Lion which has become a well known symbol of Reading. To conclude our afternoon, Lower I admired The Abbey Gateway and had little problem in recognising it from their uniforms! We walked through the Gateway and learnt that Jane Austen had been a pupil of The Abbey School when it was located there.