Easy, free, and a true piece of history. The Abbey ruins are at the heart of Reading history. To truly get the most out of the experience of the Abbey Ruins, I would highly recommend that you go to the Reading Museum first and learn about the history of the entire city. The museum has pieces of the Abbey on display and what you learn there will help you to understand how the ruins play into the whole of Reading's past. The ruins are about a 5-minute walk through Forbury Gardens and are free to the public and all outdoors. There are several structures with informational signs throughout the various parts of the grounds. They are ruins so that should be a clear indication that these are not complete structures, they are pieces of the buildings from 900 years before. It is all outdoors so I would not suggest visiting if it is raining. Each of the informational signs explains where you are in relation to the structures as they were when they were built. When I visited the site they had just finished having a music festival on the grounds so we had to pick our way around the structures to read some of the signs. It is a wonderful piece of history that is well maintained and explained from the placards. It is also free to the public. I would highly recommend to visitors to learn about it and visit it. read more