Reading are just three weeks away from beginning their second successive League One campaign under Ruben Selles following last year's successful survival battle.
Despite all the fear and uncertainty off the field, supporters always have the prospect of away days to look forward.
From trips to the capital to a trip to Hollywood...I mean North Wales, fans will experience it all over the next nine months.
Follow along in this latest series as we look at the 23 away days on offer.
In part one, we focus on the first seven from August until October.
AUGUST
Birmingham City- St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park
A well-trodden path in the last two decades, Royals supporters will return to St Andrew’s after a one-year hiatus following their relegation last season.
Inexperienced manager Chris Davies is in the home dugout for his first match as manager and it comes against a club he knows well, having played for and coached Reading.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 2 hr 15 mins
Last Meeting: Birmingham City 3-2 Reading; December 16, 2022
Recommended Away Pub: The Cricketers
Wrexham- The Racecourse Ground
Enjoying quite the ride from non-league back up to the third tier, the Welsh outfit are currently one of the most on-trend clubs in the world under the ownership of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McIlhenny.
Of course, for Reading fans it is not the A-Listers in the directors' box that will be lauded but the man in the dugout, club legend Phil Parkinson.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 4 hr 3 mins
Last Meeting: Wrexham 0-2 Reading; December 29, 2001
Recommended Away Pub: The Turf
SEPTEMBER
Stockport County- Edgeley Park (subject to international call-ups)
Following the path of Wrexham incredibly similarly, Dave Challinor has taken his side from the sixth tier [National League North] to League One playing some scintillating stuff but flying relatively under the radar.
A first meeting of the 21st century, the Hatters are yet to play at the SCL Stadium.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 3 hr 58 mins
Last Meeting: Stockport County 5-1 Reading; March 3, 1998
Recommended Away Pub: Nelson Tavern
Bolton Wanderers- Toughsheet Community Stadium
One of the final away days of last season, over 1,300 Royals traipsed up to Lancashire on Easter Monday for a high-scoring 5-2 defeat to the beaten play-off finalists.
Perhaps the most impressive ground in the division next season, it is approaching a decade since the last win in the Whites’ backyard [2016].
Drive time [at time of writing]: 4 hr 19 mins
Last Meeting: Bolton Wanderers 5-2 Reading; April1, 2024
Recommended Away Pub: The Beehive
OCTOBER
Rotherham United- New York Stadium
Perhaps the scene of one of the worst away-day memories for supporters in recent years, the Millers annihilated Paul Ince’s hapless Royals 4-0 on the last visit.
A relatively new home, with only six meetings between the two sides on the site, pantomime villain Steve Evans will be hoping to put one over Reading after losing both fixtures as Stevenage boss last campaign.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 3 hr 52 mins
Last Meeting: Rotherham United 4-0 Reading; August 13, 2022
Recommended Away Pub: Cutlers Arms
Barnsley- Oakwell
Perhaps one of the most played fixtures in recent times, the two sides have met at least once per year bar two [2018 and 2015] since 2008.
Earlier in 2024, the entertaining 2-2 draw with the Tykes was enough to mathematically secure safety, leading to wild scenes in the coach on the way back to Berkshire from the players and staff.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 4 hr 11 mins
Last Meeting: Barnsley 2-2 Reading; April 13, 2024
Recommended Away Pub: The Dove Inn
Exeter City- St James Park
Reading fans, having not trekked down to Exeter since the mid-1990s, had two trips in the space of a fortnight last season- garnering mixed results.
Losing in the last minute of the league fixture in front of a full house, only 1,871 were in the ground for the club’s biggest-ever away win, beating a young Grecians side 9-0 in the EFL Trophy.
Drive time [at time of writing]: 3 hr 20 mins
Last Meeting: Exeter City 0-9 Reading; September 19, 2023
Recommended Away Pub: The Bowling Green
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