Other Attractions
Obviously there is not enough space on the web to list all the things of interest in the town. Here are the highlights that should be on any itinerary.
- The Water Towers - The Salt and Pepper Pots, both of which dominate the skyline. When it was built, the water tower was one of the largest in the country.
- Victoria Pleasure Grounds - The home of Goole Town AFC and the Athletics Club. The ground is still run down compared to many years ago, but it was recently improved to meet the stringent requirements of the Northern Counties League (ie. so that nobody can see the match for free and the entrance does not turn into a giant puddle whenever it rains).
- Leisure Centre -A modern leisure centre and swimming pool built in the heart of the company town. The glass ceiling crashed into the pool when it was first opened, but it's fine now (honest).
- Greenawn Corner - The top end of Boothferry Road that greets new visitors for the first time. Here is the old Goole Grammar and Bartholomew Schools.
- West Park - The largest park in Goole. Go here for Goole Town Gala, walking the dog, bowls, basketball and tennis.
- The Riverbanks - No visit to Goole would be complete without seeing the river. If you're feeling adventurous, then walk all the way to Hook, passing the cemetery and the railway bridge. Otherwise walk onto the banks anywhere of Hook Road and admire the views. You will usually see ships turning around in the river as the make their way into the locks.
- Old Goole - The part of town the other side of the river. This area has been hit the hardest by the closure of the shipbuilding yard and general decline of the town.
- St John's Parish Church - This large church dominates the skyline for miles around and is the oldest church in town. It is situated on the edge of the docks and was built when Goole consisted of just the block of houses off Aire Street.
- Cemetery - This large cemetery is the best place to track down your ancestors, and contains the mass grave of the World War I Zeppelin attack. There are nice views of the railway bridge from here.
- The Monkey Bridge - The bridge with nice views of the water towers and the docks. It was traditional to go here as kids and throw sweet wrappers on passing trains. The bridge has been recently replaced and has lost all of its old character.
- Town Centre - Goole, like most other small market towns, has several shops in the centre of town which cater for the locals' needs. Although most people go to the larger surrounding towns nowadays, the town centre has seen a recent resurgence, with the pedestrianisation of Boothferry Road between the railway and the Clock Tower and a new shopping centre built on the old railway goods yard.
- Aire Street - One of the main streets when the company town was formed. Note the rounded corners on the buildings and the three pubs down the street. The original slum houses were knocked down and the land turned into a supermarket.
- Goole Museum - Situated above the library, next to the Clock Tower, this is the best source of local history information.
- Sobriety Centre - A recent waterways museum opened in the middle of the docks. You can take a canal boat ride from here, or use it as a base to see the coal hoists and other parts of the docks.



- Lower Boothferry Road - Timms Flour Mill - A busy flourmill working in the town centre. If you look carefully you can still see the old windmill in the heart of the factory. Famous for its red trucks seen all over Yorkshire.
- Lower Boothferry Road - Trinity Church - A pleasant church which used to display a huge nativity crib by the road each Christmas. This stopped a few years ago after people kept vandalising the donkeys.
- Lower Boothferry Road - The Cosy Carlton - One of the three old cinemas in Goole. There used to be a small sweetshop to the right. The whole complex is now a Walker's Bingo Hall.



- Upper Boothferry Road - The town centre is now fully pedestrianised and it works well. One a sunny day, you can sit at a cafe bar, have a coffee and listen to the odd busker.
- Upper Boothferry Road - The Old Goole Times- Now a charity shop, but you can still see the ornate artwork and the inscriptions on the front.
- Upper Boothferry Road - Belgravia - A small side street of the main road. The first part to be pedestrianised and acts as a short-cut to the docks.



- Pasture Road - Goole's second shopping street. No longer leads to any pastures but to lots of small shops instead.
- Pasture Road - The Charter Club - The new name for the British Legion Club
- Pasture Road - Goole Baths Hall - The Baths are no longer here as it was replaced by a modern office block and shops several years ago. However you can stand here and reminisce about past swimming galas, wrestling matches and dances.



- Aire Street - The main street in the company town. It was once a large, wide street full of shops and a market, although it is more sedate today.
- Aire Street - Wm. Lows - The corner of Aire Street and North Street. This piece of land had lots of original A&C houses, but they were demolished many years ago. It was then transformed into a BMX racing track before becoming a supermarket.
- Aire Street - Adam Street Garage - Although you may not be interested in having your car repaired, it is listed here because it was an old theatre in the original town. Inside you can see the old balconies.



- Centenary Road - Built in 1926 hence the name.
- Poet's Corner - The name given to a block of streets off Centenary Road which are named after famous British poets. These streets are called Tennyson Street, Spenser Street, Gray Street, Byron Street, Milton Street and Ayres Street.
- Eastgate Flats - Goole's only attempt at social engineering.



- Transport Bottlenecks - There are two ways to get stuck in Goole. If a ship needs to enter West Dock or South Dock, then one of the bridges on Bridge Street is open for about 5 minutes. If South Dock Bridge is open then Old Goole is cut off from traffic (although pedestrians can walk over the dock). If the Dutch River Bridge is open, then Old Goole is cut off unless you take a 20-mile detour towards Scunthorpe.
The other way to get stuck is when the level crossing opens. This cuts the town into two and can lead to large traffic congestion. There is a perfectly good bypass, but people would rather sit nose-to-tail and pollute the pedestrians.
Visitor Comments
Posted by Barrie Stott at 13/08/2001 08:30
Can you solve one query? What are the copper studs for that are set at interval along Belgravia and continue through and pass along the front of The Army Stores, Argos etc? A mystery.
Posted by ME at 05/11/2005 18:32
Goole's turned into a dumping ground the pictures show it for what it really is!!!!
Posted by kirsty !!! at 11/11/2005 12:50
i think that goole is a great place to live ,i lived there for 6 yrs until i mooved away 2 sunny cyprus yay !i went 2 vermuyden n thats rokz tis da best skool eva !i fink ppl shunt dis bowt the life coz it is class!*
* [Webmaster note] I think Goole is a great place to live in. I lived there for two years until I moved to sunny Cyprus, thank heavens! I went to Vermuyden School, which is very agreeable as it's an excellent establishment. I don't think people should cast disparaging comments about the Goole lifestyle because it's phat.
* [Webmaster note] I think Goole is a great place to live in. I lived there for two years until I moved to sunny Cyprus, thank heavens! I went to Vermuyden School, which is very agreeable as it's an excellent establishment. I don't think people should cast disparaging comments about the Goole lifestyle because it's phat.
Posted by jonny at 14/01/2006 21:42
There is also a Vermeuden school on Canvey Island in Essex named after the same bloke
Posted by Julia at 15/09/2006 19:58
My boyfriend is the best hedge cutter in Goole.
Posted by Goole man,not happy at 07/01/2007 14:41
I was born in Goole and moved away at 7,now i have come back and think its more like a town in Poland or some other country.We are out numbered by these people from other places.
Posted by Gail at 24/01/2007 09:52
I'm glad you've listed the huge nativity outside the Trinity Church as a former Goole Attraction. I think its popularity peaked one Sunday morning when we all went to have a look at the handiwork of some Saturday night pranksters. The baby Jesus had been lovingly inserted into the donkey's mouth and some fish and chip paper nestled cosily in the manger. It couldn't happen now, of course, because chip shops don't open on a Saturday night.
Posted by bok at 24/01/2007 22:04
lived in goole 21yrs ,its now full of poles,lats,and what ever else moves over hear ,back lanes full of rubbish ,bags ,beds and shopping trolleys. its lost what it had, gone forever grow up in the poets corner area now a dumpping ground sorry but thats goole now.
Posted by dave at 31/01/2007 17:52
goole is an over rated place we get nothing for out money the east rideing council sucks and its a s**t hole best kept away from and your rite its getting more like poland everyday
Posted by Stu H at 27/03/2007 16:38
I used to work for the Port last year and moved to a small village near Doncaster after been made redundant.
Since leaving I have to admit I really miss the town and it's people.
I miss the warmth of how friendly Goole folk are. I try my hardest to get back to see family and friends every 4 weeks.
You never know what you've got until its gone!!!
I'm missing the place that much I'm looking at moving back.
As for Vermuyden School, The place like everywhere provided some good times and some bad times. But all in all The good times out weighed the Bad times.
To all those who put Goole down. Why would all these big companies be pumping money into the town. Its all about regeneration of the area. And that's what's happening now. Take Care Goole. See you Soon. Stu ;-)
Since leaving I have to admit I really miss the town and it's people.
I miss the warmth of how friendly Goole folk are. I try my hardest to get back to see family and friends every 4 weeks.
You never know what you've got until its gone!!!
I'm missing the place that much I'm looking at moving back.
As for Vermuyden School, The place like everywhere provided some good times and some bad times. But all in all The good times out weighed the Bad times.
To all those who put Goole down. Why would all these big companies be pumping money into the town. Its all about regeneration of the area. And that's what's happening now. Take Care Goole. See you Soon. Stu ;-)
Posted by Pete at 15/07/2007 13:46
we moved away in 2000 and very rarely get back , its not only Goole now with a mixed race and crime you know . so you cant give goole a bad name everywhere is more or less the same .
both of our familys are still there we just made the right move because ther was a lack of jobs thats all . my memories lie in old Goole and the south park with old goolle galas , i remember the speedway and competing in the hundred metres as a kid . and attended marshlands middle . Anyone remember hessam .
both of our familys are still there we just made the right move because ther was a lack of jobs thats all . my memories lie in old Goole and the south park with old goolle galas , i remember the speedway and competing in the hundred metres as a kid . and attended marshlands middle . Anyone remember hessam .
Posted by tomaz at 12/10/2007 23:01
Im from Poland and i love Goole!
Posted by jim at 25/10/2007 18:32
message for Bok
the rubbish was tipped in yards and lanes long before any latts and poles as you call them moved into the area, also see this weeks goole times for that ladies tip of a backyard containing fridge bedding and other rubbish she is a goolee born and bred and duly punnished accordingly
the rubbish was tipped in yards and lanes long before any latts and poles as you call them moved into the area, also see this weeks goole times for that ladies tip of a backyard containing fridge bedding and other rubbish she is a goolee born and bred and duly punnished accordingly
Posted by Mark Crawley at 21/11/2007 15:40
Remember the Swimming Baths in Pasture road in the early 60's..split open my chin when sliding on the wet changing-room floor and ended up experiencing my first(and hopefully last!)stich.
Also remember going to a shop called Donahues' for stuff for chemistry sets(no ban on kids playing with these sort of things then) and toys etc.Is it still there,though doubt it with the likes of ToysRus around...
Also remember going to a shop called Donahues' for stuff for chemistry sets(no ban on kids playing with these sort of things then) and toys etc.Is it still there,though doubt it with the likes of ToysRus around...
Posted by mike at 31/12/2007 13:49
where was ayres strreet on poets corner as i live in poets
Posted by Stuart (Webmaster) at 05/01/2008 21:28
Well done Mike for passing the test to see if the readers are paying attention. The Ayres street mentioned above refers to Pam Ayres (the famous 70's poet). It only took 9 years for the mistake to be found. There's another (witty?) mistake on the site that's been there from the start which nobody has yet commented on.
Posted by pedro at 12/02/2008 22:57
Lowes super mkt my memory fading dont recall a bmx track.But do remember a car park there when I used the BRSA club
Posted by jade armstrong at 08/03/2008 15:29
i live in goole and it like living abroad there is that mainy foren ppl
Posted by Mike Thompson (Derby, East Midlands) at 03/04/2008 00:26
"What now?
If you're trying to track down relatives from the area then visit the genealogy page, it your ancestors sailed from the port then try the ships page, if you want to see where Goolies are around the world then dip into the Goole Gene Pool™,"
LOL How many would like to see where the Goolies are around the world???
If you're trying to track down relatives from the area then visit the genealogy page, it your ancestors sailed from the port then try the ships page, if you want to see where Goolies are around the world then dip into the Goole Gene Pool™,"
LOL How many would like to see where the Goolies are around the world???
Posted by jade armstrong at 05/04/2008 14:54
goole has always had its problems but i think its getting a lot worse now all the foren ppl have moved over here, they seems to be more of them than us. there's a lot of them what drive about with no tax and insuance on there car and never seem to get pulled because the police just carn't be bothered, and they just pretend not to speak any english to them anyway.
Posted by Bill at 08/04/2008 23:39
Jade, some of the 'foren ppl' I know write a lot better English than you do! Bill
Posted by cc at 23/06/2008 09:28
i've lived in goole 28years its not such a bad place really, there maybe alot of foren people in goole but they not all bad some that i know are really nice, people moan about them coming to live here but what about more and more english people moving to spain, the spanish prob think same about us moving there but we keep doing it
Posted by Jayess at 12/08/2008 16:53
If some of you think that Goole is awful why don't you move? You should go to live in some other place like Oldham Manchester or some other foreign filled place then you would really have something to moan about. The grass is always greener so they say. There are many worse places than Goole believe me - thank your lucky stars!!
Posted by jade n alisha at 02/10/2008 11:36
well im glad you seem to like goole at least someone does please write back and let me know the good points about living here because it will take you a long time.
Posted by rob at 12/11/2008 19:22
Goole sucks. End of story. Anybody who disagrees is a liar.
Posted by Gary at 21/02/2009 11:47
My mother was born in Goole but I was born in California. I started going for the summers when I was five in 1964 and my grandparents lived on Paster Rd. "The Parrinders" (Went swimming at the Baths Mark) The toilet was at the end of the back yard and they still delivered milk with a horse and cart. (Ours came in trucks). My nana would give me a cube of sugar for the horse. They had to boil water to put in a tin tub. My grandfather worked at the docks and I remember traffic jams of Bicycles at dinner time. (which was Lunch time in America) We road around in my Uncle's Motorcycle that had a sidecar. I loved walking along the banks to Hook and The Docks. My grandfather had an allotment. He got my brother and I bicycles and I loved riding there to his Garden. I live in San Francisco and have a lot in The Potrero Hill Community Garden.(one of the best views In San Francisco. I got think I inhereted that passion for gardening from him. He loved his garden and his roses. I have fond memories Of Goole. I haven't been for 23yrs and will be visiting in May. I'm looking forward to it.
Posted by Matt at 10/12/2009 16:31
Have you seen how old those photos are. Look at the cars, there all old 80's model fords
Posted by C.A at 14/01/2010 13:17
There is good and not so good in all places only the very affluent can isolate themselves with large grounds and high walls. If you look for the good in most places you will find it . I was brought up in Goole but lived south for many years and saw the same problems in other towns. Home is where you make it
Posted by Bill at 14/01/2010 14:38
C.A. sounds like we share the same geographical experiences and have seen both sides of the fence. What you say is very true. But isn't it so much more civilised to live in an area (more common in the south?) where people care about the environment in which they live. Such areas are not necessarily 'very' affluent and do not need high walls and large grounds. It used to be the case that working class people had jobs and self respect and cared about and valued the Council accommodation they had. My parent's experience and my recollection of Goole. Obviously all changed now and as you say it's not uniquely a Goole problem.
Posted by c.a at 14/01/2010 21:59
Bill I agree with your comments and was( and still am) fortunate to live in an area with pleasant surroundings because the majority took pride in their homes and gardens plus surrounding areas. However the trend in Goole seems to be the opposite and those who care are frustated by a lack of community spirit (Goole peoples words not mine)I dont live there now and cannot contribute to the environment but on my visits can see the areas that have deteriorated and some that have not.
Posted by C.A at 16/01/2010 11:42
WHY IS THE VIEW OF BELGRAVIA LISTED AS THE OLD BATHS HALL? IS THIS THE MISTAKE YOU SAID NO-ONE HAD NOTICED?
Posted by frank Philpott at 01/02/2010 21:11
I remember the old Baths. When you went in the attendant stood and watched while everyone was in the shower. If you didn`t look clean enough he sent you back in until you were.
Posted by Shaun chwegler at 16/04/2010 22:07
Gooles AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bit borin at timess tho...
But AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
bit borin at timess tho...
But AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Phill Buckingham at 11/08/2010 03:07
Best thing i ever did leaving the place, many people i know reside in hook cemetery.
If i hadn't left, i guess it wouldn't have been much longer before i had.
Ex junkie skank i used to be with is still upto the same old stuff as are the majority of others.
Don't get me wrong, some people enjoy living there... maybe eyes tightly closed. who knows!
I certainly wouldn't entertain the majority of illiterate drug fueled morons that reside in the place...
You can't tar everybody with the same brush... but my experience of the place has certainly had left it's foot print.
If i hadn't left, i guess it wouldn't have been much longer before i had.
Ex junkie skank i used to be with is still upto the same old stuff as are the majority of others.
Don't get me wrong, some people enjoy living there... maybe eyes tightly closed. who knows!
I certainly wouldn't entertain the majority of illiterate drug fueled morons that reside in the place...
You can't tar everybody with the same brush... but my experience of the place has certainly had left it's foot print.
Posted by shawn at 29/08/2010 19:18
i have lived in goole fifty three years and in that time i have visited many foriegn places many worse than goole ,its people that make a place what it is ,if people did not run away from responsability and stood up for the town we would not be inundated with all the imigrants we have now,if enough people stood up and got there selves counted it could have been stopped,we elect the people to run the comunities ,if they do not do it right get off your backside and vote them out and vote in some one that will dont complain when its too late
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