Goosey is back! Nottingham’s Goose Fair at Forest Recreation Ground is just around the corner
The Goose is up!
It doesn’t get much more ‘Nottingham’ than a large wooden goose statue, sitting proudly on the island between Mansfield Road and Gregory Boulevard.
There are many things that make Nottingham unique. And this is one of our proudest.
The famous Goose Fair, one of the largest of its kind in Europe, is just around the corner.
From next Friday, September 27th, you’ll be able to visit the huge fairground that dominates the Forest Rec each year, bringing all the lovely traditions with it: mushy peas, the waltzers, the dodgems, the bright lights, the humorously-named sugary lollipop stall.
The fair lasts much longer these days, 10 days in total, between September 27th and October 6th, so there’s plenty of time to visit the over 250 rides and attractions.
Opening times vary from day to day, with 12pm starts at weekends, 4pm during the week. And for night owls, on Fridays and Saturday nights it goes on until 11pm.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the biggest rides and attractions, so you can plan your thrill-seeking journey. Or you can take it a more slowly by just walking around this spectacular feast of colours, sounds, and foodie flavours.
The fair itself is ancient, dating back to the late 13th century, as an annual pre-Christmas goose market. For centuries the fair was held in the Market Square, and over the years increasingly it became a time for feasting and celebrating the coming festive season.
By the 1920s the goose market and the revelry that came with it had outgrown its ancient home, and a new venue needed to be found. So, since 1928, the Goose Fair has been held on the wide open space of Forest Recreation Ground - from which Nottingham Forest FC gets its name.
That fact might not occur to you as you’re whizzing around the modern thrills-and-spills rides that the fair attracts, amid a kaleidoscope of lights and sounds.
But it’s as ‘Nottingham’ as the goose that stands on the island at the start of every autumn, summoning the city to its most famous fair.