The Goose Fair

What is the The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in
Goose Fair? Nottingham, England, during the first week of October.

Now known for its fairground rides and attractions, Goose Fair started as a livestock and trade event,
with a reputation for its excellent cheese.

The name "Goose Fair" is derived from the thousands of geese that were driven from the Lincolnshire
fens in the East of England to be sold in Nottingham at the fair each year.

Statistics and Before Covid the fair attracted around 420,000 visitors.
visitors

In 2015 most rides cost between £1.50 to £5 with the majority being
charged at between £2 and £3.

Specialized rides charged between £4 and £6 with children’s rides costing

between £1 and £2

The Goose Fair has been active since 1284, which is 738 years ago. The name comes from the
hundreds of geese that were driven on foot from Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to be sold
History in Nottingham. It is recorded that up to 20,000 geese were driven up through Hockley and along
"Goose Gate" into Nottingham's Old Market Square, where the fair was held annually for hundreds of
years. In 1752, the fair was moved back from St Matthew's Day (21 September) to the first week in
October because of a revision to the British calendar. On that year, eleven days (3–13 September)
were omitted altogether from the calendar so that Britain could finally adopt the Gregorian calendar
(following the calendar act of 1750) to align with the rest of western Europe. Hence, the start of
Goose Fair was shifted to 2 October and has remained on or around that date ever since.

Activities Almost half a million visitors flock to Nottingham's Goose Fair annually. These days it is
mostly famous for its fairground rides and games, boasting over five hundred
attractions, some for thrill seekers and many that appeal to the whole family. Rides for
the more adventurous fair-goers include Speed XXL, a 3g spinning pendulum ride; XLR8,
a 4g spinning drum ride; the Wild Mouse, a high-speed roller coaster with spinning
carts; and the Reverse Bungee, an elasticated vertical catapult. Magic, a suspended
modern-day version of the Waltzer, first appeared at Goose Fair in 2017, and a huge
swinging/rotating disc ride called the Giant Frisbee was introduced the same year. The
many family attractions include traditional bumper cars, helter skelters, funhouses,
ghost trains, teacups and waltzers. There are several family stalls (such as Hook-a-
duck) with prizes to be won, and a giant ferris wheel that provides an aerial view of
the fair. Conventional fairground food and refreshments are also on sale throughout the
fair, including hot dogs, candy floss, doughnuts, and mushy peas with mint sauce.

By Abdulrahman Bandar, Abdulaziz, Ulada Fursa, Shoon Lei Waing