Dog-friendly attractions in Goole

A hundred and fifty acres of ponds, meadow, wetland and young woodland off Lidice Road on the north-west edge of Goole, easily the biggest piece of open ground in the town and far quieter than West Park. A surfaced track runs from the car park to the main pond and the ranger station, crossing an infrequently used railway line by pedestrian gates and a concrete crossing, and surfaced paths ring the main pond and the Brick Ponds. The meadow and wood paths are firm but unsurfaced and there are three flights of steps in the trees. The council's own reserve information asks that dogs are kept under close control and out of all the ponds and reed beds, and that bagged waste goes in the bin at the entrance.

Goole's second big green space, off Marshfield Avenue behind Boothferry Road, with football pitches, mature limes and a long straight perimeter path that makes a flat half-mile circuit clear of traffic. It is the quieter of the town's two parks and gets far less use than West Park, which is why it suits a nervous dog on a busy Saturday. The council's dog control order names the children's play area here as a dog exclusion area, and nothing else in the park is restricted, so the pitches, the paths and the tree belt are open all year. Park free on Marshfield Avenue or Centenary Road.

Goole's big Edwardian park off Airmyn Road, opened in 1923 and running to more than thirty-two acres of grass, avenues and a bandstand, run by Goole Town Council with a cafe, toilets and a bowling green. It is the town's dog-walking ground and the smooth perimeter paths make an easy mile without a road crossing. The one thing to know is that the council's dog control order excludes dogs from the fenced children's play area on Airmyn Road, and from the play areas at South Park and Kingsway Bridge recreation ground as well, while the rest of the park carries no dog restriction at all. Parking is free on Airmyn Road and inside the Westfield Avenue entrance.