Flotilla Home
Goole Bicentenary Celebrations
Waterways Heritage Festival
and
Flotilla of Vessels
17th to 20th July 2026
The Bicentenary
In July 2026, the port and town of Goole will be celebrating its 200th birthday. Two hundred years ago on 20th July 1826, the opening of the canal from Knottingley and the docks at Goole, was marked in fine style by the Aire and Calder Navigation Company. They organised a flotilla of 50 vessels which formed a procession from Ferrybridge to Goole Docks. Decorated with colourful flags, accompanied by bands of music and carrying many very important persons they were greeted at Goole by the discharge of cannons, more stirring band music and cheering from a great multitude of spectators.
Yorkshire Waterways Heritage Society is among a group of voluntary community organisations working towards marking the bicentenary in a similarly grand manner. As part of the celebration, just like the opening two hundred years ago, we will be running a flotilla of waterways’ vessels, navigating from the canal and around Goole docks on Saturday 18 July, under the watchful eyes of VIPs and members of the public positioned at viewing points around the docks.
Flotilla of Waterways Vessels
As part of the celebrations, just like the opening two hundred years ago, we will be running a flotilla of waterways’ vessels, navigating from the canal and around Goole docks on Saturday 18 July, under the watchful eyes of VIPs and members of the public positioned at viewing points around the docks.The main waterways festival event, the Flotilla, takes place on Saturday 18th July when over thirty waterways vessels will assemble in the Dog and Duck basin in the Knottingley to Goole Canal before setting off in convoy to navigate around Goole Docks.
There will be a variety of craft taking part in the flotilla: narrow boats, Dutch barges, cruisers, tugs, launches, work boats, ex-commercial barges and RIBs – and we expect much waving of flags and sounding of horns to mark this historic occasion.
The public will be able to watch the Flotilla at the assembly point and at various locations around the docks.
Young Persons Photography Competition
YWHS and other local businesses and voluntary organisations are very keen to encourage the young adults and children of Goole to engage with the heritage of the place where they live, study and work. Goole is a very special town with a very special history and we want to share that message with the world.
Our objective is to collect and publish online as much photographic material as possible so that in the future anyone will be able to look back at a vast collection of photographs and recordings related to the flotilla to see who was there, what they saw and what they heard.
To make the challenge more interesting significant prizes will be awarded to the best entries.
Click here to read the full rules of the competition.
Goole Model Boat Club
Goole Model Boat Club is opening its gates to the public as part of the Waterways Heritage weekend. Demonstrations will run throughout the weekend and there will be a small pop-up pond created for children to have a go at piloting model craft.
Throughout the weekend there will be the opportunity to get up close with items from the industrial history of Goole as this is also the site of Goole’s iconic No 5 Coal Hoist, a grade II listed building, and also one of the last surviving Tom Pudding compartment boats. The Apex light and a dolphin – not the mammal – from Goole Docks are also located there. Together these form a poignant reminder of the importance played by the movement of coal in the development of the port of Goole. While we are not allowed to access the coal hoist it is still an impressive monument to an industry that lasted over 150 years.
Goole Model Boat Club
Goole Model Boat Club is opening its gates to the public as part of the Waterways Heritage weekend. Demonstrations will run throughout the weekend and there will be a small pop-up pond created for children to have a go at piloting model craft.
Throughout the weekend there will be the opportunity to get up close with items from the industrial history of Goole as this is also the site of Goole’s iconic No 5 Coal Hoist, a grade II listed building, and also one of the last surviving Tom Pudding compartment boats. The Apex light and a dolphin – not the mammal – from Goole Docks are also located there. Together these form a poignant reminder of the importance played by the movement of coal in the development of the port of Goole. While we are not allowed to access the coal hoist it is still an impressive monument to an industry that lasted over 150 years.
Humber Keel and Sloop Preservation Society
The historic Humber keel, Comrade, should be visiting Goole for the Waterways Heritage Weekend, subject to her being able to escape her present berth at South Ferriby. HKSPS members will certainly be present to explain what they are doing to ensure that the knowledge and skills of generations of watermen are preserved for future generations.
