Showing posts with label Chester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chester. Show all posts

Thursday, March 21, 2024

The Hole In Wand mini golf in Chester

A new magical minigolf course is opening in Chester, Cheshire.


The Hole In Wand mini golf in York
The Hole In Wand mini golf

The team at the Potions Cauldron Group will be creating their third indoor crazy golf course as The Hole In Wand is set to open in Chester this year.

The Hole In Wand mini golf in York
The Hole In Wand mini golf

The Hole In Wand Chester is scheduled to open in May.

The first of The Hole In Wand indoor minigolf courses opened in York, with a second venue opening in Blackpool.

The Hole In Wand mini golf in York
The Hole In Wand mini golf

Emily played The Hole In Wand Wizard Golf in York on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last year. We haven't been to Blackpool for a while so haven't had a game at that venue yet.

Visit The Hole In Wand mini golf website for more information.

Friday, March 01, 2024

Mini Golf at Westminster Park in Chester

A new 18-hole outdoor mini golf course is opening in Chester, Cheshire.


A new 18-hole outdoor mini golf course is opening in Chester

The course at Chester's Westminster Park is opening on Saturday 9th March.

Check out the Green Day Café and Golf Facebook Page for more information.


It's another new course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Monday, August 23, 2021

Galaxy Golf at Apex Kart in Chester

There's a new indoor mini golf course at Apex Kart in Chester.


There's a new indoor mini golf course at Apex Kart in Chester

The Apex Kart centre in Chester, Cheshire is now home to a new indoor, space-themed mini golf course.

Check out the Galaxy Golf information on the Apex Kart website.


Galaxy Golf at Apex Kart is another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It's not a million miles away for us to get to either.

Thursday, April 29, 2021

No Minigolf at Chester Zoo

The Conservation Golf course at Chester Zoo is no longer there.

We had a day out at Chester Zoo yesterday. Unfortunately the Conservation Golf course that our friend John Mittler snapped for us in January 2018 is long gone.

Conservation Golf course at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler, January 2018

Check out the guest blog post from John's visit for more photos.

Conservation Golf course at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler, January 2018

Chester Zoo's monorail

A look at what remains of the monorail at Chester Zoo.


Monorail at Chester Zoo

Unfortunately we were two years too late to have a ride on the monorail at Chester Zoo when we visited yesterday.


However, as a big fan of monorails it was interesting to see sections of the track still in place

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

A crossing point on the monorail

There were quite a few 'ends of the line' too!

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo

Monorail at Chester Zoo
A bench underneath the monorail

Monday, January 11, 2021

New Minigolf Putting Course to open in Chester

A new artificial grass Putting Course is planned to open at Westminster Park in Chester, Cheshire.


A new artificial grass Putting Course is planned to open at Westminster Park in Chester, Cheshire

The layout will be on the site of a former grass Putting Green.

Westminster Park is also home to a Pitch & Putt course.

We're looking forward to playing both the Pitch & Putt and the new Minigolf Putting Course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

The course is being designed and built by Creative Golf Design. You can see a computer animation of the layout in the video below.

Saturday, September 05, 2020

Lost shops - Burger King in Chester

Spotting a fast food ghost sign in Chester.


Burger King ghost sign in Chester

We spotted this ghost sign of a former Burger King while having a walk round Chester.

Burger King ghost sign in Chester

Burger King ghost sign in Chester

Friday, September 04, 2020

Lost Blockbuster - Chester

Another day, another lost Blockbuster Video store.

The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020

This one was in Chester, Cheshire, England.

The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020

It's now a Roy Castle Foundation charity shop.

The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020

The QUIKDROP box is still in place. A lot of the paintwork and fixtures inside are from its days as a Blockbuster too.

The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020
QUIKDROP

The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020
You could still see a number of familiar pieces of the Blockbuster shopfittings
  
The former Blockbuster video store in Chester. September 2020
The old Blockbuster counter

Other lost Blockbuster stores

On our travels we've found the remains of other lost Blockbuster stores in Manchester, ColneOldhamCheadle HulmeMarpleHastingsFelixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

Thursday, January 04, 2018

Conservation Golf at Chester Zoo

Finding out about the Adventure Golf course at Chester Zoo.


On his recent trip to the UK our friend and minigolf rival John Mittler visited Chester Zoo and while there discovered an Adventure Golf course!

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Conservation Golf at Chester Zoo

Unfortunately it was closed and isn't open again until the Spring.

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 1

We haven't made it to Chester Zoo yet, we're hoping to visit in the summer. The Conservation Golf course wasn't on our Crazy World of Minigolf 'to visit' list, so it's another one to add to our future travels.

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 2

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 3 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 4 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 5 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 6 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 7 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 8 

Conservation Adventure Golf at Chester Zoo. Photo by John Mittler
Hole 9

Visit the Chester Zoo website for more information.

All photos courtesy of John Mittler.

Friday, September 01, 2017

Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf at The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm

Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf course at The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm.

Emily's friend, colleague and minigolf rival Darren Howe has come up trumps again as he gave us a scorecard from the Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf course at The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm from his recent visit.

Scorecard from the Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf course at The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm
Scorecard from the Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf course at The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm

Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf is one of our new local courses but we haven't had time to visit The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm since we moved to Stockport last summer.

Darren tells us the course was incredibly busy on his visit. That's a good sign.

The Strawberry Falls Adventure Golf course looks great - with some oversized ice cream-related obstacles and theming.

Check out The Cheshire Ice Cream Farm's website for more information, opening times and prices.

Darren recently played the Adventure Golf course at Center Parcs in Sherwood Forest. Check out the post from his visit for more photos.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester

Playing Bagatelle in Chester.


We love playing pub games and when our friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge told us that you can still play Bagatelle in Chester we knew we'd have to hunt down a table for a game.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
The Union Vaults in Cheshire is a proper pub. They've got a dart board there too

Jam recommended the Union Vaults so, after our ride on the Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway, we headed to the pub.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
The Union Vaults had a nice table. It was a great place for us to have our first play of the old game 

We received a nice welcome from the locals at the busy pub and they were very happy to help us novice players have a game.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
The final resting positions of the balls in our close contest

One of our favourite pub games is Bar Billiards and the rules of that game can appear complicated to a newcomer. Bagatelle is no different in that respect. However, while the two cue, table and green baize ball games may also appear to be similar in appearance, looks can be deceiving.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
Playing for the black - as you must unless it's been cupped

What's really nice about Bagatelle is that there are no mechanisms on the table, so once your go is over and you've totted up your score, you have to retrieve the balls and let the next player take their turn.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
Emily playing a nice opening shot

With each pocket worth from 1 to 9, and the black ball scoring double if potted, the aim is to reach exactly 101 points. We found ending the game to be quite tricky indeed, as to do so you must finish on 101 - for instance, if you needed thirteen points (as we did at one point) but shot a total of 14 or over on your turn, your break was stopped and the next player took to the table.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
The table was placed next to the window and near a telly showing the horse racing, so it seemed like we had the eyes of the pub upon us as we played! We did receive plenty of tips from the locals as well though

In our match-up I picked up the win 101 to Emily's 92. My highest break was 33 (the opening one), while Emily scored in the twenties on one go.

Bagatelle at the Union Vaults pub in Chester
The final score

It's a great game, simple to pick up and play, but one that takes ages to master. We'll definitely play Bagatelle again.

Check out the Chester & District Bagatelle League website for more information on the game and places to play it in and around Chester.

Related blog posts:
- Pub games
- Sports and games we've played
- Bar Billiards
- Chester

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester

A visit to the Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester.


Upon arrival in Chester we checked out the city map in the car park by the racecourse - and lo' and behold we spotted there was a miniature railway in Grosvenor Park! We had to take a look.

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
A lovely brown sign for the Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway

Luckily the weather and timing was right so we got to have a go on it.

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
The mini-miniature railway gets the thumbs-up from me

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
Grosvenor Park station - the start and terminus and only station on the line

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
The train shed

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
The engine in use on our visit

The engine makes a relatively short loop of the park, with no tunnels. Although it does go across a long bridge next to a duck pond - and the sound as it goes along the bridge is marvellous.

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
The train next to the pond

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester
About to cross the bridge

An adult fare is £1.50 (or three rides for £2.50). Take a look at the Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway Facebook page for more information.

Grosvenor Park Miniature Railway in Chester

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Chester