Cumberland Golf planning a tour of Cumbria

Mini Golf Cumberland Edition will soon close at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, Cumbria. But there are plans for it to move to a new location, or locations in the future.

The Mini Golf course opened at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, Cumbria last October and closes on Sunday 14th April.

Mini Golf Cumberland is a 9-hole layout, with obstacles themed on Cumberland landmarks.

Visit The Beacon Museum website for more information.

As Curators of The Crazy Golf Museum it was nice to see another museum including minigolf as an interactive exhibit to facilitate learning.

We visited Cumbria last year, but didn't have time to visit Whitehaven.

Hopefully we'll get to have a game on the Mini Golf Cumberland Edition course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Crazy Golf history: from a minigolf course to a hotel

The site of England's first-ever Crazy Golf course is being turned into a hotel.

The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness (2015)

A new Travelodge hotel and Starbucks drive-thru are being built on the location of England's first Crazy Golf course.

The Original Crazy Golf course on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire has been derelict since 2018, and now work on the site is set to begin soon.

The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness (2015)

England's first Crazy Golf opened on South Parade in Skegness in 1926 and the game is widely known by that name in the UK. Crazy Golf is seldom, if ever, used overseas except in tourist spots popular with UK holidaymakers.

In May 2015 The Original Crazy Golf course became the 363rd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's sad to hear about the loss of this piece of miniature golf history. I'm glad we got to visit the course when we did in 2011 and 2015.

The Original Crazy Golf course in Skegness (2015)

We've also got some nice old postcards of the course in our collection, including this one when it was known as Craz-e-Golf.

Craz-e-Golf at Skegness by E.T.W Dennis & Sons Ltd S.2142 postally used on 21 June 1977

Skegness is home to several other minigolf courses. We've haven't been there since 2015, but did visit as many as we could the last time. At least one new adventure golf course has opened there since then.

We'll to revisit again soon and see how things have changed...

The old Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton

A look at the former Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Back in 2021 the old sign at the former Blockbuster Video store on Regent Street in Nuneaton was uncovered when the tenant of the building moved out.

It was brilliant to see such a well maintained piece of signage - it looked like the store could've re-opened that day!

A ghost sign of the torn ticket logo at the back of the store

Finding other old Blockbuster Video shops.

It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!

Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

The old Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham

A look at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham town centre, Teesside.

We visited the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham town centre back in April 2021.

The shopfront was very well maintained and it was nice to see the original signage.

Finding other old Blockbuster Video shops.

It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!

Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

The old Blockbuster Video store in Southampton

A look at the former Blockbuster Video store in Southampton.

We visited the old Blockbuster Video store on Portswood Road in Southampton, Hampshire back in May 2021.

Work was underway to open the location as a new business. Luckily there were still some traces of the Blockbuster brand.

Finding other old Blockbuster Video shops.

It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!

Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

New mini golf at Russell Park in Bedford

Bedford's Russell Park will be home to a new mini golf course.

The new mini golf course at Russell Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire will be a 12-hole layout and will replace the existing grass miniature golf course.

The Putting Green at Russell Park in Bedford, July 2010

The Russell Park outdoor mini golf course will be themed with holes and obstacles containing local history.

The Putting Green at Russell Park in Bedford, July 2010

The Putting Green at Russell Park in Bedford was the 184th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in July 2010 and we played it several times when we lived nearby.

Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about minigolf?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.
• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.
• Crazy Golf is 98 years old in 2024. The first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.
• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.
• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.
• There are several Guinness World Records for achievements in Minigolf, Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf, and Putt-Putt. The 2024 edition of the Guinness World Records features a whole page about minigolf.

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks ten years later.

If you're lucky, and know where to look, you might find a QuikDrop box hiding in plain sight

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

We live near an abandoned Blockbuster Video store here in Manchester. It's always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester

The sign about the closure was still visible on the window there before it was boarded up earlier this year.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited on our travels

Our interest in lost brands and retail history has taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Filmtown in Finland

From Filmtown to Candytown.

Many thanks to my Finnish friend Ion Mittler who has let me know that the Filmtown movie rental chain is stopping film rentals and becoming a chain of sweet shops called Candy Town.

Filmtown is the last movie rental chain in the country. There are currently forty Filmtown stores in Finland, and you can still rent films from four of them for the remainder of 2023 and 2024. The others have already become candy stores.

Ion called into one of the Filmtown stores last weekend and took these snaps. He noted that while there everyone was buying candies and that no one was renting movies.

It's fascinating seeing the change in consumer habits and looking at retail history. We've been to a fair few former video stores on our travels over the last few years.

Check out the Filmtown website for more information.

Mini Golf Cumberland at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven

Mini Golf Cumberland Edition has opened at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

A new indoor Mini Golf course has opened at The Beacon Museum in Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Mini Golf Cumberland is a 9-hole layout, with obstacles themed on Cumberland landmarks.

The course opened on Saturday 21st October and closes on Sunday 14th April 2024.

Visit The Beacon Museum website for more information.

As Curators of The Crazy Golf Museum it's nice to see another museum including minigolf as an interactive exhibit to facilitate learning.

We visited Cumbria earlier this year, but didn't have time to visit Whitehaven. Hopefully we'll get to have a game on the Mini Golf Cumberland Edition course at The Beacon Museum on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Miniature Golf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about miniature golf?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.
• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.
• Crazy Golf is 97 years old in 2023. The first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.

At The Original Crazy Golf in Skegness in May 2015

• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.
• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.

What are your favourite minigolf facts and stats?

Happy 13th birthday to the Crazy Golf Museum

The Crazy Golf Museum is 13 years old today.

Many happy returns to the Crazy Golf Museum as it marks it's 13th birthday today.

I set-up the museum with Crazy Golf legend Tim 'Ace Man' Davies back on the 15th July 2010.

Since then we've continued to fill the virtual museum to make it a treasure trove and archive for all things related to minigolf.

It's certainly been a very interesting 13 years!

A massive thank you to everyone who has shared their minigolfing memories, crazy golf items and adventure golf updates over the years. We're looking forward to continuing our promotion of the game for many more years to come.

Visit the Crazy Golf Museum's website, like the Page and join the Group on Facebook, check it out on Twitter, and see Instagram for information, photos, items, ephemera, stories, videos, postcards, games and more...

If you'd like to contribute any items, merchandise, course history, current developments or guest blog posts please do get in touch.

Happy birthday Putt-Putt - 69 years old today

Today marks 69 years since the world's first Putt-Putt course opened.

The first Putt-Putt Golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA on this day back in 1954.

Putt-Putt is the only patented game of miniature golf and began in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1954. In the 1960's Putt-Putt franchises began opening outside of the US, in locations such as South Africa, Australia and Japan. There were also courses in the UK, the first of which opened in Sunderland in 1968. Others followed at Flamingo Land in Yorkshire and in Buxton, Derbyshire. However, information on these UK courses is limited. You can read the Putt-Putt story on the Putt-Putt Fun Centres website.

The Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point / Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by PJ Goedhals

Ephemera from the Putt-Putt Golf centre at Moullie Point in South Africa. From PJ Goedhals

A Putt-Putt Postcard from South Africa

A selection of Putt-Putt tokens

On the competitive side of the game, Putt-Putt tournaments have been played since 1959. You can read about the history of the PPA and APA on the Professional Putters Association website.

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

Check out the Putt-Putt Golf website for more information on Putt-Putt brand minigolf. You can find out more information about Putt-Putt tournaments on the Professional Putters Association (PPA) website.

Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about minigolf?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.

Playing The Himalayas at St Andrews in April 2012

• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.

• Crazy Golf is 97 years old in 2023. The first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.

At The Original Crazy Golf in Skegness in May 2015

• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.

• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.

What are your favourite minigolf facts, stats and did you knows?

The end of Blockbuster Video in the UK

The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK on this day in 2013.

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video.

In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

It's amazing that there are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks nine years later.

If you're lucky, and know where to look, you might find a QuikDrop box hiding in plain sight

The first Blockbuster Video store had opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on the 19th October 1985.

The very last Blockbuster Video store in operation is in Bend, Oregon, USA.

We live near an abandoned Blockbuster Video store here in Manchester. It's always an eerie, interesting and nostalgic thing to drive past the old shop at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester - soon to become a Lidl

The sign about the closure is still on the window there.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. 500+ of which were in England, Scotland and Wales. Interestingly in Northern Ireland the Xtra-Vision brand was used by the owners in-line with the Republic of Ireland.

Blockbuster certainly wasn't the first video rental shop brand, but it was at one time the market leader.

Our travels have taken us to a number of former Blockbuster stores:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

We've found a few other video shops along the way too:

• Video Express in Swansea
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films video in Ashton-under-Lyne

Other video shops we've been to include B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton and 20th Century Flicks in Bristol - and both were still trading!