Friday, November 30, 2018

The Chrizy Golf Masters in Manchester

A look back at the Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf competition in Manchester.


Chrizy Golf - Christmas-themed Crazy Golf in Manchester
The Chrizy Golf course was nicely decked out in Christmas-theming

Six years ago today I headed up to Manchester while my friend and minigolf rival John Moore travelled down from Newcastle to compete in the first - and to-date only - Chrizy Golf Masters tournament.

The pop-up Crazy Golf course was the 313th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the retrospective blog post from last year for more details about my BIG Christmas minigolf win.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Mr Mulligans Adventure Golf to open in Birmingham

New Mr Mulligans Adventure Golf course opening in Birmingham.

The new Mr Mulligans Adventure Golf venue opening in Birmingham will welcome its first customers before Christmas.

Mr Mulligans Space Golf
Mr Mulligans Birmingham course will follow in the footsteps of the Newcastle Space Golf venue

Work is nearing completion on the new indoor Adventure Golf centre at Broadway Plaza in Birmingham. Mr Mulligans Space Golf will feature three nine-hole courses with a Martian theme, as well as a bar and restaurant.

Mr Mulligans Space Golf
Newcastle's Space Golf course had a lunar theme

Mr Mulligans Space Golf in Birmingham will be the 12th venue from the team at Mr Mulligans. The 11th course in Bournemouth and more are to follow!

Mr Mulligans Space Golf
About to land an ace

We've played a number of the Mr Mulligans Adventure Golf courses, most recently at the Space Golf course in Newcastle. Those three layouts were the 841st, 842nd and 843rd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- Mr Mulligans
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Birmingham

Link:
- Mr Mulligans

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Crazy Golf at Ancaster Karting in Grantham

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Ancaster Karting in Grantham, Lincolnshire.


Crazy Golf at Ancaster Karting in Grantham

As if more proof were needed that we can find a Crazy Golf course in most places we visit, Emily has stumbled upon a Crazy Golf course while on a weekend away in Grantham, Lincolnshire.


Crazy Golf at Ancaster Karting in Grantham

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course is at the Ancaster Karting centre, next to the hotel Emily was staying at. She only spotted it while driving past on her way home!

Crazy Golf at Ancaster Karting in Grantham

The course became the 854th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Ancaster Karting website for more info.

Crazy Golf at Ancaster Karting in Grantham

The Crazy Golf layout is one of the Crazy Golf sets manufactured by DK Fibreglass.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Lincolnshire
- DK Fibreglass

A Gluten Free Buffet

A sorry sight indeed.

A Gluten Free Buffet
Yum

I suppose it's better than nothing. Good to see the rolls in separate packaging.

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac Disease
- Gluten Free
- Funny things about being a coeliac

Monday, November 12, 2018

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

A visit to Gravitee Adventure Golf at the Ozone Leisure Park in Oxford.


Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

We were recently back in my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames for a special Bun Throwing event and while down south took the opportunity to swing by the new Gravitee Adventure Golf courses at the Ozone Leisure Park next to the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Gravitee Adventure Golf is home to two 18-hole courses - the Space Odyssey and the Galactic Explorers - and they became the 852nd and 853rd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Gravitee Adventure Golf is the sister course of The Golfing Hole in Swindon. We had a brilliant time playing that layout back in January 2015.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

The new Gravitee Adventure Golf layouts are superb and we had two fun rounds there.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
A very smaller crater to putt through

It was the first time in over twenty years that I had a game of minigolf with my parents! It's amazing to think that Emily and I have visited so many courses in the last twelve years, but not had a game during our travels.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
A pair of Galactic Explorers on the course

The matches were very close, with my dad Chris taking an early lead on the Space Odyssey course, before a disastrous seven on the tenth hole put a dent in his hopes of winning.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Emily took the victory on the Space Odyssey layout with a round of 47. I shot a 49, Chris a 53 and my mum Mary carded a 56. Emily and my dad were the only players to hit a hole-in-one, both acing the 18th.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Moving on to the Galactic Explorers course and Emily took a fine win with a score of 42. I was second again with a round of 46, while my mum and dad both shot rounds of 50.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Almost a hole-in-one by what looks like Zaphod Beeblebrox!

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
The stargate

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Putting on the Galactic Explorers course at Gravitee Golf

We really enjoyed our competitive and fun rounds on the Gravitee Golf courses and had a drink in the bar area to cool off after the games. I also had a game of Air Hockey against my dad, which I won 7-4.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

The theming at the indoor Adventure Golf venue is fantastic. The courses were built by the team at HM Adventure Golf. The Martian landscape on the Galactic Explorers course is incredibly well done, while the UV glow-in-the-dark section of the Space Odyssey course is the best I've seen on my travels.

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
 
UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

UV glow-in-the-dark minigolf at Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Hole 12 starts inside the spaceship

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
The 'green' of hole 12

Check out the Gravitee Adventure Golf website for more details, opening times and prices.

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
There are three holes to play inside the crashed spaceship on the Galactic Explorers course

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Playing on the alien planet

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
Inside the ship

Gravitee Adventure Golf in Oxford
At the controls of the crashed ship

Related blog posts:
- Oxford
- The Golfing Hole, Swindon
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- Gravitee Adventure Golf
- HM Adventure Golf

Junkyard Golf in Oxford

A visit to Junkyard Golf in Oxford.

Junkyard Golf in Oxford

On Friday 9th November we swung by Junkyard Golf in my home city of Oxford.

Junkyard Golf in Oxford

Junkyard Golf Oxford is home to three 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf courses - 'Gary' is a scrapyard challenge, 'Bozo' is a circus-themed course and 'Pablo' is jungle-themed.

Junkyard Golf in Oxford

Junkyard Golf in Oxford

Junkyard Golf began in my new home city of Manchester and there are now also Junkyard Golf courses in London and Leeds.

You can find Junkyard Golf Oxford in the Westgate Social Street Food section of the Westgate shopping centre.

Check out the Junkyard Golf website for more details, opening times and prices.

Related blog posts:
- Junkyard Golf
- Oxford

Abingdon Bun Throwing on the 10th November 2018

Check out my post about my home town of Abingdon's latest Bun Throwing event over on my other blog at the World of Bun Throwing.

Abingdon Bun Throwing on the 10th November 2018
Bun Throwing in Abingdon

The latest in a long line of Bun Throwing events took place in Abingdon-on-Thames at 2pm on Saturday 10th November.

The special Bun Throwing brought people together to commemorate the end of the hostilities of World War One and celebrated the return of the soldiers at the end of the conflict.

Tuesday, November 06, 2018

Knights Realm Adventure Golf in Basingstoke

The new 18-hole Knights Realm Adventure Golf course recently opened in Basingstoke.

Knights Realm Adventure Golf is now open in Basingstoke
You can find the Knights Realm Adventure Golf course at Basingstoke Golf Centre

Check out the Knights Realm Adventure Golf course website for more info.

It's another course we'll have to visit on our seemingly never-ending quest to visit every minigolf course in the UK. When we began in 2006 there were 600 courses. To date we've visited 853, including 38 courses overseas.

Monday, November 05, 2018

Galactic Golf in Halifax

A new indoor Crazy Golf course recently opened in Halifax - Galactic Golf.

Galactic Golf is now open in Halifax
Galactic Golf has two space themed 18-hole courses

Check out the Galactic Golf website for more info.

It's another course we'll have to visit on our never-ending quest to visit every minigolf course in the UK. When we began in 2006 there were 600 courses. To date we've visited 853, including 38 courses overseas.

Luckily, it's not a million miles from us and we'll have to swing by when we're next in the area.

Sunday, November 04, 2018

Caddyshackers Crazy Crazy Golf in Leicester

A new 18-hole indoor Crazy Golf course recently opened in Leicester - Caddyshackers Crazy Crazy Golf.


Check out the Caddyshackers Crazy Crazy Golf course website for more info.

It's another course we'll have to visit on our seemingly never-ending quest to visit every minigolf course in the UK. When we began in 2006 there were 600 courses. To date we've visited 853, including 38 courses overseas.

Invasion of Manchester

Searching out Invader street art in Manchester.


MAN_16 - 10 points
MAN_16 - 10 points - my favourite

As a fan of retro videogames, tickable lists and urban exploration it's been brilliant to go 'Invader Hunting' in Manchester over the last year.

A Super Mario Invader - MAN_17 - 30 point
A Super Mario Invader - MAN_17 - 30 points

French street artist Invader visited the city in 2004 and put up 47 pieces of mosaic tile art with a total points value of 970. They look superb.

Yesterday I managed to find the last of the Invaders currently in place in Manchester.

Space Invader street art in Manchester
Invader Hunter

This was MAN_27 and a reactivation of a piece made by Invader in 2004. Unfortunately some of the Invaders have been destroyed or stolen, while some of the buildings the Invaders were on have been knocked down entirely!

The reactivated Invader MAN_27
The reactivated Invader MAN_27

To date I've managed to snap 37 Invaders on the Flash Invaders app - worth 770 points. I've also visited the locations of some of the destroyed / removed Invaders. Check out my Instagram profile to see more of them.

Space Invader MAN_45 in Manchester - 50 points
One of the large 50 pointers - MAN_45

I've seen some of the bootlegs / homages too.

_manic_ street art on Bunsen Street in Manchester
Not an Invader. This is the work of _manic_

Looking for the Space Invaders has been brilliant fun. Along with Emily we've seen a lot of the city we wouldn't necessarily have explored if we weren't Invader Hunting. It's always nice to be on a leaderboard for something too.

Number 14537 on the worldwide Flash Invaders leaderboard
I've got a way to go before I'll be troubling the top 100

The first Invader I spotted in Manchester that reminded me that they existed - and got me hooked on finding more - was MAN_08 on Withy Grove Stores on Dantzic Street.

Space Invader street art in Manchester
A classic

We've also snapped a few Invaders down in London and recently saw most of the Invaders in Newcastle.

To date Invader has invaded 77 cities around the world, putting up 3692 pieces. We're hoping to visit Paris where he's put up 1371 Invaders!

Check out the Invader website for more information.

Alex Ellison's Flickr page, Invader-Spotter and a whole host of people on Instagram have been very helpful in finding some of the more out of the way and hidden Invaders