Minigolf course in Stoke Park, Guildford (May 2016)

A look at the minigolf course in Guildford's Stoke Park.

The course was the 399th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We played the 18-hole Swedish Felt B-Run Minigolf course as part of a competition for National Miniature Golf Day in 2016.

Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage, Dorset

A look at the Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage, Dorset.

We visited our 600th minigolf course five years ago today when we played Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage, Dorset.

It was the first of 62 courses we visited on our two week holiday in the South West of England.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

When we began there were 600 courses in the UK!

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions

Crazy Golf course at Malkins Bank Golf Club in Sandbach (May 2019)

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Malkins Bank Golf Club in Betchton, Sandbach.

We played the 9-hole Swedish Felt Crazy Golf course at Malkins Bank Golf Club in Betchton, Sandbach in May last year.

The course was the 518th played and 888th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Link:
- Malkins Bank Golf Club

Barnard Castle Mini Golf - A Journey Through Teesdale (July 2013)

A look at the Barnard Castle Mini Golf course.

In July 2013 we visited Barnard Castle in County Durham to help launch the new Mini Golf course there.

The 9-hole course was designed and built by the team at UrbanCrazy.

The Barnard Castle Mini Golf course was the 532nd visited and 319th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Your private green minigolf postcard

A playable postcard from the Netherlands.

I found this fun minigolf postcard at the last postcard fair I attended in Stockport.

The Dutch text reads Vouw de ansichtkaart langs de stippellijnen, en druk het balletje uit de kaart (Fold the postcard along the dotted lines and push the ball out of the card)

It was published by GreenCards and can be turned into a putting cup by folding along the perforations and popping out the golf ball in the middle.

Eaton Park Crazy Golf in Norwich (May 2017)

A look at the Eaton Park Crazy Golf course in Norwich, Norfolk.

The 18-hole Crazy Golf course was the 432nd played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The layout was the 734th visited overall and the 707th we'd been to in the UK.

Holes 1-9

Holes 10-18

It's one of my all-time favourite courses.

Visit the Eaton Park Crazy Golf course website for more information.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions

A crazy golf postcard from Butlinland Minehead

A look at an old crazy golf postcard from Butlin's Minehead.

One of the old miniature golf postcards I found at the last postcard fair I attended before the pandemic lockdown was this superb John Hinde one showing the Crazy Golf and Chair Lift at Butlinland Minehead.

Butlinland Minehead. Crazy Golf and Chair Lift. John Hinde Studios. 24 May 1976

The card was posted from Minehead to Devizes in Wiltshire on the 24th May 1976.

I grew up on holidays at Butlin's holiday camps in Minehead, Bognor Regis and Ayr.

I've got brilliant memories of the monorail, funfair, laser tag and arcades there. It's little wonder that even now I'm such a big fan of the British seaside, crazy golf and video-games.

Social Distancing Miniature Golf

Seeing social distancing miniature golf in Cheadle.

We saw social distancing measures in place at a miniature golf course in person for the first time today.

The additional rules of Pitch & Putt during the current 'new normal'

It was at Bruntwood Pitch & Putt in Bruntwood Park, Cheadle, Stockport.

Spacing lines for queuing at the course

We were out on a bike ride for our daily exercise and cycled through the park.

The green of hole 1

The lady at the course said they'd had a good morning with players enjoying a game on the 18-hole layout.

A view of one of the holes at Bruntwood Park's Pitch & Putt course

We saw a couple of pairs out on the course just after a downpour.

You can just make out two golfers playing the course in the distance

There was clear signage and spacing marked out for queuing to the kiosk. There were also spaces marked out on the approach to the first tee.

Social distancing signage at the entrance

Spacing marked out on the approach to the first tee

Playing at Bruntwood Pitch & Putt

Bruntwood Park's Pitch & Putt was the 695th course we visited and 414th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We played there on Miniature Golf Day 2016.

Playing hole 1

Visit the Bruntwood Pitch & Putt website for more information.

I always keep my minigolf scorecards, but someone had discarded theirs elsewhere in the park. Sad to see

Related blog posts:

• Cheadle
• Stockport
• Coronavirus
• Social Distancing
• Bruntwood Pitch & Putt
• Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
• The next normal rules of minigolf
• Competitive socialising in isolation
• The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Newsletter archive and sign-up to receive future editions

Our plans for 2020

While our out-of-home putting has been paused by the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown we've been putting at home.

Stay alert. Control the virus

I was alert on my government mandated outdoor exercise time today.

Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport

Spotting a sign for Boulles (sic) in Stockport.

We visited Bramhall Park for the first time yesterday. Crazy really as it's more or less on our doorstep!

We've been to so many other parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and surrounding areas since moving here in 2016 but have never got round to go going.

While there we saw a sign for a 'Boulles Court'.

It should be 'Boules' with one l. And it's a terrain or piste rather than 'Court'.

And really it should be called 'Petanque'.

We couldn't find the 'court' and we got a bit lost in the woods too

Petanque in Stockport

We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Bramall Hall

We're looking forward to visiting Bramall Hall when it reopens. In the meantime we'll spend some of our outdoor exercise time exploring the grounds during lockdown.

Bramall Hall

Related blog posts:

• Petanque
• Boules
• Bramhall

Merseyway Comic Con in Stockport

There should've been a comic con at the Merseyway shopping centre in Stockport today.

Another casualty of the coronavirus.

Here's a snap of me on a Star Wars speeder bike at the Merseyway's first comic con last September.

Having fun in Stockport last year

Hopefully there'll be a return of retailtainment events in the future.

There was going to be a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at the Merseyway comic con.

I'm so glad I went to Urmston last October!

South Park Miniature Railway in Cheadle Hulme

Revisiting the Miniature Railway at South Park in Cheadle Hulme.

We took part of our outdoor daily exercise at South Park in Cheadle Hulme and had a look at the excellent miniature railway there.

South Park is home to Stockport & District Society of Model Engineers

It's a real treat to ride the model railway and I highly recommend a visit in the future when it is once again safe to do so.

To the trains

Old arrows at the entrance - they look well spaced out in the times of social distancing

The turntable

A view of the loop

A pair of park benches with a fine view of the miniature railway

We first found out about it back in May 2017, a year after we moved up here! 

End of the line

The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is home to three miniature railways - the one at South Park, Brookside Miniature Railway at the Garden Centre in Poynton and the Dragon Miniature Railway at the Garden Centre in Marple.

Related blog posts:

• Miniature Railways
• Cheadle Hulme

Link:

• Stockport & District Society of Model Engineers

Wac-Man Crazy Golf

A look at the 'Wac-Man' minigolf hole at Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf course inside Fletcher's Arcade in Cofton Hackett, South Birmingham.

We played Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf course in August 2018. The 9-hole indoor layout was the 829th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The course at Fletcher's Arcade and game-play has to be seen and experienced to be believed. It really is Crazy Crazy Golf!

Finding a lost Golf Centre in Stockport

We found a lost golf centre yesterday!

We went to Heaton Mersey for our daily exercise and while having a wander we took a turn into a side road we hadn't been down before.

Half way along it we spotted a gate with the word GOLF on it so had to take a closer look.

Cranford Golf Centre was a golf driving range. It closed down on the 31st October 2014.

Looking online there were plans for the area to be turned into housing.

It's amazing how much we've still got to explore of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport.

Guest minigolf blog at Putter Madness

Check out my guest blog post on the Putter Madness website where I look at the crazy world of miniature golf and what the future holds for the game.

Happy 40th birthday Pac-Man

Pac-Man was first released in Japan on this day in 1980.

A small selection of my Pac-Man collection

I like to celebrate the brilliant video game character as often as possible!

Playing Pac-Man in Morecambe last summer

Related blog posts:
- Pac-Man