Baseball Mini Golf at FTW in Chicago

A look at the baseball-themed hole at FTW in Chicago.

Emily swung by FTW in Chicago back in 2018 and on her return visit in 2019 had a game of mini golf there.

One of the holes is based on Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox.

The course at FTW is a 6-hole layout themed on the Windy City.

Hole 5 at FTW

Check out the FTW website for more information.

New Forest Adventure Golf at Lymington Golf Centre

Looking back at our visit to the New Forest Adventure Golf course at Lymington Golf Centre.

New Forest Adventure Golf at Lymington Golf Centre

We played the 18-hole course at Lymington Golf Centre in May 2019.

New Forest Adventure Golf at Lymington Golf Centre

The outdoor adventure golf course at Lymington Golf Centre was the 873rd visited and 510th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Forest Adventure Golf at Lymington Golf Centre

Check out the Lymington Golf Centre website for more information.

New Forest Adventure Golf at Lymington Golf Centre

Crazy Golf at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

Looking back at our visit to the Crazy Golf course at the Outdoor Sports Centre in Southampton.

Crazy Golf at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

The Crazy Golf course at the Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre was the 872nd course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in May 2019. Sadly we didn't have time to play it as we had to get to a wedding!

Crazy Golf at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

The course was surprising to see as it was of the mini-Eternit Miniature Golf variety - a smaller version of a minigolf type more commonly found in continental Europe.

Crazy Golf at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

We'd only been to one course like it before, at Sutton Farm Cheshire at Sutton Weaver Village near Runcorn, Cheshire.

Here's a look at the 12-hole layout.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 10

Hole 11

Hole 12

Visit the Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre website for more information and opening times.

Crazy Golf at Southampton Outdoor Sports Centre

Updates at Victoria Park Crazy Golf in Scarborough

The Crazy Golf course at Victoria Park in Scarborough is receiving a refurbishment ahead of the new season.

It'll be interesting to see what the updates look like.

Find out more on the scarborough.co.uk Instagram, Facebook and X accounts.

Victoria Park Crazy Golf course in Scarborough in 2019

We visited the Crazy Golf course at Victoria Park in Scarborough back in June 2019. The course became the 899th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf in a Wrestling Ring at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry

We visited and played a round at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry on Easter Sunday back in 2019.

The 18-hole indoor Crazy Golf course at Teezers Retro Golf opened in 2018 and was the 507th course played, and 865th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour at that time.

It's now a lost course.

Radioactive Mini Golf in Birmingham

A look back at a visit to Mr Mulligans Space Golf in Birmingham.

Back in 2019 Mr Mulligans Space Golf centre at Broadway Plaza in Birmingham was visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

DANGER!

Mr Mulligans Space Golf in Birmingham is home to three 12-hole Adventure Golf courses - Asteroid, Supernova and Mars Base.

Check out the Mr Mulligan website for more information about the Birmingham location, and other Mr Mulligan venues around the UK.

We've been to the Mr Mulligan courses in Birmingham, Bournemouth, Cheltenham, Milton Keynes (indoor and outdoor venues), Newcastle, Norwich, Sidcup, Stevenage, Woking and Worcester.

We've yet to get to the Mr Mulligan courses in Basildon, Bristol, Hemel Hempstead, Nottingham and Tonbridge.

The Blockbuster Video Store in Fallowfield, Manchester - Five Years On

A look back at the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

This is what was left of Blockbuster Video on Fallowfield Retail Park back in October 2019

I found the preserved remains of a 'dead brand' - Blockbuster Video - while in Manchester five years ago today!

It became the first of many former Blockbuster Video stores Emily and I travelled to once we found that there were still some other visible remains of the brand to be seen on high streets and at shopping centres around the UK.

Oh, what happened to this sign?

Dark clouds gathered over the brand 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.

On the visit to the old Fallowfield shop in October 2019 the Blockbuster Video store sign was prominently displayed on both sides of the main sign at Fallowfield Retail Park and the windows of the shop still retained Blockbuster signage.

A sign in the shop window

Most of the shelves inside had been removed, but the walls and desks clearly retained the brand colours of Blockbuster.

The window graphics still looked fresh

Clearly still recognisable as a Blockbuster on the inside

The shelves were bare

There is currently one independently owned franchise still operating as a Blockbuster Video in the USA and you can find it in Bend, Oregon.

Quik Drop box to nowhere

We made several more visits to the abandoned Blockbuster Video shop at Fallowfield Retail Park, including one last look as it was being demolished in January 2024.

Other Blockbuster Video stores

Here's a list and links to the other Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• 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

Independent video stores

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. While most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores, there are remnants of (and in some cases still operating) independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• 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 in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Video Express in Swansea
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Do you still have a video store near you?

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

I've been to two of the above, with Snips Movies on my to visit list in the future. Hopefully I'll be able to get a membership card for the shop too.

Do you have a favourite defunct brand? Are the remains of an old brand still visible near where you live or work? Do let me know.

Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club

A look back at the Crazy Putting Challenge minigolf course at Hamptworth Golf Club - the 875th course we visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Putting Challenge minigolf course at Hamptworth Golf Club (May 2019)

Our 2019 trip to Southampton saw us visit 18 more courses on our tour, playing eight of them. One of the courses we had a round on was the Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club in Wiltshire.

On hole 4

The excellent 9-hole course was the 875th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 511th played.

We really enjoyed our game on the Crazy Putting Challenge at Hamptworth Golf Club. The staff at the club were very welcoming and we could've easily spent a few more hours enjoying the course.

The Rules of the Crazy Putting Challenge course

In our match-up over 18-holes I won with a score of 41 (20 and 21) to Emily's 44 (22 and 22).

Playing hole 4

Emily on hole 1

I played two further rounds to try to shoot a sub-20 score, but hit another 21 and 20. It's the sort of course I could've played over and over again.

Playing hole 5

Check out my blog post with videos of me playing each of the 9-holes.

Teeing-off on hole 8

There was a nice little Putting Green at the Club too and a number of people were enjoying a round on the big golf course. Big being the operative word, as Hamptworth Golf Club is home to a 666 yard par-6 hole!

The Putting Green

Hole 9 was the longest hole on the Crazy Putting Challenge course

Photos of the 9-hole Crazy Putting Challenge course.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 6

 

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Visit the Hamptworth Golf Club website for more information on the venue.