4D Golf - Glow-in-the-Dark Adventure Golf in Castleford

Did you know there are two 4D Cosmic Golf courses at Xplore at Xscape Yorkshire in Castleford, West Yorkshire?

One is the Search for Atlantis. A 6-hole layout with an underwater theme.

The other is the Curse of the Mummy in 3D. A 9-hole course.

Find out more on the Xplore website.

The Xplore courses were the 199th and 200th visited on our travels back in 2010.

We swung by in 2020 too.

CLUB GOLF pop-up crazy golf in London

Looking back at the CLUB GOLF pop-up minigolf course at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London.

I was lucky enough to get a game in on the pop-up Crazy Golf course at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London on the 25th February 2020.

It was the last new minigolf course I played before the coronavirus pandemic lockdown hit the UK.

The 9-hole rave-inspired art installation crazy golf course was the 948th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 542nd played.

Artists Baker & Borowski created the 9-hole themed Crazy Golf layout inspired by the rave culture in the King's Cross area back in the 1980's and 1990's.

I shot a round of 23 in my game - the scorecard noted that the maximum score allowed was 63! A seven on each hole.

Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times

On this day in 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

Six years ago already. Blimey.

Later that month - on the 23rd March 2020 - the UK effectively ceased 'normal operations' as the country was put into lockdown.

Once we were allowed out photographed as much Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic and Social Distancing signage and notices as we could to document the times.

A Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council coronavirus sign in Cheadle Hulme, England in April 2020. The first covid sign I photographed and posted on social media

There was certainly a real variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage to do with social distancing.

Covid-19 signs at The Happy Shopper on Page Hall Road in Sheffield, England in October 2020

I documented a number of aspects of the coronavirus pandemic on my blog and social media while it was taking place.

A 'Social Distancing World Champion' floor decal in Chesterfield, England in August 2020

As a marketing and communications professional, one of my areas of interest was the huge variety of official & unofficial warnings, instructions and directional signage there was around covid and social distancing.

Escalator Social Distancing stickers at an M&S in Chesterfield, England in August 2020

You can view over 1,800 of the signs at the links below:

• Covid-19 signs 1
• Covid-19 signs 2
• Covid-19 signs 3
• Covid-19 signs 4
• Covid-19 signs 5
• Covid-19 signs 6
• Covid-19 signs 7
• Covid-19 signs 8
• Covid-19 signs 9
• Covid-19 signs 10
• Covid-19 signs 11
• Covid-19 signs 12
• Covid-19 signs 13
• Covid-19 signs 14
• Covid-19 signs 15
• Covid-19 signs 16
• Covid-19 signs 17
• Covid-19 signs 18

It's still possible to see Covid-19 Coronavirus signage as 'ghost signs' today and I reckon the remnants of the pandemic will be visible for many years to come.

Social distancing at an abandoned Blockbuster Video store (itself a remnant of another era) in Manchester, England in June 2020

Related blog posts:

• Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times
• Minigolf in the time of Coronavirus

Happy Back to the Future Day 2025

Today is Back to the Future Day.

The 21st October is 'Back to the Future Day' as Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelled from 1985 to the 21st October 2015. So, the future was actually ten years ago now!

I got to see a DeLorean time machine at MediaCity in Salford back on the 13th March 2020. How different times were then!

Back to the Future is 40 years old

Back to the Future was released on the big screen 40 years ago today.

Back to the Future was released on the 3rd July 1985.

Cinema audiences in the USA were treated to the first screenings of Back to the Future 40 years ago today!

I got to see a DeLorean time machine at MediaCity in Salford in March 2020

We found a (now lost) video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton in October 2020. It was stocked with loads of VHS tapes - including Back to the Future Part II. It was like stepping back in time!

I got to see my first DeLorean in real life at the Didsbury & South Manchester Car Show in Didsbury Park in July 2019

Blockbuster Entertainment postcards

A look at some old Blockbuster Video promo postcards.

I managed to find these nice Blockbuster Entertainment postcards by Boomerang back in 2020

I've enjoyed researching the lost brand and seeking out remnants of old Blockbuster stores over the last few years.

Check out my guest post about Blockbuster Video on the Picture Postcard Magic blog from Reflections of a Bygone Age back in 2020.

Picture Postcard Magic 31st October 2020 with Richard Gottfried What have you been watching during lockdown? With 2020...

Posted by Reflections of a Bygone Age on Saturday, 31 October 2020

The Royal Nawaab Stockport Pyramid

The Stockport Pyramid has reopened as a restaurant.

One of the first landmarks - among many fine buildings - we saw when we moved to Stockport in 2016 was the Stockport Pyramid.

Not many towns in the UK can lay claim to being home to a pyramid!

The Stockport Pyramid was home to the Co-operative Bank until 2018 and the building had been empty until it was purchased by Royal Nawaab with plans to turn the structure into a restaurant and banqueting venue. The venture has cost £15 million!

The building was originally planned to be the first of five pyramids in Stockport's own Valley of the Kings. That plan didn't come to fruition and the Stockport Pyramid sits on in the Kings Valley industrial and trading estate next to the M60.

Having seen videos of the inside of the Royal Nawaab it looks very impressive and we're looking forward to going inside for a look around the intriguing building one day.

A view of a side and the entrance

The Stockport Pyramid was completed in 1992 after five years work. Standing 36.6 metres (120 feet) in height, the Stockport Pyramid is somewhat smaller than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands 147 metres (481 feet) high. However, the striking structure has become a familiar sight to people in the town, those passing on the M60, or passengers on trains on the lines across the viaduct.

A view of the pyramid from the other side of the M60

The rear side of the pyramid viewed from the roundabout at Junction 1 of the M50

The view of the pyramid from the bottom of Hollywood Park

Views of the Stockport Pyramid as it was in August 2020

Visit the Royal Nawaab website for more information.

The Stockport Pyramid in 2020

A look at the Stockport Pyramid back in August 2020.

The Stockport Pyramid was home to the Co-operative Bank until 2018 and the building had been empty until it was purchased by Royal Nawaab with plans to turn the structure into a restaurant and banqueting venue. The venture has cost £15 million and is now open!

The building was originally planned to be the first of five pyramids in Stockport's own Valley of the Kings. That plan didn't come to fruition and the Stockport Pyramid sits on in the Kings Valley industrial and trading estate next to the M60.

The Stockport Pyramid was completed in 1992 after five years work. Standing 36.6 metres (120 feet) in height, the Stockport Pyramid is somewhat smaller than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, which stands 147 metres (481 feet) high. However, the striking structure has become a familiar sight to people in the town, those passing on the M60, or passengers on trains on the lines across the viaduct.

Lost Video Shops: B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton

B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton closed down in July 2024.

We stumbled upon it back in October 2020 and it was fascinating to find a video shop, with actual VHS tapes available to rent out, open!

Here are some photos of B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in October 2020 and June 2021.

Related blog post:

• Video rental shops in the UK (April 2025)

Pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic

A look at Stopfordian Pubs during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Five years ago today we photographed The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. It became the first of 265 pubs, bars and clubs we visited in the borough between April and the 4th of July 2020 when the first coronavirus pandemic lockdown ended.

Pub number 1 - The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. A lovely Art Deco building. We'd never seen it shuttered before the lockdown. It's since undergone a change of ownership and is now called The Watchmakers Bar & Grill

We visited each of the pubs while on our daily outdoor exercise between Wednesday 1st April and before pubs were allowed to reopen with social distancing measures on Saturday 4th July.

It gave us something to do during the lockdowns and it was interesting to see the variety of architecture, different signage, parts of the town we haven't been to for a long time and other parts of the area we'd never been to. I documented the pubs on Instagram using the #StopfordianPubs tag.

At the 265th pub on our lockdown 'pub crawl'. Not a drop was drunk on our daily walks in April, May, June and July!

The CLUB GOLF pop-up minigolf course in London

Looking back at the CLUB GOLF pop-up minigolf course at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London.

The last new minigolf course I played before the coronavirus pandemic lockdown struck was the CLUB GOLF pop-up minigolf course at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London.

The 9-hole rave-inspired art installation crazy golf course was the 948th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 542nd played.

Artists Baker & Borowski created the 9-hole themed Crazy Golf layout inspired by the rave culture in the King's Cross area back in the 1980's and 1990's.

I shot a round of 23 in my game - the scorecard noted that the maximum score allowed was 63! That would be a seven on each hole!

It was a fun course to play and well spaced out around Coal Drop's Yard.

It's crazy to think we would get to have another game of minigolf in again until August 2020.