Pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic

A look at Stopfordian Pubs during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Four 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 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

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've 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

A Back to the Future DeLorean - in 2020

I saw a Back to the Future DeLorean time machine four years ago today.

This was the last event we went to, as the world went into shutdown with the coronavirus pandemic shortly afterwards.

In 2019 I ticked 'See a real life DeLorean' off of my bucket list.

On Friday the 13th 2020 I managed to see another one at MediaCityUK in Salford and that one was this Back to the Future version!

Four years later and I still need to drive one...

What time would you go to?

Check out the Back to the Future car's website for more information.

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

A visit to the old Toys R Us store at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby.

We visited the old Toys R Us store at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby back in November 2020.

Lots of the signage was still visible at the location.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018.

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Toys R Us at Festival Retail Park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent

A visit to the old Toys R Us store at Festival Retail Park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

We made a trip to the old Toys R Us store at Festival Retail Park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent back in September 2020.

This was shortly before the location became a Go Outdoors store.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018.

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

A Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston, Derbyshire

Finding a Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston.

On our way back home from a trip south we visited the abandoned Toys R Us in Derby as well as the still open Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston.

One of the retro brands I remember clearly from growing up in the 80s and 90s was Happy Shopper. The colourful sign with the happy chappy face is a lovely throwback. Happy Shopper received a rebrand in 2000, but if you are lucky you can still find the original branding and signage on some shops.

Having a look round the Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston we spotted an extra bonus - it used to be a video shop too!

Other Happy Shopper shops

We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.

Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more.

Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:

• Preston
• Sheffield (Sharrow Lane)
• Sheffield (Page Hall Road)
• Ilkeston
• Hitchin
• Ashwellthorpe
• Ormesby St Margaret
• Lowestoft (2011)
• Lowestoft (2021)
• Wisbech
• Sittingbourne
• Burton-on-Trent 1
• Burton-on-Trent 2

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so it was brilliant to see this frontage looking fairly unchanged!

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

We first spotted the store in Longton while driving through the town in 2019 and returned in 2020 for a closer look. We were very surprised to see the branding still in place.

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent

Crazy Golfing at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm

Videos of the Crazy Golf course at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm in Hatfield, Doncaster.

On this day in 2020 we visited our 945th minigolf course when we played the 11-hole layout at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm in Hatfield, Doncaster.

Visit the Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm on Facebook for more information and opening times.

Sunnybank Gardens Crazy Golf course in Hatfield, Doncaster

A look at the Sunnybank Gardens Crazy Golf course in Hatfield, Doncaster.

Time for minigolf

On this day in 2020 we visited our 945th minigolf course when we played the 11-hole layout at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm in Hatfield, Doncaster.

Sunnybank Gardens Crazy Golf course in Hatfield, Doncaster. January 2020

The course was one of 20 minigolf courses we visited in the first 20 days of 2020.

Check out the Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm Facebook Page for more information and opening times.

Sunnybank Gardens Crazy Golf course in Hatfield, Doncaster. January 2020

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne

A look at the Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne, Lancashire.

We visited the former Blockbuster Video Express shop in Colne on this day in 2020.

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire

Exploring during the coronavirus pandemic

As our out-of-home minigolfing adventures were curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic I needed to scratch my exploring itch somehow. During the first nationwide lockdown Emily and I spent our daily outside exercise time walking around the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport where we managed to visit and photograph every one of the 265 pubs, bars and clubs in the area!

On our limited travels we also photographed as many pieces of Covid-19-related signage as we could.

The next mini 'tickable list' urban exploration challenge tapped into my interest in ghost signs, shops, retail marketing and old brands. Ever since I found the remnants of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been amazed to see the brand still has a lingering presence in other places too.

Here's the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Colne and how it looked in August 2020.

Some of the exterior signage

Blockbuster Video Express

A notice of Administration taped on the inside of the shop window. Note the tape used is Blockbuster branded

The old QuikDrop box

The sign on the front of the shop was long gone

A look inside the former Blockbuster Video Express store. Still recognisable as a video shop

Blockbuster Video Express in Colne

Blockbuster Video in the UK

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

I remember going to the Ritz Video shop on the Peachcroft Estate in my home town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire in the late 80's and early 90's. That store became a Blockbuster and I rented some classics from there back in the day. Check out this post from the excellent Abingdon Blog to see a photo of the shuttered shop in 2014.

Most Blockbuster Video Express stores were somewhat smaller than regular Blockbuster shops. Although all of the stores expanded to include video game rentals. Old signage for the games area has been clearly visible on both the Fallowfield and Colne stores I've been to.

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.

Blockbuster Video store locations we've visited

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

Pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic

A look at Stopfordian Pubs.

Three 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 when the first 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

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've 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

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford - in 2020

I saw a Back to the Future DeLorean time machine three years ago today.

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford

Time flies! Or does it...

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford

What a different time 2023 is!

Minigolf courses in the UK

There are lots of places to play minigolf in the UK.

We've almost reached the 1,000 course mark on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. When we began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. That number has grown significantly and there are new places to play opening all the time.

Some of the courses we've played are long-gone, while others have been refurbished or replaced by new layout.

Check out this post detailing all of the new courses we have found that have opened, are in planning, or under construction in the UK since July 2020 - New minigolf courses in the UK.

Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times

A look at signs of the Coronavirus pandemic, social distancing and lockdown.

I've been documenting the coronavirus pandemic in a number of ways, one of which is by photographing the different signs and posters I see on my walks and limited travels.

We're one year into lockdown in the UK and in that time I've collated some 922 of these (and counting) on my Instagram account.

One of the very first signs I snapped was this one during a local walk that passed by Cheadle Angling Club on Demmings Road in Cheadle.

We first saw social distancing measures in place at a miniature golf course in person on a walk to Bruntwood Park in Cheadle in May last year.

There is certainly a real variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage to do with social distancing, and I was amused by this photo Emily took of the social distancing measures in place on an escalator in M&S!

Surely the 2 metre apart distance stickers should be on the moving walkway as well, rather than the static sides of the escalator? I wonder how many people adhere to the rule and wait for the person ahead of them to reach the first marker?

Have you seen any interesting, quirky or amusing signs during these pandemic times? Do let me know.

From 20 to 1 in 2021

This time last year we'd already visited 20 minigolf courses!

What a difference a year makes. By this time last year we'd visited 20 minigolf courses as our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour got off to a flying start.

As it stands today we've been to one course in 2021. And that was just passing by it during a walk on New Year's Day.

Our travels in the first days of 2020 took us to miniature golf venues in Oxford, Birmingham, Manchester, Northwich, Doncaster and Castleford.

The last new course we played together before the pandemic was the Crazy Golf course at Sunnybank Gardens in Hatfield, Doncaster on the 19th January 2020

Minigolf in the time of coronavirus

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006. We were also very close to hitting 1,000 course visits overall.

We were still able to visit a total of 46 courses in 2020, including revisits. 15 of them were new layouts to us. We visited eight courses during the pandemic (March to December), playing two of them.

The last new course we played was the Gator Adventure Golf at Escape Entertainment in Chorley in August

New minigolf courses in the UK

We've continued to research, monitor and promote the game and know about at least another 90 new courses now open, being built, in development or planned to open in the UK. It'll be nice to swing by them when it's safe to get back out on the road again.

The last pop-up Crazy Golf course I visited was at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London last February

Related blog posts

• The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2020
• 20 minigolf course visits in 20 days in 2020

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Minigolfing in Doncaster a year ago today

This time last year we were playing Crazy Golf at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm in Hatfield, Doncaster.

The course was one of 20 we visited in the first 20 days of 2020.

Little did we know then that it would be the last course we'd play together until we managed a round again in August last year!

The 11-hole layout at Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm was the 945th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit Sunnybank Gardens & The Yorkshire Ice Cream Farm on Facebook for more information.

The trip to Doncaster was our last holiday too and while exploring the town we found a Crazy Golf course at Elmfield Park in Bennetthorpe and a layout at Hexthorpe Flatts Park.

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