Adventure Golf at Basset Down Complex in Swindon, Wiltshire

There's a new adventure mini-golf course at Basset Down Complex in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Basset Down Complex in Swindon, Wiltshire has opened a new adventure golf course.

The new adventure mini-golf course at Basset Down Complex in Swindon is a Wiltshire-themed 18-hole outdoor adventure golf layout.

Find out more on the Basset Down Complex website.

Roxy Ball Room Holborn opening this month

The new Roxy Ball Room venue in High Holborn, London is opening soon.

Roxy Ball Room Holborn will be home to several competitive socialising games and activities, including Crazy Pool.

Crazy Pool at Roxy Ball Room Deansgate in Manchester (July 2025) 

Roxy Ball Room Holborn opens on Wednesday 26th August.

Find out more on the Roxy Ball Room website.

Rooftop Crazy Golf at Yum Yum World in Rugby

There's a rooftop crazy golf course at Yum Yum World in Rugby, Warwickshire.

Find out more on the Yum Yum World website.

Baseball hole on the Crazier Golf course at Boom Battle Bar in Leeds

There's a Baseball-themed minigolf hole on the Crazier Golf course at Boom Battle Bar in Leeds.

Boom Battle Bar in Leeds is home to an indoor 9-hole crazier golf course.

One of the holes is baseball-themed and you tee-off with a baseball bat rather than a putter.

Visit the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

Crazy Golf in Oxford's Westgate Centre

A new crazy golf venue is opening at Oxford's Westgate Centre.

Junkyard Golf recently closed in Oxford's Westgate Centre and will reopen as Ted's Crazy Golf after a revamp of the venue.

Ted's Crazy Golf will be home to two 9-hole indoor crazy golf courses when the venue opens in August 2026.

Find out more on the Ted's Crazy Golf website.

The Ipswich Portal in Ipswich, Suffolk

There's a portal to different cities in Ipswich town centre.

No one was at the Brazil side of the portal while we were in Ipswich on Saturday afternoon

The Ipswich Portal is a live public art sculpture that links different places around the world.

The Ipswich Portal opened in October 2025 and has a real-time video link to six cities around the world between 6am and 11pm (UK time).

The seven places linked by the portals are:

• Ipswich, UK
• Dublin, Ireland
• Manila, Philippines
• Lublin, Poland
• Philadelphia, USA
• Vilnius, Lithuania
• Piauí, Brazil

Ipswich linked to Manila last Saturday afternoon

Find out more

Check out the Portals website for more information.

Sneaky Links Crazy Golf in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Sneaky Links Crazy Golf is an indoor minigolf course in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

We played the Sneaky Links Crazy Golf course last May.

Link:

• Sneaky Links Crazy Golf

Related blog post:

• Playing at Sneaky Links Crazy Golf in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Mini Golf at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet East Midlands

There's a pirate-themed mini golf course at Frasers Plus Designer Outlet East Midlands in Alfreton.

Find out more on the Frasers Plus Designer Outlet East Midlands website.

Adventure Golf at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire

A look at the new adventure golf course at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

We swung by the adventure golf course at Beacon Park in Lichfield during an afternoon in the city on the way back home from a trip to visit family and friends in East Anglia.

Back in September 2017 we played the Eternit-style miniature golf course at Beacon Park. That layout became the 461st played and 775th visited on our travels.

The new course replaced the crazy golf course in the park and covers the same location

This particular Eternit miniature golf obstacle has been retained in the new course layout, with some modifications as can be seen below

The new adventure golf course at Beacon Park opened in May this year.

The adventure golf course at Beacon Park is a 9-hole outdoor woodland-inspired adventure golf layout.

It became the 1,129th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006.

Beacon Park in Lichfield is also home to a Pitch & Putt course.

Find out more

Check out the Lichfield Historic Parks website for more information.

Art Deco in Lichfield, Staffordshire

A look at The former Regal Cinema in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The Regal Cinema opened on Tamworth Street in Lichfield in 1932. It closed in 1972, later becoming a Kwik Save supermarket.

The building now consists of residential apartments and retail units.

Crazy Golf in Skipton

There will be a crazy golf course in Skipton, North Yorkshire on Saturday 1st August.

Skipton will have a crazy golf course to play as part of celebrations in the town for Yorkshire Day on Saturday 1st August.

Find out more on the Skipton Improvement District (BID) website.

Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

There's a video and DVD rental shop in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

While visiting family in Bury St Edmunds in 2024 we spotted the sign for Northgate Video & DVD - a video rental shop!

We returned last year and were back in town again last week and are happy to report that the shop is still there.

Link:

• Northgate Video & DVD

Related blog posts:

• Video rental shops in the UK (January 2026)

Toys R Us at TGJones in Lichfield

There's a Toys R Us at TGJones in Lichfield city centre.

You can find a Toys R Us concession at TGJones in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital WHSmith shops underwent a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

Toys R Us in the UK

Toys R Us returned to the UK shopping scene with an online presence in 2022 and with concessions opening inside some WHSmith shops in 2023. There are currently Toys R Us concessions open at TGJones and WHSmith at Welcome Break shops.

Toys R Us at Hobbycraft.

You can also find Toys R Us concessions at Hobbycraft stores.

Working at Toys R Us

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

The old Toys R Us

At its peak there were 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. 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 several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

Links:

• TGJones
• Toys R Us

Related blog posts:

• Toys R Us
• TGJones
• WHSmith
• Retail

TGJones (formerly WHSmith) closed in Ipswich, Suffolk

The TGJones shop (formerly WHSmith) closed down in Ipswich, Suffolk last month.

TGJones closed in Ipswich on the 9th June 2025.

The end of WHSmith, and the start of TGJones

The start of July 2025 marked the end of WHSmith on the British high street after 233 years. Following the sale of the business to Hobbycraft owner Modella Capital WHSmith shops underwent a rebrand to the new name of TGJones.

Christmas in July

Merry Christmas in July.

Today is Christmas in July!

Much like there being a summertime version of Halloween with Summerween, the 25th of July marks Christmas in July.