From Blockbusters NQ to Rewind NQ in Manchester

The video rental shop themed bar formerly known as Blockbusters NQ is now known as Rewind NQ.

The inside of the bar is still packed with old VHS tapes!

It was fun having a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.

Check out the Rewind NQ website for more information.

Wacky Social: Golf, Arcade, Bar in Darlington

A new indoor minigolf venue is opening in Darlington in 2024.

Wacky Social will be home to a crazy golf course, an arcade, and a bar - and it'll be located somewhere in Darlington, County Durham next year.

Visit the Wacky Social Facebook Page for more information.

Making it a Blockbusters NQ night

Drinking in a video store.

We finally made it to Blockbusters NQ in Manchester last Thursday.

Not a video store

It was nice to have a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.

It was nice to be on the INSIDE of a new bar for a change!

We first heard about the nostalgia-inducing video rental shop bar last November and have been looking forward to stepping inside since we first saw it.

BE KIND
REWIND

The theming is really well done and the bar had a chilled atmosphere. It's worth a visit.

An eclectic selection

You can never have enough copies of True Lies. I prefer the Laserdisc edition myself

Most of the videos are retail ones rather than ex-rental tapes, but there are some big box treats to find lurking on the shelves.

A look at the cocktail menu and one of the big box ex-rental Blockbuster Video tapes I found on the shelves

The Chase is the best bit of Midnight Express

This big box ex-rental tape is from a Video Box Office store.Video Box Office was the Business to Business part of ChoicesUK and launched in the UK in 1985 when the brand offered video rental services via third-party convenience stores. As the popularity of physical media rentals declined in the late noughties 59 ChoicesUK shops were taken over and rebranded as Blockbuster stores! We found an old Video Box Office presence inside a Happy Shopper in Ilkeston, Derby in 2020

PLEASE REWIND

Check out the Blockbusters NQ website for more information and opening times.

Blockbuster Video

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

The first of the old Blockbuster locations we found was also in Manchester, just up the road from us at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video at Fallowfield Retail Park in Manchester, June 2020

Blockbuster Video Stores

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!

We've now visited 28 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop.

• 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
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Blockbusters NQ is open in Manchester

Although we were there too early in the afternoon to get a drink.

Check out the Blockbusters NQ website for more information and opening times.

We're hoping to head inside for a look and a drink in the next few weeks...

We first heard about the nostalgia-inducing video rental shop bar last November.

Blockbuster Video

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

The first of the old Blockbuster locations we found was also in Manchester, just up the road from us at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Blockbuster Video Stores

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500+ of which were in the UK.

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

However, the UK's high streets, shopping precincts, malls and retail parks still hold traces of the brand. And we've been to most of them!

The QuikDrop box at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Failsworth, Manchester

We've now visited 28 former Blockbuster Video stores since we found the remains of the Fallowfield shop.

• 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
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Blockbusters NQ in Manchester

A new video shop-themed bar is opening in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

A new sight to see on Oldham Street

We were excited to hear that a new video store-themed bar is opening up in the Northern Quarter in Manchester city centre.

So we had to go along for a look.

Blockbusters NQ can be found on Oldham Street and according to the signs on the windows it is COMING SOON.

BLOCKBUSTERS NQ - COMING SOON

We're looking forward to checking it out when it opens.

The walls and counter of the bar look brilliant already - we can't wait to see what it'll look like when the installation is completed

Blockbuster Video

We're big fans of video, videos stores, retail history and retro stuff and have been visiting and documenting the last remaining traces of the Blockbuster brand in the UK over the last few years. We've seen a number of the brand's shopfronts, signs and QuikDrop boxes. As well as some other video shops.

The first of the old Blockbuster locations we found was also in Manchester, just up the road from us at Fallowfield Retail Park.

Speakeasies

Blockbusters NQ looks like a cool and nostalgic speakeasy and while we were taking a look at the store the signs were getting some interest from passers-by.

It'll be a fun new speakeasy for us to visit when it opens.

It'll be great to see what the full signage will look like

Find out more

Give the Blockbusters NQ Instagram account a follow for more information on the bar.

Roxy Arcade in Leeds

A visit to the new Roxy Arcade in Leeds.

While we were in Leeds for the Collectorabilia event at the weekend we visited the new Roxy Arcade.

I had a play on Defender, X-Files Pinball, Moon Cresta, Street Fighter II and Track & Field on our visit

The downstairs section

There are also consoles available to play

The new venue from the Roxy team is next door to the established Roxy Ball Room Merrion Street.

Merrion Street in Leeds

The first Roxy Ball Room we visited was the one on Boar Lane where we played the indoor Crazy Golf course in November 2016.

Roxy Ball Room venues have a lot of competitive socialising activities

We've also been to Roxy Ball Room in Manchester where we had a brilliant time last New Year's Eve.

There's a Roxy Ball Room in Liverpool we're yet to visit. That venue has a new minigolf course too.

Check out the Roxy Arcade website for more information.

Golf Pong at Project B in Manchester

What rainy Saturdays in Manchester are all about.

Last Saturday afternoon we headed over to Manchester as Emily had seen there was Golf Pong at a brand new bar in a railway viaduct arch that used to be a car dealership.

It was the first time we'd played this variation of golf

As well as the bar, golf pong and beer pong Project B has a number of street food vendors and hosts live music. We enjoyed listening to Mike Dignam while we were there.

Check out Project B on Facebook for more info.

No Tee Party Crazy Golf for me at The Club House in Manchester

A visit to the Tee Party Crazy Golf at The Club House in Manchester.

I was recently in Manchester and headed along to the Spinningfields area of the city to check out the minigolf course that had been set up there.

Unfortunately the course had closed the day before so I couldn't play it.

Luckily the holes were still there so I had an interesting evening wander hunting out each of the holes that were spread out around the shopping and dining area.

The course became the 684th visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

Luckily earlier this year the team at the course had sent through some of the scorecards from the course to enter the archives of the Crazy Golf Museum.

Links:
- Spinningfields website
- The Tee Party website
- The Club House website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Manchester
- Tee Party Crazy Golf at The Club House in Manchester

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Tee Party Crazy Golf at The Club House in Manchester

There's a tee party taking place in Manchester.

The team at The Club House at the Spinningfields shopping & dining quarter in Manchester have created a great looking Crazy Golf course to tee-off a great summer of sport. The Club House is a pop-up sports bar that'll be open in Hardman Square until the 31st August.

Classic Crazy Golf Putters on a maze hole

But if you want a game of Crazy Golf there you'll need to be quick as it closes at the end of June (after being extended from the original end date of May!). It's proven to be incredibly popular since it opened on the 14th April and looks like there'll be a lot more fun to be had on the layout in the coming weeks.

Hole 6 of the 9-hole Spinningfields Crazy Golf course

The unique holes - including a maze, football pitch and a domino layout - on the 9-hole course are dotted across the Spinningfields estate. The green fee is £5, and when your clubs and balls are returned you get £3 back. A bargain!

The course is open from 12pm to 8pm Wednesday to Sunday (and Bank Holidays).

We've always really enjoyed our trips to Manchester - back in 2009 I won the Mini Masters and Mini Open tournament there, and I also became the Chrizy Golf Champion there in 2012!

For more information on the Tee Party course check out the Spinningfields website.

Links:
- Spinningfields website
- The Tee Party website
- The Club House website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Manchester

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Indoor Mini Golf in Leeds

New 9-hole indoor minigolf course to open in Leeds.

The Roxy Ball Room in Leeds has announced the opening of a brand new indoor miniature golf course at their venue.

The 9-hole layout will be the latest addition to the bar and pizza place's leisure activities that also include beer pong, pool, ping pong, billiards and tenpin bowling. It sounds like my kind of place!

The new indoor crazy golf will be opening in a few months time.

You can find the Roxy Ball Room on the 1st Floor Trinity Square, Boar Lane, Leeds, LS1 6HW. Check out the links below for more information on the venue.

Emily and I are looking forward to visiting and playing the course as part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've enjoyed playing a number of Indoor Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses over the years and the new set-up sounds like it'll be in a good spot.

While in serious competition alcohol and minigolf sport do not mix, in the fun side of the game they are a great combination.

Links:
- Roxy Ball Room website
- Roxy Ball Room on Twitter
- Roxy Ball Room on Facebook
- Roxy Lanes website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Indoor Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in Pub Beer Gardens