New Adventure Golf at Regent Park Golf Club in Bolton

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course to be created at Regent Park Golf Club in Bolton.

The Adventure Golf course would be built by City Golf and is proposed to have a jungle-theme.

Woolworths shopping trolleys in Bolton

Seeing some shopping relics on a trip to Bolton.

We're always interested in spotting remains of retailers of yesteryear and while in Bolton we remembered that we'd heard there had been some former Woolworths shopping trolleys in Bolton Indoor Market.

Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market

Luckily they were still there. An odd place for them to end up after the closure of Woolies back in 2009. But good to see they're still knocking around. Even if they have been locked up and put out of use!?

Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market

Woolworths shopping trolleys at Bolton Indoor Market

Other former Woolworths shops

It's fun seeing old & lost brands, ghost signs and retail relics. I took a look at the ghost signs on a former Woolworths store on Blackpool promenade last September.

We saw a Woolworths ghost sign in Nuneaton in May last year too. That was a nice surprise!

Like the Blackpool store, the Nuneaton shop site had also most recently been a Poundland and a TJ Hughes.

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009. Every so often remnants of the brand become visible again.

We visited the Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent in September 2020. That store still had the signage in place and we'd originally spotted it while driving through the town the previous November.

We took a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011. That was a Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park. It's long gone now.

You can however still see an old mosaic tile logo at the former Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Interestingly, there's a playable Woolworths Pick n' Mix Crazy Golf hole at the Teezers Retro Golf course in Coventry!

Cinnabon in the UK

I saw my first Cinnabon in the UK today.

You can get a cinnamon roll at Rivington Services on the M61

There are plans to open 150 Cinnabon outlets in the UK by 2025. The number currently stands at 13 stores.

I really fancy a cinnamon roll now.

USA vs the UK

It's always interesting seeing new and different brands entering the UK. In recent times Dunkin' and Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs have popped up on the high street.

Our last pre-pandemic minigolf course visit

The last pre-coronavirus pandemic lockdown minigolf course visit we made was to The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre a year ago today.

That trip to Bolton was our last day out before lockdown.

It'll be great when we can once again get out and about on our travels.

Deane Video Centre - a lost video shop

A look at Deane Video Centre aka Valji's Convenience Store on Wigan Road in Deane, Bolton, Greater Manchester.

The Premier Express convenience shop isn't a video shop anymore.

Premier Stores is another convenience store brand owned by Tesco.

Last month we found a Video Box Office sign in a Happy Shopper shop in Ilkeston.

There is still a video shop - with lots of VHS tapes - operating in Bolton. You can find B.V.C - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever. It's well worth a visit to step back in time.

Related blog posts:

- Video Shops

Travel in 2020

I've barely travelled outside of Greater Manchester this year so it was nice to 'get away from it all' with a trip to Miami, California and Italy this afternoon.

Miami Sun Centre, California Wines Express and Little Italy on Wigan Road in Deane, Bolton

These shops are all on the Wigan Road in Deane, Bolton.

Related blog posts:

- Holidays at home - Stockport, 2020

- A postcard from Stockport

A video rental shop in 2020

Finding a video shop on Video Shop Day 2020.

Last month we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton. Yes, video as in VHS!

The day we called in was Video Shop Day! What are the odds?

The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.

They did also have DVDs.

What a marvellous time capsule of another era.

You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton.

35 years of Blockbuster Video

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

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

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

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 back 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.

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 are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks almost seven years later.

This is the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester, UK.

We've also been to the Blockbuster Video Express in Colne, Lancashire and found the remains of quite a few other old stores.

Finding a video shop on Video Shop Day 2020

Last Saturday happened to be National Video Shop Day and we were fortunate enough to stumble upon a video rental shop in Little Lever, Bolton! What are the odds?

It was like stepping back in time

The old-school video rental shop was fully stocked with VHS tapes. I haven't seen anything like it for years.

What a time capsule.

You can find B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever.

Farnworth Market Precinct

A look at Farnworth Market Precinct in Farnworth, Bolton.

The former shopping area is due to be demolished soon. It was quite eerie to find the abandoned area between the main precinct and the new bus station.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia

A look at The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia in the Market Place shopping centre in Bolton.

It was the last course we visited before the social distancing lockdown commenced.

Back in December 2016 it became the 420th course played and 720th visited overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

I wonder where number 949 will be?

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton

A look at The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in the Market Place Shopping Centre in Bolton.

In 2016 The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton became the 420th course played and 720th visited overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We revisited on Saturday 14th March.

  

Check out The Lost Valley Adventure Golf website for more information.

Do read my blog posts about the growth of shopping centre minigolf and minigolf courses in Greater Manchester.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton

A visit to The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre.

We swung by The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.

I played the 18-hole indoor course back in December 2016. Time flies!

The course was built by the team at HM Adventure Golf.

It's a nice layout and I really liked the attention to detail with the themed pathway on the course.

Visit the Amazonia website for more information, opening times and prices.

Take a look at my blog posts about miniature golf courses in Greater Manchester and the growth of shopping centre minigolf.

Steaks on a Plane

So, on our way back to Stockport from Wigan we got lost in Bolton as the slip road to the M61 was closed. But I'm glad we did as we spotted a Boeing 737 on the side of the road. It's now used as a restaurant! We had to park up and get a photo.

The Steak Out plane restaurant in Bolton

We eventually made it back home after finding the Highway to Hell (aka the A666).

Related blog posts:
- Bolton
- Restaurant

Highway to hell?

Having been to Bolton at the end of last year I must say I really like the town. But it does make me smile that the road that takes you there is the A666!

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf at Amazonia in Bolton

A visit to the Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at the Market Place in Bolton.

On the 21st December I headed to Bolton to visit and play the new 18-hole Lost Valley Adventure Golf course located indoors at the Market Place shopping centre.

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course

It's a superb minigolf layout and a great location for a course. The 'Lost Valley' can be quite easily discovered as it's well signposted from ground level!

Bolton's Market Place shopping centre - and the indoor Adventure Golf course - are well worth a visit

I was invited for a round at the Lost Valley by Simon from HM Adventure Golf who designed and built the course. We'd picked a good time to tee-off as we were able to get well into the swing of our round before the course began to get busy around lunchtime.

Five and a half of the holes are in the lower section of the course. The theming and lighting is great throughout

On the 5th green. This is in the lower part of the course

In our round I managed to pick up the win 45-48 with Simon carding a ruinous 6 on the 18th hole to scupper his chances of victory.

Teeing-off on the 10th

I was very pleased with my hole-in-one on the 15th and I'm sure with a bit more practice on the course there are some rewarding aces to be had on the tricky but fun layout.

Holing out on the 13th

The scorecards at the Lost Valley are some of the largest I've seen. Once opened the scorecard is 41.5cm wide!

Looks normal enough...

But then when you open it up!

The Lost Valley Adventure Golf course at Amazonia in Bolton's Market Place shopping centre was the 420th course played and 720th visited overall on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Hole 1

Snakey

A festive hole 2

The very small but tricky hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5 begins upstairs

But ends downstairs

Hole 6 was the toughest hole for me

The green on hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9 and another festive character

Hole 9

Hole 9

Hole 10

Hole 10

Hole 11

The green on hole 11

The nice surprise on hole 11

Hole 12

Which is the best hole to putt into?

The green on hole 12

There are two routes to the cup on hole 13

Hole 13

Hole 13

Hole 14

Hole 15 - the scene of my hole-in-one

Hole 16

Hole 17

Hole 17

There are two cups inside the mouth of the treeman on hole 18

Hole 18

As a bonus there was also a Miniature Train ride in Amazonia!

The Jungle Express

The Miniature Train ride runs along the edge of the Adventure Golf course

Check out the Lost Valley Adventure Golf course website for opening times and prices.

The flooring throughout the Lost Valley is fantastic - I'm not sure arachnophobes would be quite so keen!

It was great finding out about some of the other miniature golf courses the team at HM Adventure Golf are working on. Emily and I reckon there are around 50-odd more courses for us to visit in the UK, but with new courses opening all the time there is likely to still be 50 for us left to visit this time next year!

I'm looking forward to a minigolf match against Emily on the Lost Valley course

Head to the HM Adventure Golf website for further details on their projects. Their latest course opened at Haigh Woodland Park in Wigan, Lancashire this month. We're looking forward to a game there soon. I understand that the old course - the 521st visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - is still in the park too.

Related blog posts:
- Indoor Adventure Golf
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- The Lost Valley Adventure Golf
- HM Adventure Golf
- Bolton Market Place

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