Playing the Charity Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium in Milton Keynes.
On our recent trip to visit our old home town of Luton we stayed in Milton Keynes and on the drive between MK and Luton stopped off at the Woburn Sands Emporium.
The Woburn Sands Emporium garden centre is home to a Charity Crazy Golf course raising money for Willen Hospice.
It's always fun finding a minigolf course we didn't previously know about. And superb when it's a unique layout. The Crazy Golf course at Woburn Sands Emporium certainly was different, and it was brilliant to play the 7-hole course!
The Charity Crazy Golf at Woburn Sands Emporium was the 1,037th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.
Check out the Woburn Sands Emporium website for more information. It's an excellent garden centre with plenty to see and do there.
A look at the old Toys R Us store at The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes.
We took a look at the former Toys R Us store at The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes while on our way back from a trip to Luton last month.
There is still a lot of visible signage at the old store, including a nice sign in the car park. It's always interesting to see the variety of branding employed by Toys R Us over the years.
I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.
Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK.
Check out my blog posts below about other former Toys R Us stores:
A Crazy Golf course is opening at the new Flip Out trampoline and adventure centre in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The indoor Crazy Golf course will be among a number of activities within the attraction at the Flip Out venue opening in the old BHS shop in the town centre.
Flip Out in Aylesbury will also be home to the UK's first glow-in-the-dark ice rink!
Flip Out's Aylesbury adventure park is scheduled to opening in November this year.
We look forward to giving the Crazy Golf course a play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future. The ice skating sounds cool too.
We've played minigolf in Milton Keynes quite a bit over the years. When we lived down in Luton we popped over to the Centre MK when they had pop-up courses.
We also played Adventure Golf at Willen Lakes and Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre.
You can also find two indoor minigolf courses at Mr Mulligan's Lost World Golf and a Construction Golf course in the JCB Zone at Gulliver's Land in MK. We're yet to play those courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
New Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf course opening in Milton Keynes.
The Milton Keynes Adventure Golf venue is opening on 27th April and will have two 18-hole indoor Adventure Golf courses, as well as a restaurant and late-night bar.
The new indoor Adventure Golf course at Mr Mulligan's will be using the Lost World Golf theming also found at the Stevenage venue.
One of the UV obstacles at Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf
Milton Keynes also has an outdoor Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course. Located at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre that course was the 281st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.
Other Mr Mulligan's courses can be found at Castleford, Nottingham, Woking, Sidcup and Tonbridge. There are plans for more new sites in the coming year too!
Revisiting Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course in Milton Keynes.
A view of the tremendous facility
On Tuesday 2nd February I played my first round of miniature golf of the year as I swung into action against my old minigolf rival Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley at Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre in Milton Keynes.
Playing through the cannon
Marc in the ship on hole 1
The game was a rematch from our first round at the tremendous facility in December 2011.
A criminal element on the course
This time the score was not as close, as I picked up the win with a score of 47 to Marc's 60. March had been royally robbed on the 9th hole as he scored a dreadful seven. A couple of other jiffs on his scorecard, caused in no small part to his ridiculous 'tactic' of only playing the ball "to the right" on every single hole, meant 'The Roller' added another silver medal to his collection.
Unfortunately the rafts were out of action rendering the island hole unplayable
Visit Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf website for details of the course, opening times and prices. You can also find out about other Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf courses in Castleford, Nottingham and Woking. We've played at Castleford and Woking, but are yet to get to the Ramsdale Park Golf Centre course. There's a pair of new Mr Mulligan Adventure Golf courses opening in Stevenage, Hertfordshire this year too.
A visit to Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course in Milton Keynes.
On the way home from a recent trip to Milton Keynes I swung by Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre for a round on the 18-hole course.
Welcome to Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf
Back in December 2011 the course became the 281st played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It's changed a bit since my first visit. Most noticeable is the change of name from its previous incarnation as Pirate Island Adventure Golf.
A skull's eye view of the 18th and 2nd holes
The course itself was still in good condition and the huge pirate ship that houses the first two holes of the 18-hole layout is still a dominant site upon entering the car park at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre!
Hole 1 is an indoor hole, with hole two having upper and lower level tee-off points
The 'High Rise Pirates' tee-off area of hole 2
As it was a bit drizzly on my visit I was able to have a clear course ahead and behind me so got to enjoy the £8.25 round at a leisurely pace.
There's a pair of dueling pirates near the fourth hole
Mr Mulligan's Milton Keynes course is really tough, with some large minigolf holes, tricky obstacles and uneven greens. It's a course worthy of its par score of 55 (I shot a 51! And that included a hole-in-one on the very long fourth hole).
The very long fourth hole. Nicely aceable
You can find Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre on Monks Way in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK8 8AA.
The coffin is a new addition
You used to have to play over the gap and avoid the water
The Scallywag's Tee
A soggy green
Another one of the skellingtons on the course. There are loads of them there now!
There's a stack of treasure beyond the double plateau
You have to travel by raft to get on and off the island hole
Rummy the crocodile. Or is it an alligator?
A view from the island hole
I do like good theming
Visit Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf website for details of the course, opening times and prices, as well as the other Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf courses in Castleford, Nottingham and Woking. We've played at Castleford and Woking, but are yet to get to the Ramsdale Park Golf Centre course.
The layout looks impressive in its location in Queen's Court at thecentre:MK.
thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course in Queen's Court
The centre-piece of the vividly coloured, well laid out and fun looking course is a 20ft moving Octopus!
The GIANT minigolf Octopus at thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course
The course itself is of the 'Eternit' type of Miniature Golf - with the addition of felt to the playing surface and a few non-standard hole types and obstacles.
Emily on hole 6
The pirate theming around the site is really well done and the striking blue of the felt on the course makes a nice contrast with the green felt flooring.
Putting in the wake of the Kraken!
It makes for a pleasing playing environment - even if the course is very tricky, with some tough second (and third) putts.
Emily lining up a second shot
In our match-up Emily, the Eternit Miniaturegolf specialist (and British Women's Record Holder on the surface), beat me by one-shot with a result of 33 to 34.
Emily playing hole 10
Both scores were good enough to get us on the course Leader Board too.
Emily in tied fourth place on the Pirate Adventure Golf Leader Board with her 33
Squire in sixth spot
The course costs £4.50 a round for adults and the second round on the same day is half price. I took advantage of this and had another round after we'd had a bit of a shop around thecentre:MK.
In the stocks
The Pirate Mini Golf course will be in thecentre:MK until the 29th of August 2014 and is open seven days a week. It's an interesting layout, has friendly staff and is worth a play.
.JPG "Spot Richard on the Pirate Mini Golf course at thecentre:MK...?")
.JPG "Pirate Adventure Golf at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes")
+cropped.JPG "Playing hole 3 of the Pirate Mini Golf course at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes")
.JPG "thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course in Queen's Court")
.JPG "The GIANT minigolf Octopus at thecentre:MK's Pirate Adventure Golf course")
.JPG "Emily on hole 6")
.JPG "Putting in the wake of the Kraken!")
.JPG "Emily lining up a second shot on the Pirate Mini Golf at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes")
+cropped.jpg "Emily playing hole 10 of the Pirate Adventure Golf at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes")
.JPG "Emily in tied fourth place on the Pirate Adventure Golf Leader Board with her 33")
.JPG "Squire in sixth spot on the Leader Board")
.JPG "In the stocks")
+cropped.JPG "Playing the 12th hole on the Pirate Adventure Golf course at thecentre:MK in Milton Keynes")
.JPG "The course was another to 'feature' a toilet on it! Though this was was not in use on the course")
.JPG "Women were seen as unlucky on Pirate Ships!")
+cropped.jpg "Emily wasn't happy about that.")