Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland

Exploring the north west of England, some of Scotland and the north east coast.

The latest leg on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has seen us visit a further 49 miniature golf courses in England and Scotland bringing the total course location visits to date since September 2006 to 495!

Of the 49 courses we stopped at on our roadtrip we managed to play thirteen of them. Some of the courses were not yet open for the season, while others were either in a derelict state or had been demolished. A few of the courses we didn’t play were open, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to play them all.

The 1,178 mile roadtrip took us to Miniature Golf, Crazy Golf, Putting and Adventure Golf courses in Forton, Garstang, Bispham, Morecambe, Bowness-on-Windermere, Brockhole, Ambleside, Keswick, Maryport, Silloth-on-Solway, Carlisle, Helensburgh, Bannockburn, Perth, Broughty Ferry, St Andrews, Kirkaldy, Dunfermline, North Berwick, Gullane, Dunbar, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Spittal, Seahouses and Sunderland.

North West England, Scotland & North East England Tour Challenge - List of courses played (click to enlarge)

On the trip Emily and I contested an Irregular Mini Golf Tour tournament played over 13 rounds and 201 different minigolf holes – the North West England, Scotland & North East England Tour Challenge. The competition was won by me with a total of 518 to Emily’s 554.

Our visit to St Andrews in Scotland also saw us visit and play the World’s First Miniature Golf course at The Himalayas Putting Course – a terrific minigolf location where there is a pair of testing courses – an 18 and a 9-hole Grass Putting layout.

With the 49 Minigolf/Crazy Golf/Adventure Golf/Putting courses taken in on our journey we have now made 495 course location visits since 2006 and played 297 courses!

Richard at the Zumo Cafe Crazy Golf course in Forton

Emily playing the very crazy Crazy Golf course at Brockhole in the Lake District

Richard playing the Crazy Golf in Ambleside

Richard lining up a Putt in Keswick

Richard and Humpty on the Crazy Golf course in Carlisle

Richard on the outdoor section of the Adventure Golf Putting at Noahs Ark Golf Centre in Perth

Richard plays a shot on the Broughty Ferry Crazy Golf course

Richard plays a shot on the 9-hole Himalayas Putting Course in St Andrews

Emily on Hole 17 at Adventure Golf Island in Dunfermline

Richard on the East Links Putting course in North Berwick

Richard on the Crazy Golf course in a very wet and cold Seahouses

According to the excellent Miniature Golf resource – MiniatureGolfer.com – there are 57 miniature golf courses in Scotland (and 618 in the UK) and in the few days we had available we managed to visit 20 courses there. We also spotted a few new unlisted courses in England and Scotland that can be added for future visits and visitors.

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Unplayed Minigolf Courses on our Roadtrip to Scotland & Back

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

British Tourism - Closer to Home

With yesterday being the start of British Tourism Week Emily and I had fancied taking a trip to the brilliant British seaside and were going to make a visit to Southend-on-Sea and the Party on the Pier there (it's a seaside resort we really like, and is probably the nearest to us here in Luton). However, after having a much needed lie-in we decided to have a tour around the area closer to home.

We managed to fit in a fair bit just pootling around a 20ish mile radius of Luton, Bedfordshire, and visited Dunstable, Kensworth, Whipsnade, Stanbridge, Tilsworth and Milton Keynes.

We visited the Dunstable Downs, watched some Kite Flying and the Gliders taking off and landing. And went to 'another' Isle of Wight.


We then headed to Whipsnade and saw some Bison, visited Tilsworth Golf Club and then headed to Milton Keynes, where we found some great produce at the Centre MK's Food & Craft Fair, as well as discovering another Quasar Laser Tag at the Tenpin Bowling Centre at MK's Leisure Plaza.

There is a great amount of fun and interesting stuff to do in the UK, and we love our coastal travels and roadtrips, but it's also great to have a leisurely day out close to home too.

British Tourism Week runs from the 12th to the 20th March 2011.

Not Ireland, Egypt, England or the Isle of Wight

As well as visiting the real Isle of Wight in 2008 we stopped off at Bedfordshire's version yesterday.

On our travels and roadtrips around the UK we've also spotted other 'faux' places, these include:

New England

Egypt

Ireland

Click for details of visits to the rest of the UK, and other countries and islands.

Minigolfing in all four Home Nations in 2010

The playing of the 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) meant that we have now visited each of the four home nations to compete in Minigolf tournaments in the same calendar year!

The year of Minigolfing competitions started in England with the Luton Invitational Minigolf Tournament on the 1st January 2010, followed by the first British Minigolf Association (BMGA) Tour event of the year on the 24th January at the BMGA National Open at Adventure Island Mini Golf, Star City, Birmingham.

Scotland was the next stop this year for the Codonas Classic and the BMGA Scottish Open at Codonas Amusement Park in Aberdeen on the 15th and 16th May.

On the 31st July and the 1st August we visited Northern Ireland to play in the 2010 NIBBAL-IT Doubles Minigolf Tournament.

And of course the final of the four home nations visited was Wales, where we competed 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) at the 9-hole Crazy Golf course at Tredegar Park, Newport.

Click for details of visits to the rest of the UK, and other countries and islands.

Last chance to vote for our 'Minigolf at the Seaside' Holiday Competition Video

Today is the last day to vote on our Minigolf at the Seaside video to help us win a 10,000 minute holiday in the Enjoy England 'Enjoy Every Minute' competition.

All you need to do is click on the link here and then click on the voting link and select our video as the one you'd like to vote for!

The vote closes today (August 27th) and the winner will be announced tomorrow, receiving 10,000 minutes of holiday in England!

Thank you for voting on our minigolf video, it's very much appreciated.

Many thanks.

Richard & Emily

Full Minigolf Report - 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)

Minigolf Report
2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)



Cwmbran's Leo Kukielka wins the Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg

The 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) was played out over five rounds and 48-holes, on two minigolf courses, in two countries on Saturday 21st August 2010.

Cwmbran's Leo Kukielka won the title in the eight player field with a total score of 112(+16), three shots clear of his brother Seve Kukielka on 115(+19) and four clear of bronze medallist Paul Johnson on 116(+21). Jas Kukielka, a pre-tournament favourite as the reigning and defending 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) Champion finished in a disappointing 7th place with a score of 125(+29).

On Friday 20th August a draw was held to decide the groups and order of play for the first round, with the groups reorganised based on scores after each round.

Details of the draw:
Group 1
- Richard Gottfried
- Owen Johnson
- Leo Kukielka

Group 2
- Peter Jones*
- Cindy Kukielka
- Emily Gottfried
*Did not play

Group 3
- Jas Kukielka
- Paul Johnson
- Seve Kukielka


Rounds one to three were played at the 9-hole Minigolf course at Tredegar Park in Newport, Wales, with rounds four and five played in England at the 12-hole Roman-themed Wye Valley Miniatvre/Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West.

Round one scores & rank - Tredegar Park
- Richard Gottfried - 21 - 6
- Owen Johnson - 28 - 8
- Leo Kukielka - 20 - 5
- Cindy Kukielka - 19 - 3
- Emily Gottfried - 19 - 3
- Jas Kukielka - 23 - 7
- Paul Johnson - 18* - 1
- Seve Kukielka - 18* - 1
* Course Record

Round two scores & running totals & rank - Tredegar Park
- Richard Gottfried - 20 - 41 - 4
- Owen Johnson - 22 - 50 - 8
- Leo Kukielka - 21 - 41 - 4
- Cindy Kukielka - 19 - 38 - 3
- Emily Gottfried - 22 - 41 - 4
- Jas Kukielka - 18* - 41 - 4
- Paul Johnson - 18* - 36 - 1
- Seve Kukielka - 19 - 37 - 2
* Course Record

Round three scores & running totals & rank - Tredegar Park
- Richard Gottfried - 20 - 61 - 5
- Owen Johnson - 20 - 70 - 8
- Leo Kukielka - 16* - 57 - 4
- Cindy Kukielka - 17 - 55 - 2
- Emily Gottfried - 22 - 63 - 7
- Jas Kukielka - 20 - 61 - 5
- Paul Johnson - 19 - 55 - 2
- Seve Kukielka - 17 - 54 - 1
* Course Record

Round four scores & running totals & rank - Symonds Yat West
- Richard Gottfried - 30 - 91 - 5
- Owen Johnson - 33 - 103 - 8
- Leo Kukielka - 26* - 83 - 1
- Cindy Kukielka - 32 - 87 - 3
- Emily Gottfried - 32 - 95 - 6
- Jas Kukielka - 35 - 96 - 7
- Paul Johnson - 32 - 87 - 3
- Seve Kukielka - 31 - 85 - 2
* Course Record

Round five (final round) scores & running totals & rank - Symonds Yat West
- Richard Gottfried - 28 - 119 - 5
- Owen Johnson - 34 - 137 - 8
- Leo Kukielka - 29 - 112 - 1
- Cindy Kukielka - 30 - 117 - 4
- Emily Gottfried - 27 - 122 - 6
- Jas Kukielka - 29 - 125 - 7
- Paul Johnson - 29 - 116 - 3
- Seve Kukielka - 30 - 115 - 2

Final Rankings of the 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)
1st - Leo Kukielka (WAL)
2nd - Seve Kukielka (WAL)
3rd - Paul Johnson (ENG)
--------------------------------
4th - Cindy Kukielka (WAL)
5th - Richard Gottfried (ENG)
6th - Emily Gottfried (ENG)
7th - Jas Kukielka (WAL)
8th - Owen Johnson (ENG)

New Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg champion Leo Kukielka said "Rydw i'n hoffi iawn o enill y Cystadleuaeth Cymraeg a rwyn eisiau enill mwy o cystadleuaeth ardraws Prydain." ("I am very pleased to have won the Welsh Tournament and, hopefully, I will go on to win some more tournaments in Britain.")

Outgoing Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg champion Jas Kukielka said "Having to look out for the park ranger whilst playing our 'free' rounds in Tredegar Park put me on edge for the first couple of rounds and I never recovered, but I couldn't have handed the trophy over to a better player!"

Welsh Ladies Number One Cindy Kukielka narrowly missed out on the bronze medal but did win the 2010 Aces Champions prize with a total of 8 holes-in-one, the next nearest to Cindy was Leo on 4 Aces across the tournament. Birmingham's Owen 'Jackpot' Johnson picked up the competition MVP prize having shown great improvement in his scores over the rounds (especially rounds 1-3).

Photos from the tournament:
Tredegar Park, Newport, Wales





Symonds Yat West, England









New Champion Leo Kukielka

The top three - from l-r - Seve Kukielka, Leo Kukielka, Paul Johnson
The prize-less three - from l-r - Emily Gottfried, Jas Kukielka, Richard Gottfried

As a side note the cumulative scores for the Welsh & English players as 'teams' are below:
Wales - 112 + 117 + 125 + 115 = 469
England - 119 + 137 + 122 + 116 = 498

Results of the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) held in Swansea (Abertawe).

Playing the Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course in Symonds Yat West

A Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit to the Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West.


Following our visit to the Tredegar Park Minigolf course in Newport, Wales on Saturday 21st August 2010 we headed back over the border for a couple of rounds at the 12-hole Roman-themed Miniatvre Golf course at Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf in Symonds Yat West.

The course was the 193rd played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and also home to the final two rounds of the 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament).







The course is great fun to play, with some excellent obstacles and well designed holes. I'd definitely return to play there again.








While at the course we talked with Lindsay Heyes, co-owner of the Wye Valley Miniature Golf course who kindly gave us some background history to his very well thought out course.

He told us that the Wye Valley Miniature Golf was opened on 11th September 2007, and he designed the course, while his brother Edward Heyes led the construction team. In the research stage they looked at 80 parameters which determine playability, from drainage and gradient to type of ball and gap-width between obstacles.

Interestingly the whole course acts as a water-collector for, and admits light to, the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo as part of their environmental sustainability effort. Nearly all components were sourced from local suppliers - e.g. the colonnade was cast just a mile away from the course, where they had the columns distressed to age them two thousand years!

The concept was that the course would wind its way through a fictional excavation, complete with a grave, of a Romano-British villa engaged in the fellmongery business.

The centre also has an Amazing Maze (and Maze Museum), Butterfly Farm, Tea Room and Garden Centre, and makes a great location for a day out.

The Maze



Richard Gottfried, Leo Kukielka & Owen Johnson try their hand at juggling(!?) at the Amazing Maze after the minigolf.


Links:
- Wye Valley Miniature Golf website
- Wye Valley Miniature Golf on Twitter

Related blog post:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Quick Results: 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament)

Leo Kukielka won the second annual Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in a 5-round 48-hole tournament played at Tredegar Park, Newport, Wales and the Roman-themed Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course at Symonds Yat West, Herefordshire on Saturday 21st August 2010.

Seve Kukielka was runner-up, with Paul Johnson taking the bronze medal back to England.

It was a completely different podium from the 2009 competition.

Richard Gottfried was 5th, with Emily Gottfried 6th.

A full report, results and photos to follow.

Vote for our "Minigolf at the seaside" video & help us win a holiday!

We need your help again as Emily and I could win a 10,000 minute holiday in the Enjoy England 'Enjoy Every Minute' competition.

Our "minigolf at the seaside" video, filmed at the Adventure Golf course in Felixstowe, Suffolk, has been shortlisted among the top ten videos from all those entered into the Enjoy England 'Enjoy Every Minute' Competition!

All you need to do is click on the link here and then click on the voting link and select our video as the one you'd like to vote for!

The vote will be closed on August 27th and the winner announced on August 28th, receiving 10,000 minutes of holiday in England!

Thank you for voting on our minigolf video, it's very much appreciated.

Many thanks.

Richard & Emily

PS - If you'd like us to send you a postcard from our holiday leave a comment here too ;-)

All Four Home Nations Visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began on the 30th September 2006 we have now visited 249 minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf, miniature golf and putting courses all over the UK.

Our recent trip to Bangor, Belfast, Antrim and Larne in Northern Ireland completed the list of home nations visited to play Miniature Golf on the Irregular Mini Golf Tour, The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the BMGA Tour.

Obviously our first course was played in England, at the Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Portsmouth/Southsea on the 30th September 2006.

The next country visited was Scotland, where we headed to Glasgow and played three courses (and found a derelict) in May 2009. We've since been back to Scotland, where we competed in the BMGA Scottish Open tournament at Codonas Amusement Park in Aberdeen in May 2010.

Next up was our Minigolf Tour of Wales in August 2009. The first of the 28 Welsh courses we played was at Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf in Barry Island / Ynys y Barri (another island visit too) and the last was at Riverside Park, Llangollen. While in Wales we also competed in the 2009 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament), and visited the Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn to play the island's three courses (Holyhead Park, Henblas Park and Anglesey Sea Zoo).

The trip to Northern Ireland saw us play five courses. One in Antrim, two in Larne (1&2), and two in Belfast. We also competed for a new Minigolf title in the NIBBAL-IT Doubles Challenge Competition, which saw the Bangor Minigolf Club defeat the Luton Wanderers in the 7-round event. In January 2010 we popped to Ireland for 30 seconds!?

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we've also headed to a few other 'Islands' within the British Isles. Back in 2008 we visited the Isle of Wight and Hayling Island (for Minigolf, Shooting Shacks, Rollercoasters, Miniature Steam Railways and Scarecrows), and in 2008 and 2009 we also visited Canvey Island.

In July 2010 we even found ourselves in New England!

Other countries we've visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour include Finland (once), USA (thrice - 1, 2, 3) and Austria (once). Although there wasn't a minigolf course there and it's not on a map(!?) we did drive through Egypt on the way back from a Minigolf Tour in August 2010!