Crazy Golf at Waldegraves Holiday Park on Mersea Island in Essex

The Crazy Golf course at Waldegraves Holiday Park on Mersea Island in Essex has had a makeover.

Waldegraves Holiday Park is also home to a Pitch & Putt course and a FootGolf layout.

Find out more on the Waldegraves Holiday Park website.

New Crazy Golf in West Thurrock, Essex

A new crazy golf course could be opening in West Thurrock, Essex.

There are plans for a crazy golf course to be part of a new indoor leisure venue in West Thurrock, Essex.

Battlegames would be home to crazy golf, electric drift karting and more.

Battlegames is a sister business to the Bermondsey Bierkeller - itself home to a crazy golf course - and BattleKart Sittingbourne.

Crazy Golf at The Sports Lounge in Maldon, Essex

There's a crazy golf course at The Sports Lounge in Maldon, Essex.

The Sports Lounge in Maldon, Essex is home to an indoor crazy golf course.

Find out more on The Sports Lounge's Facebook Page.

Mulligans Crazy Golf in Romford, Essex

Mulligans Crazy Golf is now open in Romford, Essex.

The former Bunkers! venue at The Brewery Shopping Centre in Romford, Essex has been taken over by its sister-brand Mulligans and is now open as Mulligans Crazy Golf.

Mulligans Romford is home to two indoor crazy golf courses.

The venue is also home to a range of other games and activities, including Sixes Party Cricket.

Mulligans venues.

There are 15 Mulligans minigolf venues in the UK. As well as Romford you can find Mulligans in Basildon, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cheltenham, Guildford, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Norwich, Sidcup, Stevenage, Tonbridge and Worcester.

Find out more.

Visit the Mulligans website for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We didn't get the chance to visit the venue when it was Bunkers! and so it'll still be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We've visited several of the Mulligans venues on our travels over the last two decades, most recently in Hemel Hempstead.

Related blog posts:

• Mulligans
• Romford
• Essex

Link:

• Mulligans Crazy Golf

New indoor adventure golf at two Parkdean Resorts holiday parks

Highfield Grange Holiday Park in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex and Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk will soon have new indoor adventure golf courses.

New indoor adventure golf courses are being created at Parkdean Resorts holiday parks in Clacton-on-Sea and Great Yarmouth.

Highfield Grange Holiday Park in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex and Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk plan to have the new indoor adventure golf courses open ready for spring 2026.

Find out more.

Visit the Parkdean Resorts website for more information.

We've blogged about minigolf courses at several Parkdean holiday parks, including Jungle Adventure Golf at Parkdean's Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth.

Related blog posts:

• New courses
• Indoor Adventure Golf
• Parkdean Resorts
• Clacton-on-Sea
• Great Yarmouth
• Holiday Parks

Links:

• Parkdean Resorts
• Highfield Grange Holiday Park
• Vauxhall Holiday Park

Birdie Barn Putting Range opening on Mersea Island in Essex

A new pop-up indoor minigolf venue is opening on Mersea Island in Essex this summer.

Birdie Barn Putting Range is opening at the West Mersea Marine Boatyard on Thursday 24th July.

Looking on the Birdie Barn Putting Range Facebook Page the course looks very different to your normal minigolf (if there's such a thing as 'normal' in crazy golf!).

Each of the holes looks to be is in it's own little enclosed bay, with putters tied to the range. Each of the holes has a themed obstacle such as pinball, skee ball, roulette, a ferris wheel, pong and more!

Find out more

Visit the Birdie Barn Putting Range Facebook Page for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The Birdie Barn Putting Range on Mersea Island will be a new place for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mini Golf at Hylands Golf Complex in Ingatestone, Essex

There's a newly refurbished mini golf course at Hylands Golf Complex in Ingatestone, Essex.

Hylands Golf Complex in Ingatestone, Essex has recently reopened its 18-hole outdoor mini golf course following a refurbishment.

Check out the Hylands Golf Complex website for more information.

It's another course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at Lexden Wood Golf Club in Colchester

There's a dinosaur-themed Crazy Golf course at Lexden Wood Golf Club in Colchester, Essex.

Fossil Falls Crazy Golf is an 18-hole outdoor course.

Lexden Wood Golf Club are in the process of refurbishing the layout in advance of February half-term 2025.

Check out the Lexden Wood Golf Club website for more information.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at Coxs at Spencers Farm Shop in Wickham St Paul, Halstead

There's a Crazy Golf course at Coxs at Spencers Farm Shop in Wickham St Paul, Halstead in Essex.

Find out more on the Spencers Farm Shop website.

Lost Shops - Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)

Taking a look at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

The signage at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea is no more, and work is underway on the unit to create two new shops and flats.

Here's what it looked like when we visited in April last year.

Blockbuster Video in the UK

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500-plus of those 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 last stores closed on the 16th December.

There are still some visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Check out the posts about former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• 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
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Lost brands

Emily and I have spent the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days'. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.

Crazy Golf at Basildon's Christmas Lights Switch-On

There will be a Crazy Golf course at Basildon's Christmas Lights Switch-On on Saturday 16th November.

Glow Sports Zone opening at the Eastgate Shopping Centre Basildon

The Crazy Golf course at the Eastgate Centre in Basildon, Essex will be re-opening under new branding this month.

Glow Sports Zone will be opening at the Eastgate Centre in Basildon later this month. The venue is being opened by Vlogger Charlie Davis.

The course venue has been known as Neon 9s Golf Bar. And before that had been a Jurassic Mini-Golf experience.

We haven't been to Basildon yet on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Halloween Adventure Golf at Golf World Stansted

Golf World Stansted is hosting a Halloween Adventure Golf event.

The Halloween Adventure Golf at Golf World Stansted will be taking place on Thursday 31st October, Friday 1st November and Sunday 3rd November.

Find out more on the Golf World Stansted website.

Caddies Crazy Golf in Southend-on-Sea

Playing at Caddies Crazy Golf in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

Caddies Crazy Golf is home to two 9-hole indoor courses.

Each has a distinct design and style, with one course using a fantasy minigolf style, while the other utilises Swedish Felt B-Run 'lanes' as the base for the course. It's a unique set-up and looks very nice.

The Blue course at Caddies Crazy Golf became the 1,020th visited (564th played) while the Red course was the 1,021st visited (565th played) on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Caddies Crazy Golf website for more information, opening times and prices. As well as the Southend venue you can also find Caddies Crazy Golf in Crawley.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses my brother Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!

Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course in Southend

Here's a look at the Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

We revisited the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Mini Golf course on the Esplanade in Southend-on-Sea on our trip to the seaside town in April 2023.

The course was originally the 16th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007 and we've returned a number of times since then.

The layout at the site is the 'East course' and is one of what were two courses there. When we first visited the remains of the 'West course' could still be seen.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses my brother Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!

Adventure Golf at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea

Here's a look at the Adventure Golf course at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

We revisited the Adventure Golf at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea on our trip to the seaside town in April 2023.

There are two 9-hole courses there and they were originally the 14th and 15th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in March 2007 and we've returned a number of times since then.

We actually played the Aztec and Inca Adventure Golf courses at Adventure Island in 2003, three years before our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began. Sadly the results of that contest are lost in the ether!

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses my brother Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!

From Jurassic Golf to Glo Golf in Basildon

The indoor minigolf course at the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon, Essex is in the process of changing from a Jurassic-themed course to a glo-golf, with UV paint and lighting effects.

We haven't been to Basildon yet on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putt Putt Social in Colchester

A new Putt Putt Social indoor minigolf venue is planned to open in Colchester.

Putt Putt Social Minigolf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, September 2023

There are plans to turn the former Debenhams department store in Colchester, Essex into an indoor crazy golf course.

Visit the Putt Putt Social website to find out more about the brand's existing courses.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Noah’s Park Adventure Golf at Barleylands in Billericay

Barleylands in Billericay has a new minigolf course.

A new Adventure Golf course has opened at Barleylands in Billericay, Essex.

The Noah’s Park Adventure Golf course is an 18-hole outdoor layout.

Check out the Barleylands website for more information.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex (April 2023)

A look at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex.

We visited the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Westcliff-on-Sea in April. It was nice to see some of the signage was still in place, even though there was a lot of scaffolding up around it.

I've since heard that all of the Blockbuster signage has now been removed.

My friend and fellow blogger Mark Routh sent me photos of this particular Blockbuster Video Express store back in July 2020.

It's always fun to see ghost signs, remnants of old & dead brands and interesting signage while out and about on our travels. Since I found the remains of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester in October 2019 I've been intrigued to see the brand still has a lingering presence on the high street. The last Blockbuster Video shop ceased trading in the UK in December 2013!

Our travels have taken us to several former Blockbuster stores:

• 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
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester