Castaway Island Mini Golf in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

My brother and Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour has sent over some photos of the Castaway Island Mini Golf course in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Social distancing measures at the entrance/exit to the course

The anchor has been there since it was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Castaway Island Mini Golf replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade. We visited in July 2016 and the course became the 693rd on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

At the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on the site in June 2007

How Castaway Island Mini Golf looked in July 2016

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Christopher and his family have visited 37 courses on their branch of the tour, 26 of those have been unique to them. Emily and I have visited 956 courses on the main tour.

Christopher has been to six courses in 2020. He revisited the indoor adventure golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth too.

We've been to a total of 46 courses in 2020, with 15 of those being new courses visited. We've swung by eight new courses in the time of coronavirus.

We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too!

Together we've been to 982 courses since the 30th September 2006.

--------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth

A look back at Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

In all of my travels around the UK one of my biggest regrets is that I never visited Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth.

The closest I ever got to going inside

It was the World's Worst Wax Museum!

Look at those star attractions. Bear in mind this photo was taken in June 2011

We've been to the Norfolk seaside resort a number of times over the years but either ran out of time to go in, or found it to be closed or out-of-season.

Sadly Louis Tussauds House of Wax permanently closed in 2012.

Did you ever visit? I'd love to know if it really was as bad as people say.

Identifying the stars of The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth

A look at the stars of The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

We replayed the Crazy Golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth back in 2011.

Grazy Golf!

One of the holes added since our first play of the course in 2007 was the Stars of the Windmill hole, which features a Wall of Fame showing all the stars that at one time or another performed at the Windmill Theatre.

How many stars can you identify?

Here are the answers

The Crazy Golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth was one of the first indoor minigolf courses to open in the UK.

Outside the course in 2011

The number of indoor minigolf courses has boomed in the last decade. When we first visited The Windmill Theatre course in 2007 there was one other indoor minigolf course in the UK. That one is also still there and can be found at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe, Suffolk  

Visit The Windmill Theatre Adventure Golf's Facebook Page for more information.

--------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Stars of The Windmill Theatre

How many stars can you name?

Spotted at The Windmill Theatre Crazy Golf course in Great Yarmouth back in 2011.

The Crazy Golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth was one of the first indoor minigolf courses to open in the UK.

Link:
- Windmill Theatre Adventure Golf

------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

The Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Great Yarmouth

A look at the lost Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in Great Yarmouth.

On our last visit to Great Yarmouth in Norfolk back in July 2016 we swung by Castaway Island Mini Golf.

The entrance to Castaway Island Mini Golf

The new course replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade.

Hole 1 of the 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting Course

Those old courses were the 22nd and 23rd courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2007.

We're looking forward to our next visit to the seaside resort. It'll be brilliant to be back to see what's changed and what's stayed the same.

What a Clown Car!

Looking through my photo archives I spotted this snap of a crazy clown car I saw in Great Yarmouth on my last visit to the seaside resort.

A wacky clown car advertising the circus in Great Yarmouth

I'm looking forward to heading back to Great Yarmouth in the future. It'll be interesting to see what's new in the town.

Putting Green in Gorleston-on-Sea

A look back at Gorleston Putting Green in Norfolk.

Back in May 2009 we visited Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk for the first time and swung by the Putting Green on the seafront.

It was late in the day when we arrived at the course

When we returned to the seaside town in June 2010 we were able to play the nearby Pops Meadow Putting Green but didn't have time to revisit the Putting Green.

There was also a sign for the Bure Park Pitch & Putt at the Putting Green. That's a course we've got to check out the next time we're in the area.

Mini Golf at the Haven Wild Duck Holiday Park

A look at the Mini Golf course at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Many thanks to our friends Karl and Sophia Moles for sending over some snaps of the Mini Golf course they spotted while on holiday at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

A view of the course

The rules

A train obstacle - the course was made by DK Fibreglass, I guess this obstacle dates from 1985

A look at the course

Karl and Sophia have been to quite a few different holiday camps with their children Fiorella and Arabella and have sent over minigolf snaps from trips to Haven's Caister-on-Sea Holiday Park, Pontins Pakefield, Allhallows Leisure Holiday Park, as well as the Crazy Golf course at Suffolk Leisure Park in Ipswich and Minigolf Sport Club Sanremo in Arma, Italy.

Links:
- Haven Wild Duck Holiday Park
- DK Fibreglass

Related blog posts:
- Haven
- Great Yarmouth
- Norfolk
- Holiday Camp
- Karl Moles
- Sophia Moles
- Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf at Haven's Caister-on-Sea Holiday Park
- Adventure Golf at Pontins Pakefield
- Mini Golf at Allhallows Leisure Holiday Park
- Crazy Golf at the Haven Golden Sands Caravan Holiday Park in Mablethorpe
- Haven's Thorpe Park Adventure Golf course in Cleethorpes

The Simpsons Dodgems in Great Yarmouth

The Homer with no nose we saw in Great Yarmouth wasn't the only sighting of The Simpsons back in the summer of 2016. We also spotted the family on the dodgems.

'Homer Simpson' in Great Yarmouth

The chalkboard image of Homer Simpson that Emily spotted in Chicago reminded me of this 'Homer Simpson' we spotted in Great Yarmouth back in July 2016.

Where's Homer's nose?

Crazy Golf at the Pleasure Gardens in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Nelson Gardens in Great Yarmouth back in 1980.

I recently bought 50 more postcards for my collection of minigolf cards and among them was this nice old postcard showing the Crazy Golf course at Nelson Gardens in Great Yarmouth.

Nelson Gardens Great Yarmouth postcard. A Sapphire Card. Postally used on 23 July 1980

We visited and played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back on the 9th June 2007. The course was the 25th we played.

Unfortunately at the start of the 2008 summer season the 11-hole minigolf course was changed from a Safari Golf to a Segway Grand Prix!

The Pleasure Beach is still home to a 12-hole Adventure Golf course.

Visit the Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach website for more info.

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Great Yarmouth

Minigolf in Norfolk

Details of miniature golf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses in Norfolk.

We've been visiting Norfolk for a number of years and Great Yarmouth was one of the first seaside resorts we went to on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in February 2007. Unfortunately on that occasion all of the courses there were closed for the season! We've since been back to the resort and other parts of the county and had some great rounds of minigolf.

The Crazy Golf course at Pops Meadow in Gorleston on Sea became the 100th course visited when we swung by on the 10th May 2009

As of today we've visited 749 courses since September 2006. Of these 721 have been in the UK, with 28 overseas in eleven countries. There are approximately 40 courses in Norfolk and we have visited 32 courses of these so far. Twelve were closed / out of season at the time of our visit. Over the years we have visited eight courses in Great Yarmouth - some of which are no longer there.

At the Adventure Island Golf Course in Mundesley

  

With a Humpty at Merrivale Model Village in Great Yarmouth

Playing Crazy Golf at Eaton Park in Norwich

Playing one of the partially outdoors holes at the indoor Crazy Golf course found within the old Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth

At Lost World Adventure Golf in Hemsby

Putting in Cromer

Playing Crazy Golf in Hunstanton

Courses played since our first visit to Norfolk in 2007:

• Cromer (Cromer Putting) - Putting Green
• Gorleston-on-Sea (Pop's Meadow Putting Green) - Minigolf
• Great Yarmouth (Hollywood Adventure Golf, Windmill Theatre) - Indoor Adventure Golf
• Great Yarmouth (Merrivale Model Village) - Crazy Golf
• Great Yarmouth (Pirates Cove) - Adventure Golf
• Great Yarmouth (Pleasure Beach) - Adventure Golf
• Hemsby - Lost World Adventure Golf
• Hemsby (Stonehenge) - BIG Mini Golf
• Hoveton/Wroxham (Wroxham Barns) - Adventure Golf
• Hunstanton (Blackbeard's Adventure Golf) - Adventure Golf (Aztec Course)
• Hunstanton (Blackbeard's Adventure Golf) - Adventure Golf (Pirate Course)
• Hunstanton (Vegas Amusement Arcade) - Crazy Golf
• Hunstanton (Victorian Pavilion) - Crazy Golf
• Hunstanton (Victorian Pavilion) - Putting
• Mundesley (Adventure Island Golf) - Adventure Golf
• Norwich (Eaton Park) - Crazy Golf
• Sutton Staithe, near Stalham (Sutton Staithe Hotel) - Miniature Golf

Courses visited but not played:

• Clippesby Touring Park in Norfolk - Minigolf
• Cromer (Cromer Putting) - Putting Green
• Cromer (North Lodge Park) - Putting
• Cromer (The Meadow) - Pitch & Putt
• Fritton (Caldecott Hall Leisure Complex) - Crazy Golf had been removed 
• Fritton (Caldecott Hall Leisure Complex) - Putting Green
• Gorleston-on-Sea (Bure Park) - Pitch & Putt/Minigolf
• Great Yarmouth (Castaway Island Mini Golf) - Adventure Golf - formerly two Arnold Palmer Putting courses
• Norwich (Eaton Park) - Putting Green
• Norwich (Norwich Family Golf Centre) - Congo Rapids Adventure Golf
• Norwich (Norwich Family Golf Centre) - Putting Green
• Sheringham - Putting Green

Sadly the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are no longer in their original form in Great Yarmouth

Courses we've played but have since closed:

• Great Yarmouth (Arnold Palmer) - Minigolf 9-hole - replaced by Castaway Island Mini Golf
• Great Yarmouth (Arnold Palmer) - Minigolf 18-hole - replaced by Castaway Island Mini Golf
• Great Yarmouth (Jungle Golf at the Gardens) - Crazy Golf - turned into a Segway Grand Prix track in 2009

Courses still to visit in Norfolk:

• Abraham's Bosom, Wells-next-the-Sea
• Banham Zoo
• Bawburgh Golf Club, Norwich
• Caister Holiday Park, Caister-on-Sea
• Cherry Tree Holiday Park, Burgh Castle, Great Yarmouth
• Kings Head Pub, North Lopham
• Pirates Adventure Golf at Norfolk Premier Golf in Blofield
• Waveney Valley Holiday Village, Burgh Castle, Great Yarmouth

If you know of any other courses we've missed off the list above, or hear about new courses opening do get in touch or leave a comment on this post.

Castaway Island Mini Golf in Great Yarmouth

On Friday 15th July we were in Great Yarmouth for the first time in a few years and got to have a look at the new Castaway Island Mini Golf course that replaced the 9-hole and 18-hole Arnold Palmer Putting courses on the promenade.

The two courses that used to be on the site were the 22nd and 23rd courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in June 2007.

The old anchor is still part of the new course

The new Castaway Island Mini Golf course became the 693rd visited on our travels since September 2006.

Related blog posts:
- Great Yarmouth
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

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.

Monorail, Monorail, Monorail

Riding the rail at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach.

The home straight of the monorail at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach

On our recent trip to Great Yarmouth I had a very pleasure surprise and a real treat as I got to ride a monorail!



I'm a big fan of monorails and the one at the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth is one of the few examples still operating in the UK.

At the Mono thingy

The pair of us on the monorail

The Pleasure Beach monorail crosses over the roller coaster track

And actually cuts through the middle of it

Into some sort of monorail wash!

 

The Pleasure Beach Monorail gets the thumbs up from me

I've got great memories of riding the monorail at Butlin's Minehead back in the 1980's and 90's. We also played the Pirate Flyer Laser Shooting Monorail ride at Coral Island in Blackpool a few years ago.

Links:
- Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach website

Video:
- Monorail in Great Yarmouth

Related blog posts:
- Monorail
- The Pirate Flyer - Laser game monorail at Coral Island in Blackpool
- Great Yarmouth

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.