Indoor Crazy Golf in Rochdale

A look at what was then called Puttstars Minigolf in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

The venue is now called Putt & Play Rochdale.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour visit back in June 2021 the location was home to three 9-hole indoor minigolf courses.

Visit the Putt & Play Rochdale website for more information.

The Great Britain XVIII steam train - 34067 Tangmere - in Stockport (20th April 2026)

The Great Britain XVIII steam train spotted on the railway bridge above the line at Europa Way in Cheadle Heath, Stockport, Greater Manchester on Monday 20th April 2026.

The locomotive is 34067 Tangmere - a Battle of Britain class engine built in 1947.

The journey began at Chester and will end the day in Carlisle.

The train is on an eight day tour around England, Wales and Scotland. Its journey began at London Paddington on Saturday 18th April and will end at London Euston on Saturday 25th April.

The train tour was operated by The Railway Touring Company.

The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale, Greater Manchester

A walk through the Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale, Greater Manchester in April 2026.

We had another pleasant walk through the Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale recently.

Find out more about the gardens on the Walkden Gardens website and Facebook Page.

Related blog posts:

• The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale
• Japanese Gardens

Videos:

• The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale, Greater Manchester (April 2026)
• The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale - Short 1
• The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale - Short 2
• The Japanese Garden at Walkden Gardens in Sale - Short 3

The Buxton Spa Express in Stockport (14th March 2026)

The Buxton Spa Express steam train spotted between Davenport and Stockport railway stations in Greater Manchester at 5.21pm on Saturday 14th March 2026.

Operated by West Coast Railways.

Talk & Putt minigolf at Wigan Library

Wigan Library is hosting a Talk & Putt crazy golf event this Thursday, 12th March.

The pop-up minigolf event aims to encourage conversation, connections and improve mental wellbeing.

Find out more and book your place on the Wigan Libraries Eventbrite page.

An empty Walkden Town Centre shopping centre in Walkden, Salford

The liminal space of Walkden Town Centre shopping centre in Walkden, Salford, Greater Manchester.

We've played crazy golf in the space - back in 2019 there was a pop-up course set up!

Emily playing crazy golf at Walkden Town Centre in August 2019

Santa's Rest Stop in Cheadle Village

Spotting Santa taking a break in Cheadle Village, Stockport.

We spotted this fun piece of seasonal window art at Marine Bathrooms on the High Street in Cheadle Village earlier this week! Very festive.

Link:

• Marine Bathrooms

Related blog posts:

• Santa Claus
• Father Christmas
• Toilets
• Cheadle

HUKD Crazy Golf in Bury, Greater Manchester

There's Crazy Golf at HUKD Golf in Bury.

We were in Bury earlier this week and although we didn't have time for a game this time we did swing by the HUKD Golf location in the town centre.

HUKD Golf in Bury is home to two indoor 9-hole crazy golf courses. One is sports-themed, while the other is circus-themed.

Our friend Pete Campbell played at the venue last year and sent us snaps for this guest blog post.

HUKD Golf sports-themed crazy golf course in Bury

Find out more.

Check out the HUKD Golf website for more information.

Link:

• HUKD Golf

Related blog posts:

• HUKD Crazy Golf in Bury, Greater Manchester
• Bury

Live, Laugh, Loft Social in Stockport

Loft Social - a new competitive socialising venue - is open in Stockport town centre.

We spotted this new sign for the venue today

Loft Social is home to indoor archery, curling, deck shuffle and pétanque, and can be found on the 3rd Floor of The Courts (above Sports Direct near the market place).

Playing Pétanque.

We're big fans of Pétanque so it's interesting to know there's a place to play in Stockport.

Find out more.

Check out Loft Social's Facebook Page for more information.

Related blog posts:

• Loft Social
• Stockport
• Petanque
• Competitive Socialising

Competitive socialising spots in Manchester

A look at places to play a range of competitive socialising games and activities in Manchester city centre.

Looking for fun places to play some games in Manchester, then read on...

While minigolf is the main game we play, we're big fans of a wide-range of what are now termed 'competitive socialising' activities.

And luckily for us, Manchester city centre has a brilliant variety of different places to play.

The landscape of competitive socialising venues is constantly changing, with locations opening, closing, and being refurbished, while others expand or change the activities available entirely.

That said, please do check with the venue in advance to make sure they are open and have the game(s) you want to play before travelling!

Places to play some fun games in Manchester city centre.

Below is a list of places to play a range of different games in Manchester city centre.

Minigolf, Crazy Golf, Adventure Golf:

• Junkyard Golf, First Street
• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Putters Tech-Infused Mini Golf at Urban Playground, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Golf at Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate
• Treetop Adventure Golf, The Printworks

Crazy Pool:

• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre

Arcade Games:

• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• NQ64, Peter Street
• NQ64, Northern Quarter
• Pixel Bar Manchester, Thomas Street

Axe Throwing:

• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks

Beer Pong / Prosecco Pong:

• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks
• Lane7, Deansgate
• Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate

Cricket / Batting Cages:

• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Sixes Social Cricket, Corn Exchange

Escape Rooms:

• Breakout Manchester, Church Street
• Breakout Manchester, Newton Street
• Escape Hunt Manchester, Corn Exchange
• Lucardo Escape Rooms, Great Ancoats Street

'Game Shows':

• Challenge Point, Newton Street
• The Crystal Maze, Lower Byrom Street
• The Cube at Urban Playground, Arndale Centre

Golf / Virtual Golf:

• Pitch Golf (opening in Quarter 4 of 2025)

Ice Free Curling:

• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks
• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate

Interactive / Tech / AR Darts:

• Black Cat Club, Brown Street
• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks
• Flight Club, King Street
• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre
• Twenty Twenty Two, Little Lever Street
• The Gas Works Brewbar, Jack Rosenthal Street

Ping Pong / Table Tennis:

• Pong & Puck, Deansgate
• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate
• The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes, Mount Street
• Twenty Twenty Two, Little Lever Street

Shooting Galleries:

• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Point Bank, Deansgate

Shuffleboard:

• 7Sins, Northern Quarter
• Black Cat Club, Brown Street
• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks
• Electric Shuffle, Deansgate
• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Pong & Puck, Deansgate
• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate
• The Bierkeller Manchester, The Printworks
• The Gas Works Brewbar, Jack Rosenthal Street

Ten Pin Bowling / Duck Pin Bowling:

• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Lane7, Deansgate
• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre
• Tenpin, The Printworks

Virtual Reality (VR) / Gaming:

• DNA VR Manchester, Brown Street
• Immersive Gamebox, Arndale Centre

All-round venues:

These places offer a range of different games and activities, these are also listed above in the specific activities.

• Boom Battle Bar, The Printworks
• King Pins, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Arndale Centre
• Roxy Ball Room, Deansgate
• Trax Social, The Printworks
• Urban Playground, Arndale Centre

Something missing?

Have we missed any places to play in Manchester city centre? Do let us know.

Your favourite games and places?

What's your favourite game and place to play? Let us know in the comments.

Beyond Manchester city centre.

Moving out from the city centre you'll find several more places to play games in the borough of Manchester, such as the Parrs Wood Entertainment Centre where you can find tenpin bowling, indoor minigolf, laser tag, escape rooms and more. And over at The Trafford Centre and Trafford Palazzo - and some of their neighbours - you can find a lot of fun things to see, do and play too.

Our home town of Stockport is also increasing in the number of competitive socialising places to play a range of games.

And when you take into account all of the competitive socialising venues in Manchester's metropolitan boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan you have got an incredible choice of places to play!

Loft Social in Stockport

There's a new competitive socialising venue in Stockport town centre.

Loft Social is home to indoor Archery, Curling, Deck Shuffle and Pétanque.

Loft Social can be found on the 3rd Floor of The Courts (above Sports Direct near the market place).

Find out more.

Check out Loft Social's Facebook Page for more information.

Playing Pétanque.

We're big fans of Pétanque so it's interesting to know there's a place to play in Stockport.

Related blog posts:

• Stockport
• Petanque
• Competitive Socialising

Crazy Golf at Stamford Park in Stalybridge

The Crazy Golf course at Stamford Park in Stalybridge, Tameside, Greater Manchester has reopened.

The abandoned Crazy Golf course at Stamford Park in Stalybridge, Tameside, Greater Manchester has reopened following a refurbishment.

Visiting the Stamford Park Crazy Golf course in Stalybridge.

We visited the Stamford Park Crazy Golf course in Stalybridge in February 2018. It became the 797th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

As the course looked in February 2018

We're now up to 1,099 course visits since September 2006.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We'll have to swing by for a look at the refurbished course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Find out more.

You can find out more about the refurbished Crazy Golf course at Stamford Park in Stalybridge on the Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council's website.

Related blog posts:

• The abandoned Crazy Golf course at Stamford Park in Stalybridge
• Greater Manchester

Video:

• The abandoned Crazy Golf course in Stamford Park, Stalybridge

Bird Brain Bakery - A gluten free bakery in Hazel Grove, Stockport

There's a gluten free bakery in Hazel Grove, Stockport.

Bird Brain Bakery is a gluten free bakery in Hazel Grove, Stockport.

All of the bakes at Bird Brain Bakery are organic, gluten free and plant-based, with products made using unrefined sugars.

Find out more.

You can find out more on the Bird Brain Bakery Facebook Page.

Mini Golf at The Rock Shopping Centre in Bury

There's a pop-up mini golf course at The Rock Shopping Centre in Bury this August.

The Rock Shopping Centre in Bury, Greater Manchester is celebrating its 15th birthday this year, and to mark the occasion the shopping centre has a pop-up funfair set-up with a range of free-to-play games - one of which is mini golf.

Find out more.

Check out The Rock Shopping Centre website and Facebook Page for more information.

Crazy Pool at Cuetopia Stockport in Cale Green

Cuetopia Stockport is now open.

There's a new indoor entertainment venue in Stockport, and it has a Crazy Pool layout.

We spotted the signs for Cuetopia Stockport while walking in the nearby Cale Green area of Stockport today - the venue is home to a Crazy Pool course!

Crazy Pool is a cross between the cue sport of Pool and the putting game of Crazy Golf, with wacky and tricky obstacles placed upon the baize. Rather than using a putter, players use a pool/snooker cue to get the ball passed the obstacles and into the cup/hole/pocket.

Some of the 'Pool', 'Snooker' or 'Billiard' table layouts we've seen in these cue-sport and minigolf crossovers have been quite irregular to say the least.

Cuetopia Stockport is also home to an arcade, pinball, regular pool tables, and a bar. The venue is open Monday to Saturday, with details of the opening times on the Cuetopia Stockport website.

Find out more.

Check out Cuetopia Stockport's website, Facebook Page and Instagram for more information.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Crazy Pool at Cuetopia Stockport will be a new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's also less than a mile away from us, so is technically our new nearest 'crazy golf' course!