Crazy Golf at Golden Sands holiday park in Dawlish Warren

The Park Holidays Golden Sands holiday park in Dawlish Warren, Devon is getting a Crazy Golf course.

The Crazy Golf course at Golden Sands holiday park in Dawlish Warren is being created as part of updates at the site in an ongoing improvement project by Park Holidays.

Visit the Park Holidays website for more information.

TechPutt at PLAYXPERIENCE at Butlin's Bognor Regis

Butlin's Bognor Regis is now home to a new mini-golf activity.

TechPutt indoor mini-golf has opened as part of the new PLAYXPERIENCE facility at Butlin's Bognor Regis.

The PLAYXPERIENCE venue at the Butlin's Bognor Regis holiday camp in West Sussex is home to three 9-hole indoor TechPutt mini-golf courses - the Vegas course, a Music course, and a glow-in-the-dark Neon Course.

Visit the Butlin's website for more information.

Pontins Prestatyn Sands

A look at the Pontins Prestatyn Sands Holiday Camp Site (May 2024).

Pontins Prestatyn Sands

I stopped off at the Pontins Prestatyn Sands holiday park back in May while en route to the Crazy Golf course in the seaside town.

The approach to the camp

Sadly Pontins Prestatyn Sands closed to guests in November 2023.

Pontins Prestatyn Sands

Pontins Prestatyn Sands

The 'P' signs on the gates are the originals from when the camp opened

We'd visited three times in recent years as part of the Holiday on the Buses fan club events held there.

The Holiday on the Buses Weekender 2014 at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands allowed fans of the series and films the opportunity to stay at the camp, meet fellow fans and go on a number of mystery tours of filming locations!

The plaque with details of the Holiday on the Buses film used to be on the pillar to the right of the front gates

Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide

A look at the Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide.

The Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide

As a big fan of the British seaside and traditional holiday entertainment I was pleased to find a Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide a while back.

Seeing the Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide brought back so many happy memories.

My family used to go on holiday to Barry Island in the late 80's and 90's and loved it there. The holiday camp was absolutely marvellous, with everything from swimming to Crazy Golf, to snooker and darts, to the fun fair and more - all free of charge once you had checked in. My brother's and I would spend hours going from one activity to another and then spend the evening in the arcades playing games such as Blasteroids, Xybots, Double Dragon and Wardner. Halcyon days.

Check out the six-page Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide. As a former holidaymaker at the camp, fan of the British seaside, postcard collector and marketer it makes for interesting reading - especially some of the adverts!

What a cover

There was always so much to do at Barry Island

The entertainment continues

Back when you could still advertise cigarettes!

A great bit of marketing and use of a postcard image

I spent many an hour at building 5 - Princes Ballroom as that's where the Crazy Golf, snooker and arcade was 

Barry Island Resort was originally a Butlin's holiday camp in 1966 and was re-opened as a Majestic holiday camp in the 1980's. Sadly it closed for good in 1996 and was demolished to make way for housing.

I've returned to Barry Island - in 2009, 2010 and 20192019. Apart from the disappearance of the holiday camp there were some new attractions, but the resort was still recognisable from the 90's.

High-Tech Mini Golf at Butlin's Bognor Regis

A new high-tech mini golf course is being created at the Butlin's Bognor Regis holiday camp in West Sussex.

The indoor minigolf course will be part of the new PLAYXPERIENCE centre at the holiday park.

PLAYXPERIENCE is due to open in September this year.

Visit the Butlin's website for more information.

Check out my blog posts about Butlin's.

Crazy Golf at Naze Marine Holiday Park

New Crazy Golf course at Naze Marine Holiday Park in Walton-on-the-Naze.

A new Crazy Golf course is being created at Parkdean's Naze Marine Holiday Park in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.

Visit the Naze Marine Holiday Park website for more information.

It's always nice to hear of holiday parks adding minigolf - there's nothing quite like a game of minigolf while on holiday.

A minigolf postcard from Pontin's Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk

A look at a minigolf postcard from our collection.

Here's a long-lost Crazy Golf course depicted on a Pontin's multi-view postcard of the Hemsby Holiday Village in Hemsby, Norfolk.

PONTIN'S HOLIDAY VILLAGE, HEMSBY, NORFOLK R5713 by Photo Precision Limited, St Ives. Unposted, undated

The layout is of the Eternit Miniature Golf style - a rarity on these shores.

We'll be heading back to Hemsby this summer for the Big Mini Golf Tour taking place across miniature golf courses in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea.

You can play minigolf at the Lost World Adventure Golf and Stonehenge Adventure Golf in the seaside town of Hemsby.

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk

A revisit to the Adventure Golf course at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Thetford, Norfolk.

My brother Christopher and his family recently returned to Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Thetford, Norfolk and played the Adventure Golf at Treasure Island course there.

They'd previously visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2020.

Mini Golf at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

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

Our friends Sophia and Karl Moles sent over some photos of the Mini Golf course at Haven's Wild Duck Holiday Park in Belton, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk from their recent holiday there.

Sophia told us they enjoyed a couple of rounds on the course, with the best score from the group being a 25 by Karl. The course record is 24 on the 9-hole layout.

They also visited the course back in the summer of 2019.

Check out the Haven website for more information on the Wild Duck Holiday Park.

Minigolfing Moles

Karl and Sophia have been to quite a few different holiday camps with their family and have sent over minigolf snaps from trips to Haven's Caister-on-Sea Holiday Park, Pontins Pakefield, Allhallows Leisure Holiday Park, Jungle Adventure Golf at Parkdean's Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth, as well as the Crazy Golf course at Suffolk Leisure Park in Ipswich, Minigolf Sport Club Sanremo in Arma, Italy and the miniature golf course on the MSC Opera cruise ship!

Crazy Golf at the Social Muscle Club

The Social Muscle Club's Summer Camp is taking place tomorrow night.

We're very excited to be a part of the Social Muscle Club's Bristol event tomorrow evening. It'll have a summer holiday camp theme!

We'll be attending alongside the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's manager Megan who will be sharing designs from the club's project to create a real-life course as well as hosting a quick fire Mini Golf challenge.

We can't wait to discuss the crazy world of miniature golf, our travels to 955 courses and judge the crazy golf creations made by the attendees.

If you fancy a night in with a summer holiday camp theme you can get your free ticket from Trinity Bristol.

About Social Muscle Clubs and Shambala

At Social Muscle Clubs you’re invited to grab a drink, a socially-distanced friendly buddy, join a Zoom call, and take part in a simple sharing game where everyone offers something they are willing to give, and makes a request for something they’d like to receive. These things can be concrete and practical but also abstract, or relationship-focused. Fresh bread, tax return support, a tattoo, a holiday apartment in Costa Rica, a sofa, cash, a shoulder to cry on. The giving and receiving games in small groups are punctuated by performance, music, and surprises. The atmosphere is celebratory!

The Social Muscle Club is part of the ‘Taste of Shambala’ digital weekender. The physical, real-world Shambala Festival has been postponed until August 2021. Find out more on the Shambala website.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Our travels to play at every minigolf course in the UK began in September 2006 when we set out to visit as many British seasides as possible. Once we'd won a free game on the first Adventure Golf course we played in Southsea we were hooked.

At the Southend Pier Crazy Golf course

Since then we've been to 955 courses. 916 of them have been in the British Isles, with 39 in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontins Camber Sanda Holiday Park

When our adventures began there were 600 courses in the UK. There are now well over a thousand and counting! We've got 40 of the original 600 we set out to visit left and a lot of new courses to play at too.

Playing Crazy Golf at Pontin's Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stats:

• 955 courses visited since September 2006
• 916 courses visited in the British Isles
• 543 courses played overall
• 14 new courses visited in 2020
• 7 new courses visited in the time of coronavirus
• 36 courses visited in 2020, including revisits

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New Adventure Golf course planned for Lower Hyde Holiday Park

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course to be built at Lower Hyde Holiday Park in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.

Visit the Lower Hyde Holiday Park website for more information about the Parkdean site.

We've enjoyed our visits to the Isle of Wight on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and look forward to returning. There are a number of other new minigolf, crazy golf, grass putting and adventure golf courses on the island we're yet to play.

Parkdean Resorts operate 67 holiday parks in the UK, a number of which are home to miniature golf courses.

We visited the Crazy Golf course at Parkdean's Looe Bay Holiday Park in St Martins, Cornwall on our tour of the South West of England in June 2015.

A colourful Crazy Golf course

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A holiday at Barry Island

A holiday at Barry Island, Wales.

A view of Nell's Point from the beach in Barry Island. The area was once home to a brilliant holiday camp

My family used to go on holiday to Barry Island in the late 80's and 90's and loved it there. The holiday camp was absolutely marvellous, with everything from swimming to Crazy Golf, to snooker and darts, to the fun fair and more - all free of charge once you had checked in.

The slides on the outdoor pool at Barry Island

My brothers and I would spend hours going from one activity to another and then spend the evening in the arcades on the camp and on the seafront playing games such as Blasteroids, Xybots, Double Dragon and Wardner. Halcyon days.

A view towards the fun fair outside the camp looking across the outdoor pool

A view of the outdoor pool area and indoor pool building

We were lucky that on our first few holidays there we were able to ride the chair lifts too as they were removed in 1989.

The Chair Lifts at Barry Island holiday camp

I recently had my family's cinefilm footage digitised and it was wonderful to see there was film from our holiday to the camp in 1989.

On holiday, from l-r my brother Jon, my mum, my brother Christopher and me on holiday at Barry Island in 1989. This photo was taken near the outdoor pool and and the entrance to the main arcade

Old postcards of the camp

Barry Island holiday camp opened as a Butlin's site in 1966. In 1986 the camp on Nell's Point closed as a Butlin's and re-opened the next year under the new ownership of Majestic Holidays.

I've only got a couple of postcards of the camp, but I always keep my eyes peeled for more.

Butlin's Outdoor Pool and Playhouse Theatre, Barry Island. PT28469. Photo Precision Limited. Posted. Date unknown

The final season for the camp came in 1996 and it was eventually demolished to make way for housing.

Butlinland Barry Island. The Pig and Whistle Bar and Stage. John Hinde Limited. 12 August 1980

A look at the site, May 2019

I returned to Barry Island for only the third time since the 1990's while heading home from a weekend in Aberavon last year.

Pointing out where the holiday camp once was

I first went back to the town in 2009 during our road-trip around the Welsh coast and then swung by the following year for a brief visit while visiting friends nearby.

The entrance to the holiday camp

It was nice that Barry Island was still recognisable from my time there 30 years ago, even though the holiday camp has been knocked down to make way for housing and a public car park.

The exit view

Walking up through the old gates at the entrance to the holiday camp brought back so many memories and I could still picture the swimming pool to the left, the main building and walkway/arcade ahead of me and the chalets to the right.

Walking up towards where the camp once stood. On the left is where the swimming pool was

This spot was once home to the outdoor swimming pool and slides

  

The approach to the main arcade. The photo of me, my mum and my brothers was taken in the area just to the left of the yellow barrier 

A view of the seaside resort from inside what was once a thriving holiday camp

A look at the seafront

On the prom

A view of the beach

The distinctive building and shelter housing a number of takeaways, shops and arcades on the promenade

Barry Island Resort Information & Entertainment Guide

As a big fan of the British seaside and traditional holiday entertainment I was pleased to find a Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide while sorting through some paperwork at home.

Seeing the Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide brought back many happy memories.

Check out the six-page Barry Island Resort 1995 Information & Entertainment Guide. As a former holidaymaker at the camp, fan of the British seaside, postcard collector and marketer it makes for interesting reading - especially some of the adverts!

More old postcards of Barry Island

Looking at the postcards I've collected of Barry Island I noticed all of them were sent in August during the peak summer season.

Figure 8 Railway, Barry Island. Posted 24 August 1915

The oldest card I have of Barry Island is also one of the oldest postcards I have. It shows the Figure 8 Railway and was posted on the 24th August 1915. I bought it at the North Wales Postcard Club Fair in Llandudno a couple of years ago and it only cost me ten pence!

Crazy Golf Course & Eastern Shelter, Barry Island. P47856. Plastichrome by Colourpicture Publishers Inc. Posted 27 August. Year unknown

Promenade and Gardens, Barry Island. PT28091. Posted 14 August 1968

What a summer holiday scene!

Promenade and Gardens, Barry Island. WT.665R. By Valentine. Posted 2 August 1969