Tube trains on the Isle of Wight

Train nerdery of the highest order.

An old London Underground tube train in the sidings at Ryde St John's Road station

There's something very pleasing about seeing old London Underground tube trains in regular service on the Isle of Wight.

Trains in the sidings at Ryde St John's Road

Another view of the trains from the bridge

Train 007 from Shanklin to the Pier Head

007

007 heading to the end of the line

007 on its return to Shanklin

On our Crazy Golfing day out on the Isle of Wight we rode the rails from Ryde St John's Road to Shanklin, and then from Shanklin to Ryde to catch the hovercraft.

Advert for Shanklin Seafront on the Island Line 'tube' trains on the Isle of Wight

Related blog posts:
- Isle of Wight
- Trains

Link:
- The Island Line

Mini Golf at Puckpool Park on the Isle of Wight

A visit to the 12-hole Mini Golf Garden at Puckpool Park in Ryde.

Puckpool Park's Mini Golf Garden - Built in 2006 by the owners of Puckpool Tea Gardens

While on a recent trip to the Isle of Wight we managed to play a course that we didn't have time to on our only previous visit to the island back in 2009.

A view of the Mini Golf Garden from up the hill next to it

In our match-up on the Puckpool Park 'Mini Golf Garden' course I picked up the victory with a score of 30. Emily was runner-up with a round of 33, with Cat Patterson in bronze with a score of 39.

A nice straight shot was required on this tough hole

A tricky second shot

Emily tapping home a shot

The sign at the gates also said there was Putting in the park as well. We couldn't see any though.

There's lots to do in Puckpool Park. As well as the Crazy Golf course we also had a look at the Mortar Battery Emplacements

Could this be where the Putting course should be?

We did however see a sign for Petanque. They've got a very nice terrain there. And a Petanque team.

If we'd had more time we'd have had a game of Petanque. A fine sport

The Petanque Terrain / Boules Piste at Puckpool Park

All in all Puckpool Park was a nice spot for a round of fun minigolf. We'd play there again.

We played the course in some nice weather. But there'd obviously been quite a lot of rain earlier in the day

The Puckpool Park Mini Golf Garden was the 415th course we've played and the 705th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

At course number 705

We've played a lot of types of minigolf over the years, but the Puckpool Park course was the first we'd seen called a 'Mini Golf Garden'.

Emily about to get a two from a tricky spot. And during a light mid-round shower

Photos of the 12-hole Mini Golf Garden at Puckpool Park.

Hole 1

Hole 1 - Green

Hole 2

Hole 2 - Green

Hole 3 - loop-di-loop

Hole 3 - the tyre loop and green

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 5 - Green

Hole 6

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7 - Easter Island

Hole 8

Hole 8 - Green

Hole 9

Hole 9

Hole 10

Hole 10 - Green

Hole 11

Hole 11 - Green

Hole 12

Hole 12 - Green

Video:
- Hole in one at Puckpool Park

Related blog posts:
- Isle of Wight
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- The Old Barracks at Puckpool Park

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 now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Jurassic Golf course at The Needles on the Isle of Wight

My friend Naomi Carey was recently on holiday on the Isle of Wight and managed to snap this great shot of the Jurassic Golf course at The Needles Landmark Attraction.

It looks well worth a play.

Back in 2009 we visited the Isle of wight on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and are hoping to get back there soon. There a few more new and refurbished courses for us to play there now!

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf on the Isle of Wight and a visit to Isle of Wight Lane in Bedfordshire

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.

Visiting Oxford #2

A quick stop-off at another Oxford in Northumberland!

On our Roadtrip to Scotland and back we were driving along the A1 just south of Berwick-upon-Tweed when we spotted a sign for 'Oxford'. As I was born in Oxford I had to head there to see what this particular version was like...

The road sign showing Oxford is a mere 1/2 mile away

At the 'Welcome to Oxford' sign

...there wasn't much to it. In fact on a crossroads of the B6525 there is The Oxford Farm Shop, Tea Room and Restaurant. Over the road from the shop is a field of sheep and that is all! Quite different to the other Oxford!

This is pretty much all of this 'Oxford' captured in one photo

This Oxford also contains two Brown Tourist Signs - one for 'The OXFORD Farm Shop and tearooms' and the other lets people know that they now stock Card and Scrapbook Making Essentials in the Farm Shop!

It's not the first time on our travels around the UK that we've found an A.N. Other version of a town/island/state/country! We've also been to The Isle of Wight (near Dunstable), Ireland (in Bedfordshire), Egypt (in Buckinghamshire), New England (in Essex) and Luton (in Kent).

Related Blog Posts:

- Not Ireland, Egypt, England or the Isle of Wight

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf on the Isle of Wight and a visit to Isle of Wight Lane in Bedfordshire

- 30 seconds in Ireland!

Link:

- Follow The Brown Signs

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.

Minigolf and Crazy Golf on the Isle of Wight and a visit to Isle of Wight Lane in Bedfordshire

Back on the 26th of July 2008 we headed to the Isle of Wight to play as many of the island's Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses in one day. We managed to play six in total, skipping one additional Putting Course in Shanklin, and running out of time in Ryde before the Hovercraft departed.

The Competitors line-up at Shanklin's Beton Crazy Golf Course

Today Emily and I visited the Dunstable Downs in Bedfordshire, where there is an Isle of Wight Lane!

I couldn't find any history on Bedfordshire's Isle of Wight connections, so if anyone out there knows how this lane/road got its name please do get in touch?

Links to the Minigolf courses we visited on the real Isle of Wight:

Shanklin Crazy Golf

Shanklin Putting Course

Shanklin Jungle Adventure Golf

Rylstone Gardens Crazy Golf

Sandown Pier Indoor Adventure Golf

Sandown Sandham Gardens Crazy Golf

Ryde Adventure Golf

Results of Irregular Mini Golf Tour Minigolf Competitions played on the Isle of Wight:

Isle of Wight Championships Results
Results from the six rounds played on the Isle of Wight
1st – Richard Gottfried - 213(+39)
2nd – Emily Gottfried - 214(+40)
3rd – Christopher Gottfried - 224(+50)

Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament Results
1st – Richard Gottfried - 326(+76)
2nd – Emily Gottfried - 332(+82)
3rd – Christopher Gottfried - 347(+97)

More information and links to our Crazy Golf and Minigolf travels can be found at Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Course Played #68 Ryde (Isle of Wight) - Adventure Golf - Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The 10-hole Pirate-themed Adventure Golf Course in the town of Ryde was the 68th course visited and played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the sixth and final one played on our Irregular Mini Golf Tour of the Isle of Wight on the 26th July 2008.











In the 'Ryde Open' minigolf competition, played as a stage of the 'Hampshire & Isle of Wight Invitational Tournament' the results were:
1st - Emily Gottfried - 22(+2)
2nd - Richard Gottfried - 25(+5)
3rd - Christopher Gottfried - 27(+17)

Unfortunately we ran out of time before the Hovercraft left for Southsea, so were unable to play the other Crazy Golf course in Ryde.

We'll re-visit the Isle of Wight again in the future and make sure we visit that course first.

Links to other course visits on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.