Lupine Travel's most EXTREME tour to date

How would you fancy a holiday to The People's Republic of Wigan?

My friend Dylan Harris runs Lupine Travel, a Wigan-based business that operates holidays and tours to the far flung reaches and hidden corners of our world.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary Lupine Travel are running a very special one-off tour to their most extreme destination to date - The People's Republic of Wigan!

The four-day tour in June will feature trips to Rivington Terraced Gardens, Winter Hill, Wigan Pier, a walking tour of the town and more! You'll also be able to sample local delicacies including the (in)famous Pie Barm!

Last September we revisited Wigan to see the North Korea, An Exploration exhibition at The Old Courts, a showcase of a selection of rare propaganda posters and artifacts collected by Dylan from his travels to the country.

Poster from North Korea's participation in the 2010 World Cup

During our visit to Wigan we enjoyed having a wander and seeing the sights.

The Grand Hotel in Wigan

Emily at Uncle Joe's Mint Balls factory

At Wigan North Weston - one of the towns two railway stations

There are lots of entertainment options in Wigan

On Dylan's 2015 trip to North Korea he and his party competed in the first-ever Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament! Check out the blog post Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea for more information and photos of the course, said to have been in Kim Jong Un's personal residence before he gifted it to the North Korean people and had it moved to its current location.

The Pyongyang Minigolf course and red velvet covered bench in the centre where it is claimed Kim Jong Un sat while he directed the workers on where to place each hole

You may be unlikely to ever play the Mini Golf course in Pyongyang, but if you ever do head to Wigan be sure to visit Haigh Woodland Park where you can find two miniature golf courses - a new Adventure Golf and an old Crazy Golf.

Emily playing the Crazy Golf course at Haigh Woodland Park

It's not just North Korea (and Wigan) you can visit with Lupine Travel either, as they operate tours to other far-flung places including Chernobyl, Transnistria, Eritrea, Chad, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Antarctica and more!

Visit the Lupine Travel website for more information on the tours they organise.

Related blog posts:
- Wigan

North Korea Exhibition in Wigan

Visiting the North Korea, An Exploration exhibition at The Old Courts in Wigan.

Last Friday we went along to the opening night of North Korea, An Exploration - an exhibition by our friend Dylan Harris from Lupine Travel. The exhibition is a showcase of a selection of rare propaganda posters and artifacts collected by Dylan from his travels to the country. There were some very interesting items and photographs from his collection on display.

Welcome to Pyongyang!

North Korea, An Exporation is open at The Old Courts in Wigan until the 30th September.

Poster from North Korea's participation in the 2010 World Cup

  

We bought a set of postcards

A book on Kim Jong Il

Also at the exhibition opening party was photography from Sandra Ratkovic's very interesting and colourful Moscow project.

Visit the Lupine Travel website for more information on the tours they organise. It's not just North Korea you can visit with them either, as they operate tours to other far-flung places including Chernobyl, Transnistria, Eritrea, Chad, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Antarctica and more!

On Dylan's 2015 trip to North Korea he and his party competed in the first-ever Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament! Check out the blog post Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea for more information and photos of the course, said to have been in Kim Jong Un's personal residence before he gifted it to the North Korean people and had it moved to its current location.

North Korea's first Miniature Golf course

The Pyongyang Minigolf course and red velvet covered bench in the centre where it is claimed Kim Jong Un sat while he directed the workers on where to place each hole

Links:
- Lupine Travel
- The Old Courts

Related blog posts:
- Wigan
- Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea

Mini Golf in Pyongyang, North Korea

Report from the first Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament in North Korea.

North Korea's first Miniature Golf course

My friend Dylan Harris runs Lupine Travel, a business that operates holidays and tours to the far flung reaches and hidden corners of our world. On his recent trip to North Korea he and his party competed in the first Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament!

The Pyongyang Minigolf course club house sign

The Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament was a warm-up event to the 2015 DPRK Amateur Golf Open competition which was part of the Lupine Travel trip.

Some coaching on the Flat Loop hole. A very tough obstacle

The competition was held on North Korea's first Miniature Golf course which is next to the Rungna People's Pleasureground. The course itself has a small clubhouse that sells beer and food.

One of the competitors in the tournament receives some tips from the course staff

Fourteen players from nine countries competed in the one-round, 18-hole Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament. The competitors were from North Korea, the UK, Australia, Germany, Slovenia, Switzerland, Estonia, the Netherlands and Singapore.

Caddies from the course accompanied each group of three players and marked their scores. Players were also able to choose from a selection of professional minigolf balls to use on the tricky course.

The winner of the Pyongyang Minigolf Open Tournament was Calum Slowther from the UK with a score of 46.

The Volcano hole

Organiser Dylan said "It was an interesting course to play. The staff there were very knowledgeable about minigolf and the various types of balls. We were told that the course used to be in Kim Jong Un's personal residence but he decided to gift it to the North Korean people and had it moved to its current location. The red velvet covered bench that can be seen on the photos is where it is claimed Kim Jong Un sat while he directed the workers on where to place each hole."

The Pyongyang Minigolf course and red velvet covered bench in the centre

Dylan added "We were told the course holds local competitions and we were introduced to one of the members of staff who'd won the most recent staff competition. I'm going to get lots of practice in for the event next year and hopefully come back as a winner next time."

Lupine Travel run trips every month, but the next minigolf event will take place in October 2016 to coincide with the DPRK Golf Open.

Lupine Travel was formed in 2007 and specialises in trips to unique destinations. You can travel to North Korea, Chernobyl, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Transnistria, Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan, Bhutan/Nepal, Somaliland/Ethiopia, Antarctica and more with Lupine Travel. Check out the Lupine Travel website for details of the trips available.

The Miniature Golf course in Pyongyang is of the 'Eternit' variety found in Continental Europe. Emily and I have played some of these courses in Finland, Sweden and in the UK. Emily also holds the British Women's Record score on the format with a round of 24(-12) when she competed at the WMF Nations Cup in Stockholm, Sweden in 2011.

Links:
- Lupine Travel website
- Lupine Travel on Twitter
- Lupine Travel on Facebook

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