King Pins Mini Golf at Trafford Palazzo in Manchester

A look at the new King Pins Mini Golf course at the Trafford Palazzo shopping and entertainment centre in Manchester.

King Pins Mini Golf at Trafford Palazzo in Manchester

An indoor mini golf course is part of the set-up at the King Pins tenpin bowling and entertainment venue at the Trafford Palazzo in Manchester.

The 9-hole King Pins Mini Golf course opened at the Trafford Palazzo in July this year.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Find out more about King Pins locations on the King Pins website.

The King Pins Mini Golf course at Trafford Palazzo became the 1,072nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Earlier this year we played Mini Golf at King Pins at the Manchester Arndale.

Indoor Adventure Golf at Tenpin Parrs Wood in Manchester

There's an indoor adventure golf course at the Manchester Tenpin centre in Parrs Wood.

The Tenpin centres at Parrs Wood Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton are all home to indoor Tenpin Putt crazy golf courses.

The Parrs Wood Manchester Tenpin centre now features a Prison Putt indoor adventure golf course.

Check out the Tenpin website for more information.

Mini-Golf at Winter Funland in Manchester

There's a mini-golf course at the Winter Funland festive event in Manchester.

Winter Funland runs at the BEC Arena from Saturday 14th December to Thursday 26th December 2024.

Visit the Winter Finland website for more information.

The Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf competition in Manchester

I won the Chrizy Golf Masters miniature golf tournament 12 years ago today!

The first - and to date only - Chrizy Golf Masters minigolf tournament was held on a festive-themed pop-up crazy golf course at Piccadilly Place in Manchester on the 30th November 2012.

The Chrizy Golf course was the 313th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to more than 1,000 courses since September 2006.

The Chrizy Golf course was gone once the 2012 festive season was over and the building remained empty, or used for other pop-ups, until the team at Junkyard Golf made it their home for another minigolf course. That layout was there for a couple of years. They have since moved on and can be found at a permanent venue at First Street in the city.

Tenpin Putt Crazy Golf in Sheffield, Southampton and Parrs Wood Manchester

There are now Tenpin Putt crazy golf courses at the Tenpin venues in Sheffield, Southampton and Parrs Wood Manchester.

The Tenpin centres in Sheffield, Southampton and Parrs Wood Manchester are now home to indoor Tenpin Putt crazy golf courses.

Check out the Tenpin website for more information.

The three courses are new ones for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Pool at Roxy Ball Room Manchester Arndale

Playing the Crazy Pool course at Roxy Ball Room Manchester Arndale.

We recently played the Crazy Pool layout at the Roxy Ball Room at the Manchester Arndale Centre on Withy Grove.

The indoor game is an 11-hole course and is a cross between crazy golf and pool.

Played with a pool cue and a golf ball you need to tackle a variety of obstacles on the felt covered tables.

Check out the Roxy Ball Room website for more information.

Crazy Pool at Roxy Ball Room Manchester Arndale was the 577th course played and 1,066th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mini Golf at Roxy Ball Room on Deansgate in Manchester

A revisit to the Mini Golf course at Roxy Ball Room on Deansgate in Manchester.

We've played the Mini Golf course at Roxy Ball Room on Deansgate a few times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and really enjoyed seeing in the New Year there a few years ago. It was an 18-hole course at that time.

On our latest visit we found that six of the holes have been removed to make way for an indoor, ice-free curling game area! We've not tried curling yet, the game looked to be proving popular.

Check out the Roxy Ball Room website for more information.

From Blockbusters NQ to Rewind NQ in Manchester

The video rental shop themed bar formerly known as Blockbusters NQ is now known as Rewind NQ.

The inside of the bar is still packed with old VHS tapes!

It was fun having a drink in a 'video shop' speakeasy.

Check out the Rewind NQ website for more information.

The Blockbuster Video Store in Fallowfield, Manchester - Five Years On

A look back at the old Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

This is what was left of Blockbuster Video on Fallowfield Retail Park back in October 2019

I found the preserved remains of a 'dead brand' - Blockbuster Video - while in Manchester five years ago today!

It became the first of many former Blockbuster Video stores Emily and I travelled to once we found that there were still some other visible remains of the brand to be seen on high streets and at shopping centres around the UK.

Oh, what happened to this sign?

Dark clouds gathered over the brand in 2013

Blockbuster Video entered the UK video rental market in 1989 following the purchase of Ritz Video. In 2013 there were over 500 Blockbuster locations in the UK. Throughout that year the number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. On the 16th December 2013 all stores ceased operations.

On the visit to the old Fallowfield shop in October 2019 the Blockbuster Video store sign was prominently displayed on both sides of the main sign at Fallowfield Retail Park and the windows of the shop still retained Blockbuster signage.

A sign in the shop window

Most of the shelves inside had been removed, but the walls and desks clearly retained the brand colours of Blockbuster.

The window graphics still looked fresh

Clearly still recognisable as a Blockbuster on the inside

The shelves were bare

There is currently one independently owned franchise still operating as a Blockbuster Video in the USA and you can find it in Bend, Oregon.

Quik Drop box to nowhere

We made several more visits to the abandoned Blockbuster Video shop at Fallowfield Retail Park, including one last look as it was being demolished in January 2024.

Other Blockbuster Video stores

Here's a list and links to the other Blockbuster Video stores we've visited to date:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Independent video stores

There are still traces of former video shops to be found on the streets, shopping centres and retail parks of the UK. While most of those are old Blockbuster Video stores, there are remnants of (and in some cases still operating) independent video shops to be seen if you're lucky. Some of those we've snapped over the years include:

• Shahenshah Videos in Luton
• Deane Video Centre in Bolton
• Video Box Office at the Happy Shopper Wayfairer Discount Store in Ilkeston
• Video Future in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent
• The Movie Box in Manchester
• Jubilee Films in Ashton-under-Lyne
• B.V.C. - Bolton Video Centre in Little Lever, Bolton
• Video Rentals at The Village Top Shop in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham
• Video Express in Swansea
• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds

Do you still have a video store near you?

By my reckoning there are three video shops still in operation in the UK. They are:

• Northgate Video & DVD in Bury St Edmunds
• 20th Century Flicks in Bristol
• Snips Movies in Bebington, Wirral

I've been to two of the above, with Snips Movies on my to visit list in the future. Hopefully I'll be able to get a membership card for the shop too.

Do you have a favourite defunct brand? Are the remains of an old brand still visible near where you live or work? Do let me know.