Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester.

Hole 4 of the 9-hole layout

We visited Wythenshawe Park over the border in Manchester for our daily outdoor exercise yesterday.

On the first course since before the Coronavirus pandemic hit

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course is the first previously played Crazy Golf location we've revisited during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 9-hole course

It was the first time we've been to Wythenshawe Park since we played the course on the 25th July 2009 when it became the 114th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Bizarre really as technically it's our most local course!

We had asked a number of people if the course was still there since we moved to Stockport in 2016 but nobody knew anything about it, or said it was long gone.

So it was a nice surprise to see it was still there.

The park is also home to a Pitch & Putt miniature golf course. That became the first new course we've been to during the pandemic and the 949th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A view of the Pitch & Putt course

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Crazy Golf at Wythenshawe Park, Manchester

A visit to the Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester.

We revisited the Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester while on our daily outdoor exercised today.

At the Wythenshawe Park Crazy Golf course

It's the first previously played course we've revisited during the coronavirus pandemic.

We first visited the course back on the 25th July 2009 when it became the 114th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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Toys R Us at the Central Retail Park in Manchester

A look at the old Toys R Us store at the Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester.

While looking through my photos during lockdown and prompted by my recent look at the old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh I found these views of the old Toys R Us store at the former Central Retail Park on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester.

The old Toys R Us unit at Central Retail Park in Manchester

The snaps were taken in February and March last year following the demise of the brand and the closure of the retail park.

How the store looked in early February 2019 

The demolition work had really begun when we passed by a month and a half later

A look at the entrance to the store in March 2019

Geoffrey was the last to leave the Ancoats store

Working at Toys R Us

My first job during my time at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Shopping at Toys R Us

It was a real shame to see the brand go under. It was always a treat when me and my brothers would visit to buy games for our SEGA Master System in the 1990s. I've still got those games, some have the Toys R Us stickers on.

A nice piece of ephemera

Other lost brands

Our travels around the country have seen us spot the remnants of a number of old and defunct brands, including Woolworths in Stoke-on-Trent, Tandy in Hitchin, RadioShack in Lytham Saint Annes, Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness and Blockbuster Video in Fallowfield, Manchester.

Do you have a favourite 'lost shop' from years gone by? Maybe the remains of an old brand are still visible on a building near where you live or work? Do let me know.

The remains of Blockbuster Video in Manchester

A return look at the remnants of the Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield, Manchester.

I spotted the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester last October. I returned for a look at the Fallowfield Retail Park location during my lockdown daily outdoor exercise time yesterday.

Some more of the inside of the store has become visible since my first visit. You can now see the remains of a computer system, a CRT TV on a desk and a larger CRT TV hanging from the ceiling.

How TV's should be

I wonder what the last film trailer to be shown on that telly was?

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013.

Oh how times have changed since then.

Social distancing

As with all of the other shops at Fallowfield Retail Park the pathways and walls have had Covid-19 social distancing signs and stickers added.

There's nobody around to observe social distancing from

It's quite something to see the remains of a defunct brand from 'the before times' alongside the signs-of-the-times during the coronavirus pandemic.

A Covid-19 social distancing sign on the exterior of the long since closed Blockbuster store

The tented bay you can see in the right of the photo is part of a drive-in Covid-19 test facility!

A look at the old store

Did you ever rent games from Blockbuster? I remember buying a few ex-rental PlayStation games from the Luton store in the early noughties

Frozen in time

I wonder what the last item to be dropped in here was?

Some old paperwork

Unfortunately in the coming months and years we are likely to see a number of other brands disappear.

The last Blockbuster

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

We were planning to visit Portland, Oregon later this year. The Blockbuster in Bend is 174 miles from Portland and a 3-hour journey by car.

There used to be a Carphone Warehouse in Fallowfield. That store was another casualty of the retail wars. They actually bought Tandy when that went out of business too. My first job was at a Tandy franchise in my home town back in the 1990s

Blockbuster Crazy Golf

Interestingly there is still another 'Blockbuster' store in the UK. It's part of the Ghetto Golf indoor crazy golf course at The Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham.

The Blockbuster Video hole at Ghetto Golf in Digbeth, Birmingham

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

World Art Day - Space Invader street art

Happy World Art Day!

These are a few of the Space Invaders by the street artist Invader I've found on my travels around Manchester, down in London and up in Newcastle.

I'm looking forward to getting out exploring and finding new street art when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Related blog posts:
- Art
- Space Invaders
- Art and sculpture trails

Winning the DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters in Manchester

Looking back at the 2018 DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters.

Two years ago today I won the DinoFalls Adventure Golf Masters competition at the Trafford Golf Centre in Manchester.

The 18-hole DinoFalls Adventure Golf course is a nice layout and is an eye-catching sight from the M60. It's recently been joined by another 18-hole course, that one has a volcano theme.

I've won four tournaments at the Trafford Golf Centre site. In addition to the DinoFalls Masters and the MMGC Invitational I won the 2009 Mini Masters and Mini Open on the 9-hole Championship Miniature Golf course which used to be at the venue. That course was the 84th played on our tour.

Check out the DinoFalls Adventure Golf website for more information.

A postcard of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester

A look at a postcard of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester sent from Stockport in 1970.

The most recent Stockport postcard fair at Stockport Town Hall was a treasure trove of old miniature golf postcards. However, one that also caught my eye was this card showing Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester.

Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester. By Lilywhite Postcards., Brighouse. Published by Colin Richardson Printers Limited. Posted from Stockport in 1970

It's not just the image on the front that caught my eye as the message/address side has a very nice Stockport postmark cancellation celebrating the 750th Charter Anniversary of the town!

Ancient boroughs were historic units of lower tier local government.

The stamp has been removed and so some of the postmark is missing, but you can see it was sent from Stockport, Cheshire to Malvern, Worcestershire.

Playing Junkyard Golf in Manchester

A visit to Junkyard Golf at First Street in Manchester.

On Monday I revisited Junkyard Golf on First Street in Manchester city centre for a game with James and Mark from UrbanCrazy.

We played the 'Pablo' crazy golf course.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

The other two 9-hole indoor minigolf courses are 'Gary' and 'Bozo'.

Visit the Junkyard Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

As well as the Manchester site you can find Junkyard Golf courses in London, Leeds, Oxford and Liverpool. There is also a new course opening Newcastle upon Tyne later this year.

The three Junkyard Golf courses in Manchester were the 765th, 766th and 767th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back when the First Street venue opened in 2017.

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.