Toys R Us at St James Retail Park in Northampton

A visit to the old Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton.

I made a trip to see the old Toys R Us at St James Retail Park in Northampton back in June 2021.

A Home Bargains shop has now opened in the unit.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018.

It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

My first job while 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.

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Mini Golf at Horton's Emporium in Northampton

We spotted there was a Mini Golf at Horton's Emporium in Northampton on a trip to the town in April this year.

We tried to play there several times, but the door to the upstairs indoor venue was never open.

Visit the Horton's Emporium website for more information. 

The old Toys R Us at St James Retail Park in Northampton

A look at the old Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton.

Earlier this year we had a short break to visit friends in Northampton and while there had another look at the old Toys R Us shop at St James Retail Park on Towcester Road.

Toys R Us at St James Retail Park in Northampton (April 2023)

We've since heard that Home Bargains are soon to move in to the premises.

Take a look at my blog post with a few more snaps of the location as it looked in June 2021.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the original brand on some retail parks in the UK. 

Toys R Us returned to the UK earlier this summer, as the brand can now be found in some branches of WH Smith. We haven't been near to any of the new version stores yet. It'll be interesting to see what they're like.

Former Toys R Us store locations we've visited on our travels to date:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Adventure Golf at Iron Pitt Woods Adventure in Corby

A new Adventure Golf course has opened at Iron Pitt Woods Adventure in Corby, Northamptonshire.

The venue is also home to an aerial assault course!

Visit the Iron Pitt Woods Adventure website for more information on the 18-hole woodland-themed layout.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Urban Street Golf at Gravity Social in Northampton

A look at the Urban Street Golf course at Gravity Social in Northampton.

We recently visited the Urban Street Golf course at Gravity Social at Sol Central in Northampton on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The 9-hole indoor course was the 1,019th visited on our travels.

We didn't play the course, but in a first on our adventures we did win the pub quiz at the venue that evening!

Check out the Gravity Social website for more information.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour update - April 2023

A look at some of our recent minigolf course visits.

We've just returned from a road-trip and visited several miniature golf courses along the way.

Southend Pier Crazy Golf

First up was a Mini Golf course at Horton's in Northampton. This indoor venue was spotted by our friend and minigolf rival Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley. Unfortunately we didn't get to play it as it wasn't open during our time in the town.

Mini Golf at Horton's in Northampton

Next up was the Urban Street Golf course at Gravity Social at Sol Central in Northampton. We didn't play the course, but we did win the pub quiz at the venue that evening!

Urban Street Golf at Gravity Social in Northampton

Our next visits were in Southend-on-Sea, where we got to play the Red and Blue courses at Caddies Crazy Golf.

Caddies Crazy Golf in Southend-on-Sea

Caddies Crazy Golf in Southend-on-Sea

We also swung by the Arnold Palmer Mini Golf on the esplanade in Southend-on-Sea.

Arnold Palmer Mini Golf in Southend-on-Sea

As well as the Adventure Golf course at Adventure Island.

Adventure Golf at Adventure Island in Southend-on-Sea

We also took a wander along Southend Pier to visit the new Crazy Golf course at the end of it.

Southend Pier Crazy Golf

The next part of our trip saw us revisit our most visited courses - the Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe.

Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe

And Magical Golf at Mannings Amusements in Felixstowe.

Magical Golf at Mannings Amusements in Felixstowe

We've now been to 1,022 miniature golf courses on our travels since September 2006.

A Woolworths ghost sign in Northampton

We spotted this ghost sign on the old Woolworths store in Northampton on our recent visit to the town.

You can still see the outline of the lettering on the building on Abington Street.

Other former Woolworths shops

It's fun seeing old & lost brands, ghost signs and retail relics. I took a look at the ghost signs on a former Woolworths store on Blackpool promenade in September 2021.

We saw a Woolworths ghost sign in Nuneaton in May 2022 too. That was a nice surprise!

Like the Blackpool store, the Nuneaton shop site had also most recently been a Poundland and a TJ Hughes.

We also saw these old Woolworths trolleys in use at Bolton Market last year!

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009. Every so often remnants of the brand become visible again.

We visited the Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent in September 2020. That store still had the signage in place and we'd originally spotted it while driving through the town the previous November.

We took a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011. That was a Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park. It's long gone now.

You can however still see an old mosaic tile logo at the former Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Interestingly, there's a playable Woolworths Pick n' Mix Crazy Golf hole at the Teezers Retro Golf course in Coventry!

Adventure Golf in Corby

There are plans for a new 18-hole Adventure Golf course and High Ropes facility to be created in Corby, Northamptonshire.

There are plans for a new 18-hole Adventure Golf course in Corby, Northamptonshire

Toys R Us in Northampton

A look at the old Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton.

I called in for a look at the former Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton while en route to Luton last month.

There is still a lot of visible signage at the old store.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK. 

Check out my blog posts below about other former Toys R Us stores:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Enfield Retail Park in Enfield
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Minigolf course visit 900 - a year ago today

We visited our 900th miniature golf course in the British Isles a year ago today.

The location was the indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

We had a brilliant time at the New York Thunderbowl. The 9-hole adventure golf layout was a good challenge and we'd visit again 

Check out the New York Thunderbowl website for more information, opening times and prices for all of the activities at the centre.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

When our minigolfing adventures began in 2006 there were 600 miniature golf courses in the UK. We visited our 600th course at Goodrington Sands in Paignton, Devon. There are now well over a thousand places to play the game.

We've been to a total of 956 courses to date. In the last 14 years a number of new courses have come and gone, older courses have been updated or refurbished, while some layouts have been lost forever.

Our 900th course visit, including overseas venues, was at the North Bay Crazy Golf course in Scarborough in the summer of 2019.

We've been to 39 minigolf courses in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Our stop off at the Thunderbowl was en route to visit family and friends in Suffolk. Something we haven't been able to do this year.

Last year we hit 82 courses. This year we've been to 46 courses, including revisits, with 15 of the layouts being new courses to us. During the coronavirus pandemic we've been able to visit eight courses, playing two of them.

We had been on schedule to reach our 1,000th course this year and had a very strong start to 2020, visiting 20 courses in the first 20 days of January!

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Caddy Shack now open at Sol Central in Northampton

The new Caddy Shack Mini Golf course at Sol Central in Northampton is now open.

Caddy Shack is a New York-themed venue and home to a minigolf course, tenpin bowling and darts and is part of the Gravity Activity Entertainment centre at Sol Central.

Many thanks to the team at HM Adventure Golf for sending over photos of the minigolf course there.

  

We're looking forward to visiting Caddy Shack and playing the crazy golf course there on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Check out the Caddy Shack website for more information.

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Caddy Shack opening at Sol Central in Northampton

The new Caddy Shack Mini Golf course at Sol Central in Northampton is opening this month.

The new Caddy Shack indoor games venue is due to open on Friday 17th July. It was originally planned to open earlier this year.

Caddy Shack is a New York-themed venue and home to a minigolf course, tenpin bowling and darts and is part of the Gravity Activity Entertainment centre at Sol Central.

Check out the Caddy Shack website for more information.

We're looking forward to visiting Caddy Shack and playing the crazy golf course there on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

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New indoor minigolf course heading to Northampton

Northampton town centre will soon be home to a new indoor minigolf course.

The layout will be opening at the new Gravity Active Entertainment centre at Sol Central in the town centre.

There are a number of Gravity Active Entertainment centres in the UK and the Maidstone venue has an Urban Street Mini Golf course.

We're looking forward to playing the new minigolf course in Northampton.

Visit the Gravity Active Entertainment website for more information.

Pirate Cove Adventure Golf at the New York Thunderbowl in Kettering

Playing the indoor Pirate Adventure Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering, Northamptonshire.

Last Thursday we visited our 900th minigolf course in the British Isles.

The location of our milestone game of miniature golf was the indoor Pirate Cove Crazy Golf course at the New York Thunderbowl tenpin bowling centre in Kettering.

The 9-hole minigolf course is on a mezzanine above the arcade games in the tenpin bowling centre and has been very well made.

A pirate's eye view of the course

Playing hole 2

We really enjoyed our game and a drink in the bar afterwards. Chilling out in the pirate themed bar was well earned after a very long drive down to Kettering from Stockport. If the journey had taken any longer we might have arrived after the course had closed!

Emily playing hole 7

In trouble on the course

The result of our minigolf match-up was a tie as we both shot rounds of 23.

Hole 1

Visit the New York Thunderbowl website for more information, opening times and prices for all of the activities at the centre.

Playing hole 6

We've found that minigolf courses are becoming popular additions to tenpin bowling centres.

A view of the course

The very first course we played was a pirate-themed adventure golf layout. We wonder whether the 1,000th course will be too?

Hole 4 - I fired a cannon to win a free game on the very first course we played

When our adventures began in 2006 there were 600 miniature golf courses in the UK. There are now around 1,200 places to play the game.

The entrance to hole 7 

Hole 7

Hole 7

The pirate theming was very well done throughout the venue

Sharks AND an alligator! 

Sharked!

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