New pétanque piste in Felixstowe

A pétanque piste is one of the features of the new activity park on Sea Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

It was nice to see the new pétanque piste on Felixstowe sea front. We'll have to remember to take our boules with us next time we visit.

Petanque at the Memorial Park in Marple

A look at the Petanque piste at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.

We found another Petanque piste while out on our daily walk on Friday. It's at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.

It's in a nice setting

We're looking forward to playing Petanque on the piste in the future. We haven't had a game in a while

Last month we saw a sign for a Boules area at Bramhall Park. But couldn't find any trace of the terrain itself.

We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport

Spotting a sign for Boulles (sic) in Stockport.

We visited Bramhall Park for the first time yesterday. Crazy really as it's more or less on our doorstep!

We've been to so many other parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and surrounding areas since moving here in 2016 but have never got round to go going.

While there we saw a sign for a 'Boulles Court'.

It should be 'Boules' with one l. And it's a terrain or piste rather than 'Court'.

And really it should be called 'Petanque'.

We couldn't find the 'court' and we got a bit lost in the woods too

Petanque in Stockport

We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Bramall Hall

We're looking forward to visiting Bramall Hall when it reopens. In the meantime we'll spend some of our outdoor exercise time exploring the grounds during lockdown.

Bramall Hall

Related blog posts:

• Petanque
• Boules
• Bramhall

Start of the Petanque season in Stockport

Today marks the start of the Pétanque season in Stockport as the Woodstock Pétanque Club take to the terrain at Alexandra Park in Edgeley.

The club meets on the second and fourth Sunday of the month and play between 1pm and 4pm.

Playing a shot last April

The club receiving coaching from the English Petanque Association last summer

Check out the Woodstock Pétanque Club Facebook Group, Twitter and website for more information.

The Woodstock Petanque Club

Petanque in Jersey

Earlier this year we spent a great week in Jersey having a chilled out holiday.

While there we spotted the players from the Liberation Petanque Club having some games in Weighbridge Gardens in St Helier. Having a look on the Jersey Petanque Association website there are plenty of pistes to play on. It was nice scrolling through the list of places to play as we'd visited a lot of the towns on our holiday and the names brought back some great memories.

Some petanque being played in St Helier. In the background you can see the Steam Clock, the terrain next to it has a six game capacity - we never even realised Petanque was played on that spot too

As we've got into playing the game since moving to the Stockport area it's nice to know the island is well catered for as we'd very much like to return to Jersey in the future. It's such a nice place for a relaxing break.

We're now members of the Woodstock Petanque Club, which meets at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport every other Sunday. Through the club I heard about the Jersey Petanque Club's 2017 Open competition. It sounds like fun.

We spotted another petanque terrain on one of our other island trips this year, at Puckpool Park on the Isle of Wight.

Check out the Jersey Petanque Association website for more information on playing the game on the island.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Jersey

Luton Petanque Club

Details of Luton Petanque Club.

Spot the boule

I've heard there are two upcoming open days at Luton Petanque Club where you can play for free. Boules will be provided. The open events are on:
- Saturday 2 May between 2 and 5pm
- Saturday 20 June

Petanque (or Boules as it's also known) is a great game. I've played a few ends with Alan and some of the other club members. Very good fun indeed.

Luton Petanque Club also play informal games every Tuesday afternoon at 1pm, Thursday at 7.30pm and Sundays at 11am. The club is based at Play Football on St Thomas Road, Stopsley, Luton. Check out the Luton Petanque Club website and Twitter for news and events.

Playing Boules with Luton Petanque Club at the 2012 Community Games

Links:
- Luton Petanque Club
- Chiltern Region Petanque
- The English Petanque Association

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Pétanque
- Boules

Playing Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

An introduction to the sport of Pétanque at the Luton Community Games at Luton Regional Sports Centre.

As part of the Luton 4 Life Community Games weekend Emily and I headed to Luton Regional Sports Centre in Stopsley to take part in the Pétanque sessions. 

Richard throwing a boule in a game of Pétanque at Luton Regional Sports Centre

We were welcomed by a chap called Alan from the Chiltern Region of the English Pétanque Association; his Polo shirt also denoted that he was the 'Team Manager'. After being introduced to some different sizes and weights of boules we got straight to having a few practice throws and were given an introduction to the rules of the game.

Emily playing Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

We’ve both previously played Boules, but never received instruction in the game so it was nice to be given the ‘pro’ rules and told about the different game formats and how to score properly by the experts.

Richard throwing a boule in a game of Pétanque

We then paired up with a club member, with Emily and Alan taking on me and a fellow called Ian. With each player given three boules and the aim to reach 13 points to win, we began playing up and down the terrain/piste (the pitch) and each time a team scored points the playing area changed. This was because the cosh (or jack) was thrown into place between 6-10 metres from the last position of it. Therefore one of the tactics is to work out where the ‘break’ on the terrain is and how much pace and/or spin is required for each shot – no two games will be played on the exact same playing surface or area! In our first game Emily and Ian picked up the win 13-9.

The Result of Game 1 of the Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

Emily sat out the next game as Ian and I once again teamed-up, this time facing Alan and a chap called Kier (I think). This match was shorter and after scoring a four Alan’s team had a good lead. After our lack of scoring since the middle of the previous match we managed to win back the throw of the cosh and score a few points, but unfortunately Ian and I continued our 100% losing streak with a 13-4 loss.

The Result of Game 2 of the Pétanque in the Luton Community Games

A great fun way to spend a late morning and early afternoon in Luton. We were told that there are 28 clubs in the Chiltern Region. There are also some novice competitions played during the season and the club also has teams in a couple of leagues, with some players also in the England and Great Britain teams. The team have club nights on Friday’s at Luton Regional Sports Centre and will be moving to the new Inspire sports centre in Luton when their current season on the existing terrain finishes.

"Spot the Boule" contest - click here for a hi-res image - and scroll down for the 'answer'

Pétanque is a great fun sport that is easy to pick up and play, but like so many sports and games, difficult to master. The team running the Luton Community Games Pétanque sessions were nice and friendly and I could have easily spent the entire day playing the game. I’d definitely play again and hopefully next time I'll pick up a win!

Links:

- English Pétanque Association

o Information about the sport of Pétanque

o The Official Rules of the Game of Pétanque

- Chiltern Region Pétanque

- Active Luton

- Community Games
- London Luton Airport - event sponsor

Related Blog Posts:

- Boules Invitational Tournament at The Mumbles

"Spot the Boule" - it was on me 'ead!?

Emily captured the boule mid-flight and in perfect line with my bonce!