Buxton Miniature Railway

A visit to the Pavilion Gardens Miniature Railway in Buxton.

This way to the Miniature Railway

On our recent trip to Buxton we had a nice wander around the Pavilion Gardens. We didn't have any luck in finding the Crazy Golf and Putting courses we had heard were there, but we did find a miniature railway.

The platform

The line to the storage tunnel

Some carriages

The engine under cover

The miniature train

The lines out of the tunnel

The track runs over the bridge

We've found quite a few miniature railways on our travels. There are a lot up here in the north west, including three in Stockport borough.

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways

Link:
- Miniature Train at Pavilion Gardens

Miniature Railway at Exhibition Park in Newcastle

A visit to the Miniature Railway at Exhibition Park in Newcastle upon Tyne.

We were taking part in the Gift of Life 5k Run in Newcastle's Exhibition Park on Sunday and on our second lap of the Town Moor we spotted the miniature railway running!

We'll have to tot up how many miniature railways we've visited on our travels. We seem to be finding a lot more!

The miniature railway is operated by the Tyneside Society of Model & Experimental Engineers. One of the members told us that they operate train rides on the first Sunday of the month.

Visit the Tyneside Society of Model & Experimental Engineers website for more information.

Back in 2009 we visited Exhibition Park to look at the derelict abandoned Crazy Golf course there. It was in a right state then and there was talk of a new course being built. That hasn't happened. We couldn't see the old course there either.

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Newcastle

Link:
- Tyneside Society of Model & Experimental Engineers

North Bay Miniature Railway in Scarborough

A look at the North Bay Railway in Scarborough.

On our holiday to Scarborough earlier this year we stopped by for a look at the North Bay Railway.

Scalby Mills station

Unfortunately it was far too wet and late to have a ride when we arrived. And then on the Sunday we left it was far too nice a day to spend sitting on a train. Typical.

A set of carriages at Peasholm Station

The North Bay Railway runs from Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills - and there are miniature golf courses at both ends of the line!

Peasholm Station

A brown tourist sign at the bottom of the hill to Scalby Mills Station

 

A view of the North Bay from Scalby Mills Station

The carriages awaiting an engine at Peasholm Station

We do enjoy visiting miniature railways and have been to a fair few on our travels over the years.

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Scarborough

Link:
- North Bay Railway

Petanque and a Miniature Railway at Greenhead Park in Huddersfield

A look at the Miniature Railway and Petanque Club at Greenhead Park in Huddersfield.

Earlier this summer we had a nice day out in Huddersfield. While driving home we saw a sign for the petanque club at the town's Greenhead Park so stopped for a look.

We enjoy a game of petanque and the Huddersfield Petanque Club has one of the nicest venues we've ever seen

When we parked up we also saw there was a miniature railway. A double-hit for two of our interests.

Since we moved up to the North West we've found quite a few miniature railways. There are three in Stockport borough itself!

I would've had a long wait until the next service

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Huddersfield
- Petanque

Links:
- Greenhead Park Miniature Railway
- Huddersfield Petanque Club

Thompson Park Miniature Railway in Burnley

A visit to the Miniature Railway at Thompson Park in Burnley.

Last month we visited Burnley for the first time. While there we found a Putting course at Queens Park and a superb miniature railway at Thompson Park.

It's always a bonus to find a miniature railway on our travels and we really weren't expecting to find or ride one on our day out in Burnley.

Thompson Park is a lovely spot and well worth a visit.

We've always enjoyed miniature railways and since we moved up to Greater Manchester we've found quite a few more while out and about exploring our new local area. There are three miniature railways in Stockport borough! Interestingly some of the engines at Thompson Park were formerly in operation at the Brookside Miniature Railway in Stockport.

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Burnley

Link:
- Thompson Park Railway

Miniature Railway at Abbotsfield Park in Manchester

A look at the model railway at Abbotsfield Park in Flixton, Manchester.

Last Saturday we were driving from the Trafford Centre to Altrincham and decided to take a 'scenic' route. It's always interesting exploring new places and over the years we've found a number of hidden and previously unknown miniature golf courses this way.

A lovely summer's day in Greater Manchester

This time however we spotted a miniature railway at Abbotsfield Park in Flixton.

A steam engine in action

The model railway at Abbotsfield Park is operated by the Urmston & District Model Engineering Society.

You can get rides around the park and there was a train running while we were there. But it was very very rainy so we didn't have a go on it.

Since we moved up to Greater Manchester we've found quite a few miniature railways. There are three in Stockport borough!

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Manchester

Link:
- Urmston & District Model Engineering Society

Crazy Golf at The Railway Hotel in Garswood, St Helens

A visit to the Crazy Golf course at The Railway Hotel in Garswood, St Helens.

Last Saturday we visited Garswood in St Helens, Merseyside as Emily had recently spotted what looked like a Crazy Golf course in a pub beer garden. The sighting was correct and The Railway Hotel in the St Helens village did indeed have a course!

Sadly the 9-hole Crazy Golf course was no longer in use. While we didn't get to have a game, we did however enjoy sitting in the sun in the beer garden before moving on to our next location.

A nice spot to spend a while on a sunny Saturday afternoon

We'd love to know more about the history of the pub beer garden Crazy Golf course. It looked like it had been there for quite some time. It's the sort of course a minigolf time machine would be perfect for so we could see what it was like when it was first built.

The course was the 906th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3 - 'Middle Hill', an obstacle found on Eternit Miniature Golf courses

Hole 3

Hole 4 also has a hint of an Eternit course about it

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9 - we reckon this was a very tricky last hole to play

We've visited a few pubs with minigolf courses. The Railway's course reminded us most of the old concrete course at The Dolphin pub in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire.

Related blog posts:
- What a weekend of minigolf!
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour