Showing posts with label St Albans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Albans. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Adventure Golf in St Albans

Rockin' Romans Golf in Verulamium Park, St Albans.


The ancient Roman city of St Albans in Hertfordshire is home to an adventure golf course

The ancient Roman city of St Albans in Hertfordshire is home to an adventure golf course.

The 9-hole Rockin' Romans Golf course can be found in Verulamium Park.

Check out the Rockin' Romans Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

It's a course created by Mini Golf 35 and Greenspan Projects.

Crazy Golfing in St Albans

We've visited two previous crazy golf courses in Verulamium Park. They used to be local layouts for us when we lived in Luton. The first of those was the 17th played on our travels. We've now been to 957 courses.

Roman Miniature Golf

It's always nice to see different themes in minigolf. We've played a Roman-themed minigolf course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour before. That was the Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course in Symonds Yat West back in 2010.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

Gluten free at Brasserie Blanc

A great meal at Brasserie Blanc in St Albans.

To celebrate the beginning of the festive season I booked a meal at Brasserie Blanc for a group of friends (who also happen to be fellow coeliacs).

Emily and I have dined there before and have eaten from the summer menu, so we were looking forward to seeing what the winter selection had to offer gluten free diners. We weren't disappointed.

There's a good choice on the gluten free menu (which is also marked with vegetarian and dairy free options) so we took our time picking while enjoying some wine. It makes a real change to have a good range of options, rather than having a 'choice' of one dish for starter, main and dessert (if you're lucky).

I had the salt beef salad to start, followed by the pork belly - it had great crackling - and the excellent chocolate souffle for dessert.

Gluten free Chocolate Souffle at Brasserie Blanc in St Albans
What a pudding! The Chocolate Souffle was delicious. The first I've had since my diagnosis of Coeliac Disease in 2008! 

The meal was the third I've had at Brasserie Blanc in St Albans and I've thoroughly enjoyed each one. We're looking forward to returning in the New Year.

As a coeliac dining out gluten free can be fraught, but the staff at Brasserie Blanc are able to answer gluten/gluten free-related questions, or double check with the kitchen, which adds to the confidence that you are going to eat safely.

One thing that is missing, and something I mentioned to a barman there on a previous visit, is the lack of gluten free beer/ale/lager on the drinks menu.

My friend, fellow coeliac and blogger Gemma also had the Chocolate Souffle and we think our friend Cat had #souffleenvy after seeing how great it was!

Links:
- Brasserie Blanc St Albans
- Brasserie Blanc on Twitter
- Brasserie Blanc on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Coeliac
- Gluten Free

Nacho nacho man

Five new gluten free tortilla chip flavours available at Marks & Spencer.

There are Jalapeno, Fire Roasted Chilli and Nacho Cheese flavour Tortillas, as well as the Lime Salsa Chickpea & Cumin Tortilla Scoops.

Gluten Free Jalapeno, Fire Roasted Chilli and Nacho Cheese flavour Tortillas, as well as the Lime Salsa Chickpea & Cumin Tortilla Scoops available at Marks & Spencer
After a great early-Christmas meal at the nearby Brasserie Blanc in St Albans our group of Coeliacs headed to M&S as three of the party don't live near a store and were desperate to get some of the gluten & wheat free Scotch Eggs. I was very pleased to see the new range of gluten free Tortilla chips in stock - as were some other shoppers as they were flying off the shelves!

I've had the lime salsa scoops before and they were very tasty. But nacho cheese tortilla chips are a flavour I've missed over the years as you can't always find gluten free packs available.

There is also a lightly salted flavour in the range. I didn't bother getting a packet of those as I've never been a big fan of less-flavoured tortillas.

In the St Albans M&S you can find the gluten free tortillas in amongst the other 'normal' crisps and snacks, whereas in the Ipswich branch the lime salsa tortillas are in the Made Without Wheat section.

Gluten free Tortilla Chips from Marks and Spencer in Luton
Well, that's my week's budget for Nacho Chips blown in one go

While on a lunchbreak last week I popped along to the M&S in Angel, London and was pleased to see two new products in the Made Without Wheat range - a Quiche Lorraine and a Cheese & Onion Quiche.

Hopefully the Luton branch begins stocking more gluten free products (Made Without Wheat Scotch Eggs hint hint).

Links:
Marks & Spencer website
Marks & Spencer Made Without Wheat page
Coeliac UK website

Related blog posts:
- New gluten free products at Marks & Spencer
New Gluten Free Beer and Cakes at M&S
Gluten Free blog posts on The Ham & Egger Files
Gluten Free Finds in London (and beyond) - October 2010

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Visiting the new Crazy Golf course at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Miniature Golf course visit number 543 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

On a very rainy Saturday afternoon Emily and I made the latest course visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour as we visited the Crazy Golf course in Verulamium Park, St Albans.

The park was the location for the 17th course ever played on the Tour, way back in April 2007. I also revisited in November 2010 and noticed a couple of changes to the Minigolf.

Since that last visit the old course has been replaced by a new course. The new layout is still a 9-hole course and of the same fibreglass construction, but each of the holes is in the shape of a letter in the words "Crazy Golf".










Unfortunately that great Minigolf character 'Humpty' is now missing from the course :-(

The Verulamium Park Crazy Golf was the first we've been to that uses this particular layout. Although down the road in nearby Hemel Hempstead there is a Minigolf course at Gadebridge Park where each of the holes is in the shape of its number!

Related blog posts:

Links:

Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Barmy Bar Billiards Trail leads us to St Albans

Two pubs visited, one Bar Billiards table found, two games played.

On Wednesday 14th March we were in St Albans, Hertfordshire so took the opportunity to look up the two Bar Billiards tables that are listed in the City.

We managed to play one of them, but found the table at The White Swan on Upper Dagnall Street is no longer there. The landlord told us it had been removed before he took over the management of the pub. Even without Bar Billiards The White Swan was a nice and friendly pub. There were some games on offer including Jenga and Bōku – an abstract strategy board game that Emily and I will no doubt play at a later date.

The Goat Inn can be found on Sopwell Lane which is just off Holywell Hill and a couple of minutes walk from the city centre and Cathedral.

The Goat Inn pub sign

As we arrived at The Goat Inn we immediately saw the Bar Billiards table in the window and no one was playing it.


The view of the table from the street

The Goat Inn is a fairly large venue with a three sided bar that splits up the different areas of the pub. There is a small seated area as you enter the pub, then a games room which houses the Bar Billiards table, a good quality dartboard, a huge selection of board games and a TV that was showing live football. There was also live music on during our visit and the chalkboards around the pub have listings for a number of different events including quizzes and details of the darts & dominoes teams.

In my first of two challenge matches I faced off against our friend Oxana Nikandrova. As she had never played the game before I ran through the rules and gave her some of the background to the game. Despite the game’s supposed Russian origins (via the French/Belgian game of Billard Russe aka Russian Billiards) Oxana had never seen anything like it in her native Russia.

I line up the opening shot in my first game

The match was closely fought with Oxana picking up the game very quickly and at one point she had built up a break of 490 points, in part due to a brilliant rebound shot off the backboard, which resulted in the red ball landing in the 200 points hole! Unfortunately this break and the rest of her score were wiped out soon after as she knocked the dreaded black mushroom over.

The final result was a win to me with a score of 470 to Oxana’s 20 points. The game didn’t need to go to a decider as I was able to clear the final two balls from the table with my final shot.

Next up was a match between me and Emily. This match would go the distance after we had a score line of 520 to 160 at the end of regulation play, with just one white ball left to pot.

Emily takes on a shot

After numerous attempts at the 200 hole I managed to get the ball in and pick-up the 200 points to see the final score 720-160.

The table is set for a Black Mushroom Shootout Decider!

£1 a go

A vital element of any game of Bar Billiards

As with the Bar Billiards table we played at The Strathmore Arms at St Pauls Walden, the table at The Goat Inn was 'approved' by the National Bar Billiards Association - the pre-WW2 governing body!

The Bar Billiards table at The Goat Inn was in good condition and was very playable. A few of the young lads who were in the pub watching the football glanced over while we were playing and we heard them saying that they’d never played the game before and didn’t know the rules. The only slightly annoying thing about the table was that some shots towards the cushion on the left hand side could not be played as the table is positioned next to a wall and the window, so most shots (and any sudden-death shoot-outs would need to be played from left-to-right).

The pub has Darts and Dominoes teams and I wonder if they've ever had a Bar Billiards Team, or would set one up?

After playing Bar Billiards we sat down beside the huge array of Board Games and picked out the game of Flags World Tour.


The Goat Inn has plenty of Board Games to choose from!

A very interesting and fun game to play. We may have to buy a copy of it for our games room!

The Flags World Tour Board Game and a flag that one player thought was the German flag - they'd had a few (too many) drinks by that point!

The Goat Inn is a great pub that’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area. There are some nice touches in the pub, including signs with details of the history of the pub, which was built in the 15th century. An interesting facts about The Goat Inn is that in 1756 the Inn could accommodate seventy-two horses but could only sleep ten people! It is also rumoured that the historic site was once the oldest brothel in St Albans!


Links:
- All England Bar Billiards' Association (AEBBA)
- Bar Billiards Tables Map
- The Goat Inn, St Albans

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - Course Played #17 St Albans, Hertfordshire (Verulamium Park) - Crazy Golf

Back on the 11th of April 2007 I visited and played the 12-hole Crazy Golf course in Verulamium Park, St Albans, Hertfordshire. At the time it was just the 17th course played on what would become the epic Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

On my first visit I scored rounds of 25, 27 and 35!

I also re-visited it with my former Dodgeball Associates 'Rowdy' Russell Fenner and Paul 'Barer' Harvey for a three-round event on the 10th May 2007.

In the Irregular Mini Golf Tour's Triple-O Thursday 36 Competition, Me and Paul tied having scored a total of 87(+11), Russell scored a 103(+31).

Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Richard & Humpty.
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

On the 20th November 2010 I was in St Albans so decided to visit the course to see what the course was like now.

Humpty was still there.

Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

A blue Dolphin now 'Guards' the course from the corner!

Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

I also noticed that the following two holes have changed slightly:
Hole 1 - May 2007Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Hole 1 - November 2010
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Hole 7 - May 2007
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

Hole 7 - November 2010
Crazy Golf at Verulamium Park in St Albans

We have also played this type/design of course on a number of occasions on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, including:


And we've also visited these types of courses in the following places (but for one reason or another haven't been able to play them):



There is also a 9-hole Putting Green at the Abbey View Golf Course at Verulamium Park, it was getting dark and very cold so I didn't play it on this visit.

Golf Putting at Verulamium Park in St Albans
Golf Warning

Links to related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- St Albans
- Humpty

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