Petanque at Beacon Park in Lichfield

Finding a Petanque piste at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

On our recent Midlands road-trip we visited Beacon Park in Lichfield, Stafffordshire to play the Crazy Golf course. After our game we noticed the park was also home to a Petanque terrain. Good to know as we're fans of the game too.

The Petanque Terrain at Beacon Park in Lichfield

The rules of boules

The area looked in good condition. It was next to the park cafe and also had a nice view of the Crazy Golf, Pitch & Putt, FootGolf and Disc Golf courses too.

As well as Petanque you can play four types of Golf in the park!

Check out the Visit Lichfield and Lichfield Historic Parks websites for more info on Beacon Park and its facilities.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Boules
- Lichfield
- Minigolfing in the Midlands

Minigolfing in the Midlands

Earlier this month we were at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield to compete in the American Golf Adventure Golf National Championships. Travelling there and back we ticked off a fair few more minigolf courses on our to visit list and we'll have a lot of blog posts about them to come in the next few weeks.

With Humpty at Beacon Park in Lichfield

During our road-trip we visited courses in Sutton Coldfield, Lea Marston, Dorridge, Birmingham, Tamworth, Lichfield, Walsall and Stafford.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Crazy Golf at Rowley Park Stadium in Stafford

A visit to the Crazy Golf course at Rowley Park Stadium in Stafford.

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course in Stafford

The 778th course we visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the last on our recent midlands road-trip, was at Rowley Park Stadium in Stafford. It was also the 750th minigolf we've visited in the UK!

Another unplayed course on our tour

The 9-hole Crazy Golf course looked like it'd been there for many many years and was in need of a bit of TLC.

Quite a water hazard

The course was an Eternit type of Miniature Golf layout, more often found in Continental Europe, although there are still a few knocking about the UK. Photos of the course from our visit on Sunday 10th September are below.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7's 'green' 

Hole 8

Hole 9

The 750th course visited overall was the Crazy Golf course at Coate Water Country Park in Swindon. We've also visited 28 courses overseas. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Jersey, we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

Link:
- Rowley Park Stadium

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Staffordshire

Castle Adventure Golf at Namco Funscape in Tamworth

Playing the new Medieval-themed Adventure Golf course at Namco Funscape in Tamworth.

The Adventure Golf course has some incredible theming

On Sunday 10th September the Castle Adventure Golf course at Namco Funscape in Tamworth became the 774th visited and 460th played overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Head through the portcullis to the Castle Adventure Golf course

In our match up on the Castle Adventure Golf course I picked up the victory with a score of 55 to Emily's 62.

Putting my way to the win

We normally regard each hole on a course as a par-2 - so an 18-hole layout would be a par-36 course. In the case of Castle Adventure Golf the course par of 69 for the 18-holes is far more realistic a target as it's a very tricky course indeed.

Emily on hole 2

The 18-hole layout is certainly not the easiest course we've played! A lot of the holes are very bumpy and uphill, with extra plateaus too. That said, each of the holes is unique and the theming is some of the best we've seen on our travels.

My brother Christopher owns a suit of armour and would love the course. I was half expecting the knight to move!

A tricky circular forge hole

This hole was excellently executed

Hanging around on the Tamworth Adventure Golf course

A Ham and Egger in his element

Interestingly the course is half indoors and half outdoors - not something we've seen all that often either. Some of the outdoor holes were also under shelter too.

One of the outdoor - but under cover - holes

The last hole before heading back inside to play the 17th and 18th

Another tough hole

Under siege!

Emily wasn't on target for a lot of the round!

The 13th - one of two holes I aced

Holes 17 and 18 take you back inside

There are two routes to the hole (in a bucket) on the 18th

Visit the Tamworth Namco Funscape website for more information, opening times and prices.

Links:
- Castle Adventure Golf at Namco Funscape in Tamworth
- Namco Funscape

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Indoor Adventure Golf
- Tamworth
- Namco

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

The road to nowhere

Our travels around the UK have certainly taken us to some interesting places and while driving through the Midlands yesterday afternoon we found the road to nowhere!

This doorway in the Aspall Secret Garden at the Bowling Green pub isn't all it seems!

We stopped off at the Bowling Green while en route to Beacon Park where we were heading to play Crazy Golf. The Bowling Green pub is well worth a visit. It's an interesting spot for a drink as the pub sits on the middle of a roundabout!

The Bowling Green pub has a very nice 3D sign

We've seen a few Crazy Golf courses in pub beer gardens in our time. Not nearly enough though.

Related blog posts:
- Pub
- Pubs
- Roundabout

Link:
- The Bowling Green Lichfield

Crazy Golf in Tamworth, Staffordshire

Playing minigolf in Tamworth's Castle Grounds.

On our recent visit to Tamworth, Staffordshire we played the Crazy Golf course in the town's Castle Grounds.

Minigolf adventurers at Tamworth's Crazy Golf course

The course has a great scorecard

Emily on hole 1. This obstacle is often used as a last hole ball collector

Playing hole 2

Over the bridge on hole 4

Emily on hole 5

Emily plays hole 7

Tackling hole 7

Emily about to ace hole 8

The Castle Grounds Crazy Golf course became the 590th visited and 356th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Saturday 21 March 2015. In our match-up I managed to beat Emily by one-shot - 24 to 25.

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 9

The Crazy Golf putters and balls can be hired from Dave Owen Cycles.

Dave Owen Cycles offers a lot more than Crazy Golf

Dave Owen Cycles and Crazy Golf hire is based in the old Lido

Tamworth Castle - flying the flag of the ancient Kingdom of Mercia

The Crazy Golf course in Tamworth's Castle Grounds is open seven days a week from 9am. The price is £2.50 for adults and £2.30 for children. For more information check out the links below.

We really enjoyed our trip to the town and would definitely visit again.

Links:
- Dave Owen Cycles on Facebook
- Castle Grounds on Tamworth Borough Council's website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Humpty

Videos:
- A visit to the Crazy Golf course in Tamworth
- Crazy Golf in Tamworth - Hole 4
- Emily plays hole 6
- Richard plays hole 6
- Richard plays hole 8