Stonehenge - The BIG mini golf in Hemsby, Norfolk

A revisit to the Stonehenge minigolf course in Hemsby, Norfolk.

Last month we swung by the 18-hole Stonehenge-themed miniature golf course in the seaside town of Hemsby.

Stonehenge Big Mini Golf was the 174th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2010 when it was a 15-hole layout. We first visited it in May 2009 when it was a 12-hole course.

Social distancing footprints next to the entrance sign

We were back in Hemsby during our East Anglian road-trip.

Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk

A revisit to one of our most visited minigolf courses.

We swung by the Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road in Felixstowe, Suffolk during our East Anglian Road-Trip last month.

A new sign for the course on the seafront

We've been going to the seaside town for years and the 9-hole course is one of our most visited layouts as we go there about three times a year. However, the pandemic has meant this was our first visit since 2019.

It was originally the 7th course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Only Foals and Horses in Accrington

A look at the Only Foals and Horses charity shop in the Accrington Arndale.

What a shop name!

We've found quite a few Only Fools and Horses business names, gimmicks and signs on our travels.

The best kept secret in Accrington

A look at Steals in Accrington, Lancashire.

There's no place like this place, anywhere near this place, so this must be the place

Steals is a bargain clothes shop with branches in Blackpool, Preston, Accrington, Poulton-le-Fylde and Chorley.

Check out the Steals Facebook Page for more information.

Happy National 7-Eleven Day

Today is National 7-Eleven Day.

7-Eleven convenience stores celebrate National 7-Eleven Day on when else but the 11th July.

We were surprised to see a number of 7-Eleven stores in Stockholm on our last trip there in 2018. We'd only ever seen them in the USA before that

The first 7-Eleven Day was held in 2002.

Blockbuster Video Express in Filton, Bristol

Finding a ghost sign at the former Blockbuster Video Express in Filton, Bristol.

While we were down in Bristol recently we checked out the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Filton, Bristol to take a look at the repurposed torn ticket sign on the side of the old video shop.

The former video shop is now a vets

I noticed the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and since then have found a few more signs of the brand on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

One other of those torn ticket signs had also been used by the new business in the location.

Check out my posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Blockbuster Video in Ashton, Bristol

A look at a former Blockbuster Video store in Bristol.

The former video shop is now a gym 

We spotted another old Blockbuster while driving to the former store location in Filton, Bristol. This one was at Winterstoke Road in Ashton.

You can still make out the outline of the QuikDrop box at this location

I noticed the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and since then have found a few more signs of the brand on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

Check out my posts about other former Blockbuster stores in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Blockbuster Video Express in Shanklin, Isle of Wight

Finding a ghost sign at the former Blockbuster Video Express store in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.

Emily found this ghost sign at the old Blockbuster Video Express on Regent Street in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight last month!

The former video shop is now a charity shop

The outline of the old QuikDrop box is still there

I spotted the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and since then have found a few more signs of the brand on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

Check out my posts about other former Blockbuster stores in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Tandy in Hitchin

You can still see some Tandy signage at the old Electronic Universe shop in Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

I recently passed through Hitchin en route to Luton and had to make a quick stop to see if the old Tandy signage was still up at the former Electronic Universe shop on Churchgate in the town centre. Luckily some of it still was. However, the sign at the rear of the store has now gone.

My first job was at a Tandy franchise shop in Abingdon, Oxfordshire back in 1996 where I remember selling a number of electronic products bearing the 'RadioShack', 'Genexxa' and 'Realistic' brand names.

It's always fun spotting old brands and signage and a real treat when it's something rare like Tandy. I've also seen some RadioShack signs on my travels.

While in Hitchin I also took a look at a classic Happy Shopper and in Luton took a look at my old local Blockbuster Video store.

Woolworths in Nuneaton

Finding a Woolworths ghost sign.

We were surprised to see a Woolworths ghost sign while walking through Nuneaton town centre!

The sign was above the store's former entrance on Queens Road.

Social distancing signage alongside Woolworths branding - not something I ever thought I'd see

The shop was most recently a Poundland and before then had been a 99p Stores and a TJ Hughes.

It's always fun seeing old & lost brands, ghost signs and retail relics.

You can see some of Poundland's 'Sorry We Have Closed' messaging on the shopfront. Interestingly one of our local Poundland shops in Stockport has recently closed and where the signage has been removed you can see a British Home Stores ghost sign

Other Woolies

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009 so it's always nice when remnants of the brand become visible again.

We visited the Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent last September. That store still has 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 Woolworths Pick n' Mix Crazy Golf hole at Teezers Retro Golf in Coventry!

GOLF PROHIBITED at Meriton Road Park in Handforth

No golf allowed at Meriton Road Park in Handforth, Cheshire.

We saw a number of other Borough of Macclesfield NO GOLF signs on a daily walk in Poynton last June.

The former British Home Stores in Stockport

While having a walk round Stockport yesterday evening it was amazing to see the old ghost sign on the rear of the store had been uncovered!

The old BHS shop in the Merseyway shopping centre in Stockport was a Poundland, but that store closed last month.

BHS became defunct in August 2016, but there are still traces of the brand if you know where to look.

As well as the newly uncovered ghost sign you can see name as part of the mural artwork along the side of the store as well as on two small signs in the doorways where the fireman's switches are.

NO GOLF at Lacey Green Park in Wilmslow

NO GOLF allowed at Lacey Green Park in Wilmslow, Cheshire.

We saw a number of other Borough of Macclesfield NO GOLF signs on a daily walk in Poynton last June.

NO GOLF in Torkington Park, Hazel Grove, Stockport

NO GOLF allowed at Torkington Park, Hazel Grove, Stockport.

Gutt Busters in Rugby

If you're in Rugby, and you feel hungry, who you gonna call...

Gutt Busters!

We spotted Gutt Busters on a visit to Rugby in Warwickshire seven years ago

KFC in Handforth - Kansas Fried Chicken

Kansas Fried Chicken in Handforth, Cheshire.

One of a number of 'KFCs' seen on my travels.

There are also Kansas Fried Chicken shops in Mauldeth Road and Didsbury Village.

A sign of the times

Signs of the coronavirus pandemic times

A look at signs of the Coronavirus pandemic, social distancing and lockdown.

I've been documenting the coronavirus pandemic in a number of ways, one of which is by photographing the different signs and posters I see on my walks and limited travels.

We're one year into lockdown in the UK and in that time I've collated some 922 of these (and counting) on my Instagram account.

One of the very first signs I snapped was this one during a local walk that passed by Cheadle Angling Club on Demmings Road in Cheadle.

We first saw social distancing measures in place at a miniature golf course in person on a walk to Bruntwood Park in Cheadle in May last year.

There is certainly a real variety of warnings, instructions and directional signage to do with social distancing, and I was amused by this photo Emily took of the social distancing measures in place on an escalator in M&S!

Surely the 2 metre apart distance stickers should be on the moving walkway as well, rather than the static sides of the escalator? I wonder how many people adhere to the rule and wait for the person ahead of them to reach the first marker?

Have you seen any interesting, quirky or amusing signs during these pandemic times? Do let me know.

Bagman and Robin in Exmouth Market, London.

Bagman and Robin in Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London. March 2019.

Barber Streisand in Exmouth Market, London

Barber Streisand in Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell, London. March 2019.

Leisure Orienteering at Bruntwood Park in Cheadle

While having a walk round Bruntwood Park in Cheadle on New Year's Day we spotted this nice old sign for Leisure Orienteering at the park.

The sign is at the Pitch & Putt kiosk in the park

It's one of the few remaining signs in the borough that carries the old council logo. We've seen others near the Stockport Pyramid, at Woodford Recreation Ground and on Adswood Road.

The logo for Stockport Leisure Services