A visit to Treetop Adventure Golf at St David's shopping centre in Cardiff.
While visiting our friends in South Wales we swung by Treetop Adventure Golf at St David's shopping centre in Cardiff.
Walk this way...
The course has some of the best branding we've seen on our travels, with lots of colourful and fun signs pointing you in the right direction.
It's also the first course we've seen that has it's own button in the lift!
Level P3 for Putting fun
Treetop Adventure Golf is home to two 18-hole courses - the Ancient Explorer and the Tropical Trail. There's also a lucky last hole where you can try to win a free game.
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.
They've been a 'popular' train up north for a fair few years and we quite often see - and hear - them squealing along the many lines in Greater Manchester.
Today the first of Northern's Pacer Railbuses retired from service, as 142005 made its final journey from Manchester Victoria to Stalybridge.
The first Pacer Railbuses were introduced in 1984 and were designed as a short-term measure with a lifespan of twenty years. They've certainly been pushed beyond what they were originally intended for.
While I wouldn't necessarily want to travel on a Pacer Railbus on a long journey, nor would I much fancy using one for a daily rush-hour commute, there is something about them that makes them fun to travel on.
While modern trains may be sleeker and have more comfortable seating and air-con, there's a lot to be said for old diesel trains. Last week's large-scale power cuts showed that while new trains may be great when conditions are perfect, they were completely useless when the power went down.
Pacer Railbus 142005 connected to another old train - a Class 150 Sprinter
When we arrived in Stockport in 2016 we noticed that, although there are a lot of train lines and connections aren't too bad, the rolling stock itself is very old. In fact as we moved north so did a load of ex-Thameslink Class 319s that we'd been commuting into London on since 2003!
Having lived most of my life down south I didn't realise quite how poor the train services can be up north in comparison. And that's saying something as a long-suffering commuter on the 'Bedpan line' from Luton to London.
Transport for Wales are also withdrawing their Pacer Railbuses and have added public service announcements to the sides of the trains declaring it's "The start of a new journey"
On a recent trip to Carnforth we were lucky enough to see the first of the Pacer's replacements out on a test-run. While it was merely a brief encounter it was nice to see Class 195001 breeze through the station.
Considering how many safari and jungle-themed adventure golf courses we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour you'd think we'd have played more elephant obstacles and seen more trunks on our travels.
As marketing and sales professionals Emily and I use our extensive knowledge and skills in supporting and promoting the game we enjoy as a hobby.
Since 2006 we have visited more than 900 minigolf courses in the UK and overseas. This has given us an insight into many aspects of minigolf, from course operators, pop-ups, competitions, clubs, national associations, international federations, suppliers, designers, builders and technology providers.
At our 900th course visit - the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough
Our involvement in the world of minigolf includes blogging, media relations, sponsorship, course design, advice and consultancy, event organisation and promotion, and participation in tournaments around the world.
Emily playing at Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf at Fletcher's Arcade in Cofton Hackett, Birmingham
As a volunteer I served three terms on the Executive Committee of the British Minigolf Association and was a member of the World Minigolf Sport Federation’s Marketing and Media Committee for six years.
Putting at Lane7 in Newcastle
Please do get in touch to find out how we can help with your minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf activities.
You can also buy my ebook 'The Minigolfer’s Guide to Marketing' on Amazon and Kobo.
We enjoyed a round with our old friends and minigolf rivals Cindy and Jas Kukielka and our new friend and minigolf rival Martyn Williams.
On the green of the volcano hole
The Tee Rex Golf course was built by the team at HM Adventure Golf in 2017 and we've been wanting to get along for a game for a while.
What's wrong with this picture?
We had a fun competition on the course and there were some very close scores on the tricky layout.
At the end of the round I came out the winner by one-shot on 40(+4). Martyn, captain of the Welsh Minigolf Club, and Emily both hit 41(+5) and required a play-off.
Receiving the trophy from Jas
The sudden-death play-off began on hole 1. After nether player could be separated after three plays of the hole the play-off moved to hole 2 where Emily shot a three and Martyn hit a two for the win.
Martyn playing a shot
Emily in action
Jas finished the game in fourth place with a round of 45(+9), with Cindy in fifth spot on 48(+12).
Jas on the green
Cindy in action
The Rules
Playing hole 1
The view from the first tee
Visit the Tee-Rex Adventure Golf course website for opening times and prices. Cardiff Golf Centre is also home to a Pitch & Putt course, Foot Golf, Rugby Golf, a riving range and a soft-play centre.
