Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf on Shanklin Seafront

A look at the Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf course on Shanklin Seafront on the Isle of Wight.

Our fellow minigolfing explorer Matt Dodd sent me these snaps from the new Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf on Shanklin Seafront following his visit last summer.

Check out the Shanklin Seafront website for more information.

Matt and his family have visited hundreds of courses on their crazy golf adventures and it's always brilliant to meet up with them for a game. Matt has managed to track down and play quite a lot of courses that we're yet to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour! 

We have played minigolf on the spot that the Jurassic Bay Adventure Golf course now sits - in fact we played it in its two previous forms.

Blockbuster Video in Nuneaton

Checking out the former Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Earlier this year the old sign at the former Blockbuster Video store on Regent Street in Nuneaton was uncovered when the most recent tenant of the building moved out.

The unit had been home to a 365 Bargains store which has now moved-next-door-but-one on the same retail park.

The sign at the rear of the store has also been removed and the ghost outline of the Blockbuster Big Ticket logo sign can be seen

It's always marvellous to find remnants of lost brands that evoke memories of a bygone time.

What film or game would you rent out if you could?

We were also lucky enough to spot an old Woolworths ghost sign while we were having a walk round Nuneaton town centre!

Blockbuster Video

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of the year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December that year.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 Blockbuster stores around the world. There is now just one remaining store open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

Luckily for us there are still relics of its time as a retail powerhouse on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

Blockbuster Video Express

We recently visited one of the last remaining Blockbuster Video Express shopfronts. It's in Billingham, County Durham.

Blockbuster visits

With our retail archaeology interest piqued by our discovery of the abandoned Blockbuster Video store in Fallowfield in 2019 we've now visited a number of former Blockbuster locations, including:

• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Colne, Lancashire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Chester, Cheshire
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Miniature Golf at Dunton Hills in Essex

A look at the Miniature Golf course at Dunton Hills Golf Centre in West Horndon, Essex.

A big thank you to my friend and crazy golf rival Stephen Skinner for these photos of the Miniature Golf course Dunton Hills golf centre in West Horndon, Essex.

Check out the Dunton Hills Family Golf Centre website for more information, opening times and prices.

Playing minigolf at Dunton Hills

The 18-hole miniature golf course at Dunton Hills was the 499th Miniature Golf course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in July 2012. We've now been to 958 courses since 2006.

The layout at Dunton Hills is an incredibly tricky, long and wide minigolf course, but great fun and a good test to play.

Woodland Adventure Golf at China Fleet Country Club in Saltash

A look at the new Woodland Adventure Golf course at China Fleet Country Club in Saltash, Plymouth.

My mate and minigolf rival Simon Brown hit up a new minigolf course over the weekend as he teed-off on the Woodland Adventure Golf course at China Fleet Country Club in Saltash, Plymouth.

The 18-hole adventure golf layout opened last year.

Check out the China Fleet Country Club website for more information, opening times and prices.

It'll be a new course for us to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we return to Plymouth in the future.

Jabba the Putt

Happy Star Wars Day.

Jabba the Putt at Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf at Level Preston in May 2018

Crazy Golf at Vivary Park in Taunton

A look at the Mini Golf course at Vivary Park in Taunton, Somerset.

My friend and crazy golf rival Simon Brown swung by the Crazy Golf course at Vivary Park in Taunton and sent over these snaps of the ace course.

We played the layout on our road-trip around the South West in 2015 and it was a pleasure to have a game there. It's such a well designed course and a real test of putting skill.

Visit the Vivary Park Crazy Golf website for more information, opening times and prices.

Today is Star Wars Day

May the 4th Be With You.

A selection of Star Wars characters and props I've seen on my travels - clockwise from top left at the Merseyway Comic Con in Stockport, at Collectorabilia in Leeds, at Stockport Comic Con, at Milton Keynes Outdoor Market, at Dunstable's Party in the Park, in an action figure box at John Lewis in the Trafford Centre, on a speeder bike at the Merseyway Comic Con, in a games shop in Norwich, on the planet moon of Endor at Warrington's Geeky Christmas Market 

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!

Puttshack Mini Golf at Lakeside

A look at the Puttshack indoor minigolf course at Lakeside, Essex.

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Stephen Skinner for sending me some snaps from his visit to Puttshack at the Lakeside shopping centre in Grays, Essex. Stephen played the course last August.

For more information about Puttshack high-tech mini-golf visit the Puttshack website. The brand has recently launched in the USA too.

Playing at Puttshack

Emily and I played the Puttshack course at the Westfield shopping centre in London in October 2019. The course at White City was the 529th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

We also swung by the, then still under construction, Puttshack super-tech mini-golf venue at Bank during our trip to the capital.

Crazy Golf at Rylstone Tea Gardens in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight

A look at the Rylstone Tea Gardens Crazy Golf course in Shanklin, Isle of Wight.

My friend and minigolf rival Matt Dodd sent me this photo of the Crazy Golf course at Rylstone Tea Gardens in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight during his minigolfing trip there last summer.

We've been to the course and seen it in two iterations. The first time was when the layout was on the original wooden course design in 2008. When we returned in 2016 the layout was using many of the original obstacles but in a concrete setting.

Visit the Rylstone Tea Gardens & Crazy Golf Facebook Page for more information.

May is Celiac Awareness Month

This month is Celiac Awareness Month.

Coeliac Disease (Celiac in the US and Canada) is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and the only treatment is to adhere to a strict lifelong gluten free diet.

In the UK it's estimated that 1 in 100 people have the condition, in the USA the figure is 1 in 133.

Visit the Beyond Celiac website for more information.

Living a gluten free life

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' and in-depth tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with a Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

Coeliac awareness dates

The month of May is Celiac Awareness Month, International Coeliac Day is on Sunday 16th May and Coeliac UK Awareness Week runs from the 10th to the 16th May.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

I published my minigolf marketing ebook four years ago today.

It's been brilliant to see the guide read and used by a number of associations, federations, course owners and managers, players and clubs around the world.

The feedback and reviews have been excellent to see, with some people also using the ebook to help them promote other sports.

You can buy my minigolf marketing ebook on Amazon.

Don't worry if you don't have a Kindle as you can download the Kindle App on iOS, Android, Mac & PC.

The ebook is also available on Kobo.

It's just £1.99.

Minigolf Marketing

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

The Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Emily and I have visited 958 courses in the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've got 40 from that original list left to visit.

The minigolf boom

The game is really booming and new courses are being announced all the time.

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, courses, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Links:

• Minigolf and marketing consultancy
• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon
• The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Kobo