Sunday, March 20, 2022

Crazy Golf at Old Joe's Golf Club in Cornard Tye, Suffolk

There are plans for a new Crazy Golf course to be created at Old Joe's Golf Club in Cornard Tye, near Sudbury in Suffolk.


There are plans for a new Crazy Golf course to be created at Old Joe's Golf Club in Cornard Tye, near Sudbury in Suffolk

The 18-hole layout would have a Suffolk-theme.

We visited Old Joe's Driving Range and Golf Course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2010 and played the grass putting course there.

Putting course at Old Joe's Golf in Cornard Tye
Emily playing the long first hole

Putting course at Old Joe's Golf in Cornard Tye
Lining up a putt in April 2010

Visit Old Joe's Golf & Leisure website for more information.


It'll be nice to revisit next time we're back in East Anglia.

Crazy Golf at Tonbridge Sportsground

A look at the Crazy Golf course at Tonbridge Sports Ground in Kent.


Crazy Golf at Tonbridge Sports Ground. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, February 2022

My brother Christopher and his family recently swung by the Crazy Golf course at Tonbridge Sports Ground in Kent.

Crazy Golf at Tonbridge Sports Ground. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, February 2022

Crazy Golf at Tonbridge Sports Ground. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, February 2022


We visited the layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in September 2010.

Mini-Golf in Tunbridge Wells

There are plans for a new indoor mini-golf course to open as part of an entertainment centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.


There are plans for a new indoor mini-golf course to open as part of an entertainment centre in Tunbridge Wells, Kent

The venue is proposed to open in the former BHS store in the town centre.

It'd be another new course for us to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Millets Farm

A new Adventure Golf course is being created at Millets Farm in Oxfordshire.


A new Adventure Golf course is being created at Millets Farm in Oxfordshire

A new 18-hole Adventure Golf course is opening at Millets Farm Centre in Frilford, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire this summer.

Check out the Millets Farm website for more information.


I grew up in Abingdon and visited Millets Farm a lot in the 80s and 90s. It'll be fun to return and have a game on the new farm-themed course.

It'll be another new layout for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.


Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Herne Bay Mini Golf

A look at the Mini Golf course on the seafront in Herne Bay, Kent.


Herne Bay Mini Golf
Herne Bay Mini Golf

We revisited the 78th course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last month.

Herne Bay Mini Golf
Mini Golf Rules

Herne Bay Mini Golf

Herne Bay Mini Golf

Herne Bay Mini Golf



Visit the iFun Family Entertainment Centre website for more info on the Herne Bay Mini Golf course.


Herne Bay Mini Golf

I've been documenting coronavirus signs during the pandemic and it was interesting to see some social distancing signs at the Herne Bay course.

A Covid-19 sign at Herne Bay Mini Golf
A Covid-19 sign at Herne Bay Mini Golf

A social distancing sign on the Herne Bay Mini Golf course
A social distancing sign on the Herne Bay Mini Golf course

A Coronavirus social distancing sign at Herne Bay Mini Golf
A Coronavirus social distancing sign at Herne Bay Mini Golf

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk

A revisit to the Adventure Golf course at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Thetford, Norfolk.


Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022

My brother Christopher and his family recently returned to Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Thetford, Norfolk and played the Adventure Golf at Treasure Island course there.

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022


Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022

Adventure Golf at Treasure Island in Center Parcs Elveden Forest, Norfolk. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, March 2022

Golf Fang Crazy Golf opening in Sheffield

A new 18-hole indoor Crazy Golf course is opening in Sheffield.


Golf Fang Crazy Golf is opening in Sheffield

Golf Fang will be located in John Street. It'll be the second Golf Fang venue from the team behind Ghetto Golf. There are Ghetto Golf courses in Birmingham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Check out the Golf Fang website for more information.


It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Monday, March 14, 2022

Two months until the Big Mini Golf Tour tees-off

The Big Mini Golf Tour teeing-off in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea this summer.


The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022 begins on National Miniature Golf Day - Saturday 14th May.

Two months until the Big Mini Golf Tour tees-off in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea

We have played in and organised lots of miniature golf competitions, tournaments, challenges and events over the last decade and a half and this year we are excited to be a part of the Big Mini Golf Tour in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.

Miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area have come together to promote the game.

The four-month event highlighting miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth area tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day, Saturday 14th May 2022 and runs until Miniature Golf Day on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

Visit Great Yarmouth

Funding from Visit Great Yarmouth/GYTABIA has helped to bring you the “Big Mini Golf Tour”.

Visit Great Yarmouth

Check out the Visit Great Yarmouth website to find out about all of the activities and events taking place in the seaside resort this year!

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

We've been to almost 1,000 crazy, adventure and mini golf courses on our own Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. One of the first stops on our travels was to the East Coast seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.

The seaside town and local area is a real minigolf hot-spot with a brilliant mixture of miniature golf courses. You can find Adventure Golf courses, Crazy Golf and Indoor Adventure Golf in Great Yarmouth itself, Crazy Golf and Grass Putting in Gorleston-on-Sea and Adventure Golf courses in Hemsby.

Minigolf history

Miniature Golf has been played in the resort for almost a century and we have some superb old putting postcards showing people at play. Including one of a Putting Green on the promenade dating back to 1927! Interestingly you will find that there is still a minigolf course on the same spot as the Putting Green today.

Putting Green, Great Yarmouth Postcard. Sent on 11 November 1927
Putting Green, Great Yarmouth Postcard. Sent on 11 November 1927

The town is also home to the several of the UK's first Adventure Golf layouts, as well as England's first indoor Crazy Golf course.

We're really looking forward to the Big Mini Golf Tour tee-off on National Miniature Golf Day, Saturday 14th May and seeing people having fun on the greens.

Find out more

Check out the Big Mini Golf Tour on social media to find out more.

Saturday, March 12, 2022

Crazy Golf at Canterbury Leisure

The 983rd course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the Crazy Golf at Canterbury Leisure in Canterbury, Kent on the 26th February.


Unfortunately we didn't have time for a game this time.

Crazy Golf at Canterbury Leisure

Palm Swings crazy golf at Chow Down in Leeds

A pop-up crazy golf course will be part of the Chow Down food festival in Leeds this year.


A pop-up crazy golf course will be part of the Chow Down food festival in Leeds this year

The whole event tees off on the 14th of April and runs through to the 4th of September.

We're often in Leeds and hopefully we'll get to swing by on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour this summer.

Visit the Chow Down food festival website for more information.

Hole in Wand minigolf opening in Blackpool

A new magic-themed indoor minigolf course is opening in Blackpool.


A new magic-themed indoor minigolf course is opening in Blackpool

The team at the Hole in Wand minigolf in York are opening a second venue, this one will be on Blackpool Promenade.

The indoor miniature golf course will be opening in part of the former Woolworths unit on the seafront!

We're often over in Blackpool as it's one of our local seasides. The last time I was there I was lucky enough to see the ghost signs of the former Woolies store!

Hole in Wand will be another new venue for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Head to the Hole in Wand website for more information.

Par 59 minigolf bar planned for Bristol

A new indoor minigolf course and bar is planned to open in Bristol.


A new indoor minigolf course and bar is planned to open in Bristol.

The second of Gareth Bale's Par 59 venues is planned to open in Bristol. The indoor minigolf course in the city follows the first location in Cardiff.

Par 59 opened after our last visit to Cardiff so they are two more places to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Par 59 website for more information.

Mini-Golf at a new Boom: Battle Bar in Exeter

A new Boom: Battle Bar is opening in Exeter city centre and will include a mini-golf course.


A new Boom Battle Bar is opening in Exeter city centre and will include a minigolf course

The indoor competitive socialising venue is opening at the Exeter Guildhall Shopping Centre.

We've played Crazier Golf at the first Boom: Battle Bar in Norwich.

The Exeter course will be another new venue for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Boom: Battle Bar website for more information.

New Mini Golf course in Brierley Hill, Dudley

There are plans for a new Mini Golf course in Brierley Hill, Dudley.


There are plans for a new Mini Golf course in Brierley Hill, Dudley

A new indoor minigolf course is planned to open at The Waterfront in Brierley Hill, Dudley in the West Midlands.

It'll be another new venue for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022

Find out more about the Big Mini Golf Tour - taking place in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby and Gorleston-on-Sea this summer.


The Big Mini Golf Tour - teeing-off in Greater Yarmouth in May 2022. Funding from Visit Great Yarmouth/GYTABIA has helped to bring you the “Big Mini Golf Tour”

Check out the Big Mini Golf Tour's website and give the event a follow on social media.


Miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area have come together to promote the game.

The four-month event highlighting miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth area tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day, Saturday 14th May 2022 and runs until Miniature Golf Day on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

Visit Great Yarmouth

Funding from Visit Great Yarmouth/GYTABIA has helped to bring you the “Big Mini Golf Tour”.

Visit Great Yarmouth

Take a look at the Visit Great Yarmouth website to find out about all of the activities and events taking place in the seaside resort this year.

Sunday, March 06, 2022

New Adventure Golf course at The Valley Shopping Centre in Evesham

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course at The Valley Shopping Centre in Evesham, Worcestershire.


There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course at The Valley Shopping Centre in Evesham, Worcestershire

The new 18-hole Adventure Golf course would be part of a high-ropes course and zipwire attraction at the shopping centre.

Visit The Valley Shopping Centre website for more information.


The new course will be another for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Saturday, March 05, 2022

The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022 tees-off on Saturday 14th May

The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022 tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day - Saturday 14th May.


The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022 tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day - Saturday 14th May

Miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area have come together to promote the game.

The four-month event highlighting miniature golf courses across the Greater Yarmouth area tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day, Saturday 14th May 2022 and runs until Miniature Golf Day on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

More information will be available across the Big Mini Golf Tour social media channels, here on the blog and from the minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf and putting courses taking part.


The event tees-off on National Miniature Golf Day, Saturday 14th May 2022 and runs until Miniature Golf Day on Wednesday 21st September 2022.

Friday, March 04, 2022

Putter Chaos Adventure Golf opening in Middlesbrough

A new indoor adventure golf course is opening in Middlesbrough town centre.


Putter Chaos Adventure Golf opening in Middlesbrough

Construction is underway, with the course planned to open in April.

Check out the Putter Chaos Adventure Golf website for more information.


It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Monday, February 28, 2022

75 Days Until The Big Mini Golf Tour Tees-Off in Great Yarmouth

The Big Mini Golf Tour 2022 tees-off in 75 days - Adventure, Crazy and Mini Golf courses in Great Yarmouth, Clippesby, Hemsby & Gorleston-on-Sea will be taking part.


There are 75 Days Until The Big Mini Golf Tour Tees-Off in Great Yarmouth

Day one of the event is on Saturday 14th May - National Miniature Golf Day.

Visit The Big Mini Golf Tour to find out more.

There are 75 days until National Miniature Golf Day

There are just 75 days until National Miniature Golf Day 2022.


There are just 75 days until National Miniature Golf Day 2022

National Miniature Golf Day takes place on the second Saturday in May. In 2022 that is Saturday 14th May.

Monday, February 21, 2022

A Happy Shopper in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

A visit to a Happy Shopper shop in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.


We made a stopover in Wisbech while en route to Norwich last November and while there found a Happy Shopper shop!

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech
The Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech

Pleasant News on Edinburgh drive certainly lived up to its name.

The shop had one of the 'newer' Happy Shopper signs outside (the one without the Happy Shopper mascot on it), but inside was a different story.

It was like stepping back in time.

The Open/Closed sign was a classic Happy Shopper branded one.

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech
We were happy the shop was open

And the shelf fronts had branded strips on them.

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech

Chatting to the shopkeeper was nice and he told us about the shop's history and plans for the future, with his family opening a new shop on the same parade. Luckily the Happy Shopper branding at Pleasant News will be staying for the time being.

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech
I remember when those crisps were 10p a bag

Happy Shopper nostalgia

We've felt very nostalgic during the pandemic and one of the old brands from our childhood we thought about was 'Happy Shopper' - the name alone conjures up images of the 1980's.

Pleasant News Happy Shopper in Wisbech

We didn't think there would be many - or any - of the original orange and yellow branded shops still around, but we were proven wrong when we saw one in Preston in September 2020.

Since then we've been lucky enough to spot and snap a few more on our somewhat limited travels. Take a look at my posts about other Happy Shopper shops in:

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Adventure Golf at High Lodge in Suffolk

A new Adventure Golf course is being created at High Lodge in Suffolk.


A new Adventure Golf course is being created at High Lodge in Suffolk

The team behind Dinton Adventure GolfWardown Adventure Golf in Luton and Lightwater Country Park in Surrey are creating a woodland-themed Adventure Golf layout at High Lodge in Suffolk.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Saturday, February 19, 2022

A minigolf postcard from Great Yarmouth. Sent in 1927

Stepping back in time for a look at minigolf in Great Yarmouth in the 1920s.


One of the earliest miniature golf postcards I have in my collection is this one showing the Putting Green on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Putting Green, Great Yarmouth. Postcard postally used on the 11th November 1927. Publisher unknown
Putting Green, Great Yarmouth. Postcard postally used on the 11th November 1927

The postcard was sent to Hayes, Middlesex on the 11th November 1927.

You can see the Hippodrome in the left of the image and this building is still standing and is the Hippodrome Circus on St George's Road. If you visit now you'll find a row of buildings in front of the Hippodrome itself!

You will also find that there is still a minigolf course on the same spot as the Putting Green.

Castaway Island Adventure Golf on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth
Castaway Island Adventure Golf on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth in 2016

Now called Castaway Island Adventure Golf the site was an Arnold Palmer Putting Course that we played a number of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Playing the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth in June 2011
Playing the Arnold Palmer Putting Course on Marine Parade in Great Yarmouth in June 2011

It's proof, if proof were needed, that Great Yarmouth has long been a minigolf hot-spot.

Minigolf Putting in the UK

The first miniature golf course in the world was created at St Andrews in Scotland in 1867. That links course is still there.

The decades that followed saw a boom in the game with minigolf courses popping up around the country. In 1926 the first Crazy Golf course opened in England, with the layout created on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire.

Minigolf in Great Yarmouth

There are a number of brilliant mini, crazy, putting and adventure golf courses on the seafront in Great Yarmouth, as well as in the wider Greater Yarmouth areas of Gorleston-on-Sea and Hemsby.

The minigolf courses in the seaside resort will play host to the Big Mini Golf Tour - a campaign to highlight the courses in the area this Spring and Summer season.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Project Bunkerz Mini Golf in Middlesbrough

Project Bunkerz Mini Golf is opening in Middlesbrough.


Project Bunkerz Mini Golf is opening in Middlesbrough

A new indoor mini golf course is opening in Middlesbrough town centre.

Check out the Project Bunkerz website for more information.


It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour next time we're in Teesside.