The Gazeway 'All-Weather' Miniature Golf Course

Finding out about The Gazeway 'All-Weather' Miniature Golf Course from a minigolf postcard.

Emily and I enjoy a good mystery and after Emily found a great old minigolf postcard while browsing at the Room at the Top antique shop in Stockport Market's Produce Hall we had another bit of minigolf history to research.

The undated and postally unused card shows Room at The Gazeway 'All-Weather' Miniature Golf Course. A quick online search for this term returned no results!

The reverse of the postcard was no help

Luckily after a bit more digging we found details of the course in a 1930 issue of The Graphic magazine.

The Gazeway 'All-Weather' Miniature Golf Course was created by the company W.H. Gaze in 1930 and was located in Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey. The course was part of an old house on Portsmouth Road which the firm modernised, refurbished and furnished to showcase what the business did.

The company had its own miniature golf section, overseen by Mr H. C. Gaze and the Kingston-on-Thames course was created by a Captain G. B. Mallett - himself responsible for minigolf courses in Vancouver and Los Angeles.

Dating from 1930 the Gazeway 'All-Weather' Miniature Golf Course was one of the earliest artificial layouts in the UK. The first Crazy Golf course in England was created in Skegness in 1926.

At the time miniature golf was experiencing a boom period as the latest craze took hold. Portable and temporary courses could be found popping up in a number of different locations, including on the roof at Selfridges in London.

As is so often the case, history repeats itself and we're currently experiencing a high level of new course openings, as well as refurbishment of old courses and enjoyment of the more than 600 layouts in the UK.

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Miniature Golf

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Crazy Golf in Maryport

Visiting the Crazy Golf course at the Lake District Coast Aquarium in Maryport.

On our big minigolf roadtrip to Scotland and back in 2012 we visited a lot of courses. One of those was the Swedish Felt B-Run type of Crazy Golf course at the Lake District Coast Aquarium in Maryport. Unfortunately we arrived ten minutes after it closed at 5pm so didn't get to play.

The sign for the course is made out of the 'green' of one of the holes - we hadn't seen that before, or since

The Crazy Golf course at the Lake District Coast Aquarium

The Maryport Crazy Golf course became the 469th course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when we visited on the 5th April 2012.

Instructions, prices and The Rules

 

  

Visit the Lake District Coast Aquarium website for more information.

Related blog posts:
- Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland
- Unplayed Minigolf Courses on our Roadtrip to Scotland & Back
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- Lake District Coast Aquarium website

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.

Tripe in Stockport

A blog post about tripe and the Tripe Marketing Board.

Ever since I first spotted tripe on a butcher's stall at Wigan Market in 2012 I've been following the Tripe Marketing Board with interest. Although not enough interest to have actually given tripe a go. Yet. I'm fairly certain that cow's stomach is something of an acquired taste.

While shopping in Stockport's Produce Hall at the indoor market last weekend I spotted tripe for sale at Deli Delights. The first I've seen since moving to the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport last summer.

Thick seam tripe - a deli delight!

The Tripe Marketing Board tell me that up until the 1960s you could find hundreds of tripe shops throughout Lancashire, with many of the shops run by United Cattle Products (UCP) and offering nose-to-tail food at the attached cafes and restaurants.

The country's last remaining Tripe Shop is in Stalybridge. I'll have to go there when I eventually get round to travelling on the once a week Parliamentary one-way rail service from Stockport to Stalybridge.

Back in December we were in Leeds and saw that there was a new Tripe Counter at Ramsdens Fishmongers at Leeds Kirkgate Market!

What a lot of tripe!

I've also seen tripe for sale in Bolton and Blackpool.

Tripe in Bolton

Tripe in Blackpool

The Tripe Marketing Board are dedicated to educating the public about eating tripe as part of a healthy, balanced diet. The Tripe Marketing Board was an industry-wide response to the continuing post-war decline in tripe sales in the UK. This was due to the ending of rationing, increasing affluence and a widespread perception that it is not fit for human consumption.

Visit the Tripe Marketing Board website for more information about tripe. You can also use Tripe Adviser to locate sellers of the delicacy.

Links:
- Tripe Marketing Board website
- Tripe Marketing Board on Twitter
- Tripe Marketing Board on Facebook
- Stockport Market

Related blog posts:
- Marketing
- Stockport
- Food

Crazy Golf and Putting at Bude Haven Recreation Ground

Playing Crazy Golf at Bude Haven Recreation Ground in Cornwall.

On the 10th June 2015 we visited Bude Haven Recreation Ground to play the Crazy Golf course there. We also found there were two grass Putting Greens at the venue.

In our game on the Crazy Golf course I won with a score of 20 to Emily's 21.

Spikey

Snakey

Funny bunny

The Crazy Golf course at Bude Haven Recreation Ground was the 53rd visited on our south west holiday. It was the 652nd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 379th played since September 2006.

Bude Haven Recreation Ground was certainly well signposted - something that is always nice to see.

We didn't have time to play the two Putting courses there, but they looked in very good condition.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

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.

Making it a level playing field for Crazy Golfers in Hastings

Launch of new specially adapted putters specifically for seated players at Hastings Adventure Golf.

Keeping an eye on all things minigolf-related I recently noticed that the team at Hastings Adventure Golf had been trialing some new equipment and innovations to help more people play the great game - including the launch of new putters so more people can enjoy the game.

Close up of the tiltable putter head

The mobility friendly putters available at Hastings Adventure Golf have a hinge joint at the bottom, allowing for convenient positioning for every shot. The putters also feature a ‘ball retriever’ that fits on the end of the putter grip. This makes it easy to retrieve the ball from a hole - great for wheelchair users and equally helpful to anyone with back issues - as it eliminates the need to bend down.

The golf ball collector in action

The new putters are a neat touch. When we've played in minigolf tournaments - many of which take place in Hastings - we've used ball-suckers on the end of our putters to save us bending to get the ball out of the hole each time. So to provide a convenient method for players of all abilities to do this is a great way to make the game more accessible.

Terry and Karen Avery trialling the mobility-friendly putters on the Pirate Adventure Golf course in Hastings

Terry Avery, a wheelchair user from Hastings, took the new putters for a test drive and gave his feedback to the team at Hastings Adventure Golf “I really liked the club, it gave me much better control and made it a lot easier to play. The tilting head meant I could adjust the lower part as suited. I was also impressed by the ball collector on the top of the club as this enabled me to play independently. We have grandchildren and now I know that Hastings Adventure golf have these putters I look forward to coming down in the summer and enjoying a round with them.”

Chris Richards, of Hastings Adventure Golf said “Our 18 hole Pirate course at the complex is wheelchair and pushchair friendly, but we also want everyone to be able to play too! After carrying out onsite research we have now acted on our findings. On occasions in the past, individuals with a disability have struggled with the traditional club so our investment in mobility-friendly putters makes the game of minigolf not only accessible but also a level playing field for all.”

Located on the sea front, Hastings Adventure Golf is home to three miniature golf courses, including a classic Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course.

Playing in the World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings

We've played the three courses at Hastings Adventure Golf countless times since our first visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2007.

Check out the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more information, prices and opening times.

Links:
- Hastings Adventure Golf website
- Hastings Adventure Golf on Facebook

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

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.