A Round of Minigolf on Felixstowe's Fantasia Adventure Golf Course

Re-visiting the 7th course on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour at Fantasia Adventure Golf in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

On the 20th of August Emily and I headed back to Felixstowe, Suffolk for a day out at the seaside.

Richard on hole 6 - Evil Eye

On what was a lovely sunny day we wandered past the 9-hole Fantasia Adventure Golf course on Sea Road and saw that the coast was clear for a nice 'relaxed' game of Minigolf.

Emily putting on hole 1 - The Puzzler

It's not often we're in Felixstowe in the summer, you're more likely to find us Putting away on the indoor Magical Golf course at Mannings Amusements just down the road, while it's raining/frosty/wintery outside.

Richard playing hole 2 - The Crab

The Fantasia Adventure Golf course was the 7th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour way back on the 26th of August 2007! 

In our one-round contest Emily quickly took the lead and also managed to ace the 4th hole! It's a tricky course to score holes-in-one on so it was a pleasing shot to see.

Emily on hole 3 - Twister

Unfortunately Emily came unstuck on the 8th and was terribly unfortunate to score a dreaded seven.

Emily putts out on Evil Eye

The final score saw me win with a score of 22 to Emily's 28.

The Adventure Golf course is always worth a play and costs £2.50 for adults and £2.00 for children. It's in very good condition and has had some new tee-off spots put in place since our last visit.

Another Humpty hole

Links:

- Review at Miniaturegolfer.com

Related Blog Posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Minigolf course re-visit - Felixstowe's Fantasia Adventure Golf

- Minigolf course re-visits 5, 6, 7 & 33 and a new build

- Minigolf in Felixstowe - Fantasia Golf - Plus Irregular Mini Golf Tour Result

More Gluten Free Black Pudding

Spotting another black pudding that is suitable for Coeliacs.

While shopping in Morrisons yesterday we spotted another brand of Black Pudding that is gluten free and suitable for Coeliacs - Clonakilty Black Pudding.

Check out the Clonakilty Black Pudding website, Facebook page, Twitter feed and their YouTube Channel where you can learn how to make a "Clonakilty Black Pudding Burger"!

Looking forward to having it for breakfast :-)

Related blog posts:

- More Gluten Free Black Pudding. And a Haggis!

- Gluten Free Sausages and Black Pudding from Shaw Meats/Cumbrian Salami Company

- Coeliac

- Gluten Free

Date of the 2013 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships Announced!

2013 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships to take place in London on the 23rd of November!

The date for the 2013 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships has been announced! The big event will be taking place on Saturday 23rd of November.

Taking place at the Knights Templar Pub on Chancery Lane in London, the three hour UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships will see 250 competitors battle it out for the top prize of UK Champ, a trophy and £100 in prize money.

Emily and I have competed in a number of the Wacky Nation organised Rock Paper Scissors tournaments and always found them great fun. In the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships our team finished fourth, losing to Great Britain in the bronze medal match (we were San Marino).

Taking on football legend Neil 'Razor' Ruddock in a 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors 'friendly' match!

The reigning and defending UK RPS champion is Amy Rowe, who became the first woman to win a title that had previously been dominated by men hailing from Woking!

You can find out more about the 2013 event on the UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships and Wacky Nation websites.

Links:

- Wacky Nation

- 2013 UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships

- Rock Paper Scissors related blog posts

Revisiting the Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf course

Replaying the 18-hole Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf course in Dorset.

In early July we were back in Boscombe, Dorset for the first time in a few years. In 2009 we'd played the Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf course at the BMGA British Doubles Championship.

At the time the course became the 108th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Photos of the 18-hole course (July 2013).

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 1

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 2

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 3

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 4

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 5

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 6

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 6 - the Pipe

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 6 - the Green

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 7

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 8

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 9

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 9 - the Green

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 10

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 11

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 12

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 13

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 14

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 15

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 16

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 17

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf - Hole 18

Prior to this year's BMGA British Matchplay Championships Emily faced-off against her Cambridgeshire Mini Golf Club team-mate Seth 'Sethers' Thomas in the CMGC Matchplay Championship.

Emily Putting on hole 4

In game one Emily took the victory 1-up. Game two saw Seth take a 3&2 win while the decider saw Seth edge a 1-up victory to take the series win and the CMGC Matchplay Championship title.

Seth tackles hole 6

Local character Mick 'The Man' Gisbourne was also in residence at the Boscombe Chine Gardens course during the championship weekend and played against Emily and Seth in 'The Boscombe Jiggle' competition.

Seth leading the way in the three-player event

In the one-round contest Seth won with a round of 36(par), Emily was second with a 40(+4) and Mick The Man was third with a round of 48(+12).

Mick The Man has a tricky and long second shot coming up in 'The Boscombe Jiggle' contest

The Boscombe Mini Golf course is in a nice location and easily accessible (it's also a stop on the Bournemouth to Boscombe Land Train). Well worth a play if you're in the area.

The floral train at Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf course in Dorset

Emily was third in the 2013 BMGA British Matchplay Championships and fellow Minigolfer Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd was keen to inspect her winnings after the competition!

Stop! Thief!

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf Course Visit No. 108 - Boscombe Chine Gardens

- Crazy world of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- Boscombe Chine Mini Golf

Crazy Golf, Putting and Pitch & Putt at Cafe Riva in Southbourne, Dorset

A re-visit to the Crazy Golf course at Cafe Riva in Southbourne, Dorset.

Crazy Golf at Cafe Riva in Southbourne

On our trip to the Dorset coast Emily and I had a wander to Southbourne to have a look at the updated Crazy Golf course.

The newly felted and refurbed Crazy Golf at Cafe Riva in Southbourne

Back in June 2009 we'd played the course (#109) and found it to be a poor Minigolf experience. The course was in a terrible shape.

Some of the old obstacles remain, like this BIG yellow thing

Happily it looks a lot better now and while we didn't have time to play it this time around I'm happy to report from our fellow Minigolf tourists Paul & Owen Johnson that it is much more fun to play now.

Cafe Riva now also has two other Miniature Golf courses on the site - a Putting course and a Pitch & Putt.

Putting, Crazy Golf, Pitch & Putt, Drinks and Ice Cream - a great seaside mix :-)

Southbourne's Pitch & Putt

Southbourne's Putting course

We've now visited a total of 533 Minigolf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf Course Visit No. 109 - Southbourne / Fisherman's Walk

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Links:

- Cafe Riva

Mini Golf in Bournemouth's Lower Gardens

Revisiting the Lower Gardens Mini Golf course in Bournemouth, Dorset. 

The 107th course played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was the 18-hole Mini Golf course at the Lower Gardens in Bournemouth, Dorset and in July 2013 we revisited the course while in the area for the BMGA British Matchplay Championships that were to be played in nearby Boscombe.

Richard at Bournemouth's Lower Gardens Mini Golf course

In June 2009 we had a round on the incredibly busy course, which happened to be Emily's 100th course visit overall, and Emily defeated me by one-shot with a 39(+3) to 40(+4) scoreline.

Photos of the course (July 2013).

The course location is one of the oldest sites of Miniature Golf in the UK. According to information on a board near the course a Putting Green was introduced to the Lower Gardens in 1931 and the present Mini Golf course was extensively remodelled in 2007.

Interestingly there also used to be a Putting Green in the Central Gardens, but the was removed and replaced with a children's play area in 2009.

Related Blog Posts:

- Minigolf Course Visit No. 107 - Lower Gardens, Bournemouth

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour - List and links for all Miniature Golf courses visited to date

Links:

- Bournemouth Borough Council website for the Lower Gardens Mini Golf with details of opening times and prices

Luton Borough Council's 'Informal Outdoor Sports Survey'

I spotted in the latest issue of Luton-at-Large magazine that Luton Borough Council has a current consultation on the playing of sports and games in Luton's parks.

The 'Informal Outdoor Sports Survey' is seeking feedback on park use in the town and would like to know whether people are playing football or cricket, or even crazy golf!

The survey itself mentions 'Mini-golf'.

On our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Emily and I have visited and played six Miniature Golf courses in (and a little bit around) Luton. The first of the Luton Borough Council courses was the 9-hole Crazy Golf course in the town's Wardown Park.

Related blog posts:

- Luton

- Crazy Golf & Minigolf Courses in and around Luton, Bedfordshire

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:

- Luton Borough Council
- Luton Borough Council - Parks and Recreation

- Playing pitch strategy for Luton

- Informal Outdoor Sports Survey