Mini Golf in the South West of England

Visiting 62 more miniature golf courses on a tour of the South West of England.

We've been on some big road-trips in the past few years and this summer we had a brilliant two-week holiday around the coast of South West England.

At Gilmores Golf in Newquay, part-way through our mammoth road-trip around the South West coast of England

During our time away we visited the milestone 600th course. The Jurassic Adventure Golf course at the Santa-Fe Fun Park in Swanage, Dorset became the 364th course played when we visited on Sunday 31st May.

Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage

Two weeks later we visited Mini Golf course number 661 at Vivary Park in Taunton, Somerset. The 18-hole course was the 380th we've played since the tour began in September 2006, and the 17th played on our holiday.

Mini Golf in Vivary Park, Taunton

We got into playing minigolf after making a resolution in 2006 to visit as much of the UK's coast and on this trip we reached 227 seasides visited. We're looking forward to our next holiday already.

Here's the list of the 62 courses we visited in Dorset, Devon, Cornwall and Somerset:
• Swanage (Santa Fe Fun Park) - Jurassic Adventure Golf - 600th course visited overall
• Lyme Regis (Lister Gardens) - Crazy Golf

The Lister Gardens Mini Golf course in Lyme Regis

• Seaton - Grass Putting Green
• Oak Mead Family Golf Centre - Grass Putting Green
• Oak Mead Family Golf Centre - Pitch and Putt
• Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth (Thorne Park Golf Centre) - Crazy Golf

Putting on the Crazy Golf course at Thorne Park Golf Centre near Sidmouth

• Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth (Thorne Park Golf Centre) - Grass Putting Green
• Salcombe Regis, near Sidmouth (Thorne Park Golf Centre) - Pitch and Putt
• Sidmouth (The Victoria Hotel) - Grass Putting Green
• Sidmouth (The Belmont Hotel) - Grass Putting Green
• Sidmouth (The Triangle / Coburg Fields) - Grass Putting Green
• Exmouth (Seafront) - Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf
• Exmouth (Seafront) - Grass Putting Green
• Exmouth (The Imperial Hotel) - Grass Putting Green
• Dawlish Warren (Funderland) - Adventure Golf

A crazy hole on the Funderland Adventure Golf course in Dawlish Warren

• Dawlish (Station Road) - Swedish Felt B-Run Mini Golf
• Teignmouth (Sea Front) - Jurassic Adventure Golf

The Adventure Golf course in Teignmouth

• Torquay (The Imperial Hotel) - Crazy Golf

Our hotel in Torquay had a Crazy Golf course - what a bonus!

• Torquay (Torre Abbey Gardens) - Jungle Journey Adventure Golf
• Paignton (Sea Front) - Pirates Bay Adventure Golf
• Paignton (Junior Browns) - UV Indoor Crazy Golf - course removed from venue
• Goodrington Sands, Paignton - Beton Mini Golf - 600th course visited in the UK

The Goodrington Sands Beton Mini Golf course in Paignton

• Roundham Head, Goodrington Sands, Paignton - Pitch and Putt
• Torquay (Torre Abbey Gardens) - Pitch and Putt
• Dartmouth (near Higher Ferry) - Grass Putting course
• Plymouth (The Hoe) - Grass Putting course
• Plymouth (West Hoe Park) - Treasure Island Adventure Golf
• St Martins (Parkdean Looe Bay Holiday Park) - Crazy Golf
• Looe (Looe Bowling Club, Marine Drive) - Upper Grass Putting course
• Looe (Looe Bowling Club, Marine Drive) - Lower Grass Putting course

Looe Bowling Club in Cornwall is home to two grass Putting courses with some great views

• St Austell (Kidzworld Cornwall, Stadium Retail Park) - Mini Golf
• Swanpool, Falmouth (Swanpool Park) - Crazy Golf

The Crazy Golf course in Swanpool Park, Falmouth is in a great spot

• Falmouth (Gyllyngvase Beach) - Crazy Golf - now part of a garden
• Penzance (The Alexandra Inn) - pub beer garden Crazy Golf

The beer garden of The Alexandra Inn, Penzance has a 17-hole Crazy Golf course in it!

• St Ives (Porthminster Beach) - Grass Putting course
• St Ives (Porthmeor Beach) - Grass Putting course
• St Erth (Penwith Pitch and Putt) - Crazy Golf

The Penwith Pitch & Putt centre in St Erth, near St Ives, has a very bright and colourful Crazy Golf course

• St Erth (Penwith Pitch and Putt) - Pitch and Putt
• Perranporth (Boating Lake) - Grass Putting course
• Newquay (Gilmores Golf) - Beton Crazy Mini Golf

Playing the Beton Mini Golf course at Gilmores Golf in Newquay

• Newquay (Trenance Gardens) - Crazy Golf

The Trenance Gardens Crazy Golf course in Newquay

• Newquay (Trenance Gardens) - Pitch and Putt
• Newquay (Killacourt) - Grass Putting course - out of season
• Newquay (Tolcarne Beach) - Crazy Golf - course on the cliff has been removed
• Newquay (Narrowcliff, near Tolcarne Beach) - Crazy Golf - hut remains, no course evident
• Newquay (The Headland Hotel, near Fistral Beach) - Grass Putting course
• Porth Island, Newquay (Krazy Golf at Newquay Football Golf) - Crazy Golf

Putting at the Krazy Golf course on Porth Island, Newquay

• Mawgan Porth - Crazy Golf
• Mawgan Porth - Pitch and Putt
• Berryfields Holiday Park, Porthcothan Bay - Crazy Golf
• Padstow (Greens Cafe) - Crazy Golf - 650th course visited overall

Playing a Pyramid hole in Padstow

• Padstow (Greens Cafe) - Grass Putting / Pitch and Putt
• Bude (Bude Haven Recreation Ground) - Crazy Golf

A snakey hole in Bude

• Bude (Bude Haven Recreation Ground) - Grass Putting Green 1
• Bude (Bude Haven Recreation Ground) - Grass Putting Green 2
• Bude (Crooklets Beach) - Pitch and Putt
• Westward Ho! - Putting course on a signpost - not found
• Westward Ho! (Pebble Ridge) - Pirate Adventure Golf
• Woolacombe (The Bay Hotel) - Mini Golf (Pitch and Putt)
• Woolacombe (Funderland) - 15-hole Adventure Golf
• Ilfracombe (The Promenade) - Crazy Golf
• Taunton (Vivary Park) - Mini Golf

It wasn't possible to stop at, or play all of the mini, crazy and adventure golf courses, or all the putting greens and pitch & putts we saw on this trip, or those we'd heard about beforehand.

On Broad Road in Swanage there is a piece of parkland that overlooks the bay and pier. This area has appeared on many postcards over the years and used to be home to a grass Miniature Golf course.

The Parkdean Holiday Park in West Bay, near Bridport used to have a Crazy Golf course. We checked, it's no longer there.

After we'd played the Crazy Golf course in Lister Gardens in Lyme Regis we noticed on the town map that the gardens are also home to a grass Putting Green. We had noticed a two-tier patch of land near to the course, but it wasn't laid out for putting. Perhaps it was too early in the season.

This year the Ladram Bay Holiday Park has created a Jurassic Adventure Golf course at the site in Otterton near Budleigh Salterton. We didn't get a chance to play it. Charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Christopher Gottfried did visit the course on a trip to Devon last year.

On that trip Christopher also visited Paignton and spotted a Crazy Golf course on the pier. On our visit we saw it had been removed. There were trampolines instead. The stroll along the pier wasn't all for naught though as I got to have a go on a Hillbilly Shooting Shack.

It's not minigolf, but it's a seaside classic - a Hillbilly Shooting Shack on Paignton Pier

Other Crazy Golf courses we had to skip on this trip due to time constraints are at:
- Pecorama Games, Gardens and Trains in Beer
- Exmouth World of Country Life
- Babbacombe Model Village
- Holywell Bay Fun Park
- Lappa Valley Steam Railway
- Old MacDonald's Farm and Bed & Breakfast
- Bideford Atlantic Village
- Devon Railway Centre

There are also quite a few more miniature golf courses at holiday camps, caravan parks and hotels in the area.

Thanks to everyone for their tips and hints about places to visit on the trip, and special mentions to Tim 'Ace Man' Davies for his excellent course list on MiniatureGolfer.com, Jam Trubridge, Matt Dodd, Helen Dodd, Chris Harding, and Christopher Gottfried.

There'll be more blog posts about the courses we visited in the coming weeks so watch this space!

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Dorset
- Devon
- Cornwall
- Somerset

Videos:
- Crazy Golf Hole in One at the Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage
- Mini Golf Hole in One at the Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage
- Crazy Golf in Lyme Regis, Dorset
- Mini Golf in Lyme Regis, Dorset
- Mini Golf Hole-in-One at The Imperial Hotel in Torquay
- Crazy Golf Hole-in-One at The Alexandra Inn, Penzance 
- Playing Krazy Golf on Porth Island, Newquay

New Minigolf course opening in Peterborough

New Mini Golf course opening at Dobbies Garden Centre in Peterborough.

A view of the Peterborough Minigolf course from our visit in July 2015

A brand new miniature golf course is opening in August 2015 - Peterborough Minigolf.

The team at Peterborough Minigolf are working with course designers and builders UrbanCrazy to create a 12-hole course, with a 'Lucky 13th' hole where you can try to win a free game.

We've played a number of UrbanCrazy's courses on our tour and always enjoyed the look and playability of them.

My favourite hole of the Barnard Castle Mini Golf course designed and built by UrbanCrazy. Here's a video of me getting a hole-in-one on it

The new 12-hole course will be at Dobbies Garden Centre in Peterborough and the Grand Opening is on Saturday 1st August. For more information visit the Peterborough Minigolf website and the links below.

Links:
- Peterborough Minigolf website
- Peterborough Minigolf on Facebook
- Peterborough Minigolf on Twitter
- UrbanCrazy website
- Dobbies Garden Centre, Peterborough
- The UrbanCrazy World Of Miniature Golf

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Peterborough
- Playing the Peterborough Minigolf course

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Manston Adventure Golf in Kent

New Adventure Golf course opening at Manston Golf Centre in Kent.

This month sees a new Adventure Golf course opening in Thanet, Kent. This new 18-hole layout will feature cannons, pirates, dinosaurs and a volcano!

For more information and photos of the new minigolf course as it nears completion check out the Manston Adventure Golf Facebook page.

My fellow pro minigolfer, friend, rival, sometimes doubles team-mate, and local lad Scott 'Donkey Gringo' Lancley has been along for a sneaky peek and enjoyed his first look and play of the half-pirate/half-jurassic course.

The Adventure Golf course is due to open on Saturday 27th June and you'll be able to find it at Manston Golf Centre, Manston Road, Manston, Kent, CT12 5BE.

Links:
- Manston Adventure Golf on Facebook
- Manston Golf Centre website

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

Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf in Chingford

There's a new Adventure Golf course opening in Chingford, London - Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf!

The 18-hole course is scheduled to open at the end of July 2015.

You can find out more about the course, opening times and prices on the Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf website. You can subscribe to the Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf newsletter on the site too.

You'll be able to find the prehistoric adventure golf course on the Southend Road (A406), Chingford, Waltham Forest, London, E4 8TA.

The team behind the course also created the Moby Adventure Golf course in Chadwell Heath, Romford. We played that layout on out tour last June.

The theming in Chingford will be different to that in Romford

Links:
- Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf website
- Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf on Twitter
- Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf on Facebook

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London
- Minigolf and Crazy Golf in Essex

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Another Luton

Visiting our third 'Luton'.

Luton in Devon

On our recent holiday we visited Devon and en route to Teignmouth from Dawlish we had to pop into one of the other places in the UK called 'Luton'. This one is near Newton Abbot.

All of the road signs on the way said Luton was 1 and a half miles away!

Look! There's another one

And another!

One of the two approach roads to Luton in Devon. Heading away from this Luton on the way to Teignmouth we had to drive across a golf course - that was interesting

The village sign was partially obscured by a hedge and stinging nettles. It was purely by chance that we spotted it too. Driving into this Luton we didn't see any signs, but after we'd driven through the village I did a three point turn near a farm on Fore Street and there it was!

'Home' again

Back in April 2012 we visited Luton in Chatham, Kent. That's little more than a street. We drove by that Luton again last year.

The only road sign we saw for Luton in Kent showed it was one mile away

There's another Luton in Devon, near Honiton. We didn't have time to visit on our road-trip, but next time we're down that way we're going to pop along for a look.

I'm originally from Oxford and on a road-trip to Scotland and back in 2012 we spotted an Oxford in Northumberland.

Related blog posts:
- Luton

Link:
- Luton, Devon on Wikipedia

Jurassic Adventure Golf in Swanage

Visiting the 600th miniature golf course on our tour.

The Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage

The Crazy Golfing part of our two-week road-trip around the South West coast of England began in Swanage, Dorset on Sunday 31st May with a visit to the Jurassic Adventure Golf course at the Santa-Fe Fun Park on the seafront.

You can find the course just above the seafront

The course became the landmark 600th visited by us on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006!

The Minigolf Explorers at the 600th course visit on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

It's a well themed layout with looped music from a certain film playing throughout your round. Check out the photos from our visit below.

In our minigolf match on the course I defeated Emily with a score of 34 to 39. I managed to notch up four holes-in-one and we both managed to score an ace on the tricky looking, but pleasing to play 18th hole.

You can find the 18-hole Jurassic Adventure Golf course at the Santa-Fe Adventure Park on Swanage seafront (Mermond Place or Shore Road, BH19 1DG). The cost of a round for adults was £4.00. As a bonus the winner of the game receives a medal! That's a real nice touch.

We really enjoyed our stay in Swanage. It's a great little seaside town with plenty to see and do.

Swanage in Dorset. A lovely seaside town

Visiting and playing crazy golf courses stems from our love of travelling around the UK. We began visiting different seasides when we got our first car in 2006 and after a trip to Southsea we found the MiniatureGolfer website where there were around 600 minigolf courses listed around the UK.

Our travels have also taken us overseas and we've visited a total of 21 courses outside the UK, which means that the 600th UK-specific course visit would be made during our South West of England road-trip too! Watch This Space...

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- From the Vault - Southsea Minigolf 2006
- A Minigolf Visit to Wonderland in Telford (visit #500 in July 2012)
- Nearing the landmark 600th minigolf course visit on our tour

Videos:
- Emily scoring a hole-in-one at the Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage
- Richard scoring a hole-in-one at the Jurassic Adventure Golf course in Swanage

Like the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on Facebook, check out our YouTube channel and follow me and Emily on Twitter.

Gluten Free in Plymouth

On our recent holiday in the South West of England we had a very nice time in Plymouth - especially as we were able to have a three-course meal together!

Ahead of our trip Emily and I had researched potential places to eat because dining out as a Coeliac can be a bl**dy nightmare. Thankfully we'd found at least two 100% gluten free places in Plymouth. One of which we'd booked a table at for dinner. We weren't disappointed.

A happy Coeliac diner

The Galley is the restaurant part of the The Maritime Inn in The Barbican area of Plymouth and the food there is brilliant.

The Crab Cakes were delicious

  

The meal was finished off with the Homemade Profiterole - it was MASSIVE!

Check out the menu online - all of the food is freshly prepared and there is NO gluten in the food or kitchen. This meant I was able to try some of Emily's meal too. The BBQ Chicken Wings were great.

The Galley gluten free restaurant in Plymouth gets the thumbs up from me

You can find The Galley at The Maritime Inn, 19 Southside Street, Barbican, Plymouth, PL1 2LD. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday. Visit The Galley website for more information. The pub had a nice and friendly atmosphere and we enjoyed a few Gin & Tonics there after the meal.

We'd heard about The Galley from my fellow Coeliac Blogger Kevin Gollop's blog - Gluten Free by the Sea - the site is well worth a read and really good if you're heading down that way.

Earlier in the day I'd treated myself to a Chicken Pie and a Rocky Road Bar from The Ladybird Bakery in the Market. Another top tip from Kevin. I was well and truly stuffed by the end of the day - in a good way, which makes a change.

And elsewhere in the South West...

While we were away for a two week break I only managed to have nine hot meals. That's including breakfasts in the hotels and B&Bs we'd booked where breakfast was included (on these occasions I ordered the 'safe' option of boiled eggs - and even then my order was only right twice!?).

Other meals out included a very nice dinner at The Black Swan Inn in Swanage, a tasty late lunch in The Cobb Arms in Lyme Regis, takeaway fish & chips at Rockfish in Torquay and Brown's in Perranporth (and a horrific and eye-opening experience of how NOT to serve gluten free fish & chips in Dawlish - I didn't eat what I was served), and a meal out in Torquay (where I got glutened).

I did manage to find some gluten free pasties by Baked to Taste - in Dorset and Devon, but not in Cornwall!

There were some other places we noticed on the trip that had 'gluten free' options. But these were not safe for Coeliacs due to cross-contamination.

So it's absolutely marvellous when we find places that are really serious about serving safe (and tasty) gluten free food to people on strict and lifelong gluten free diets because of Coeliac Disease.

Links:
- Gluten Free by the Sea
- The Galley
- The Ladybird Bakery
- Coeliac UK

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Buzzworks Scottish Open Putting Championship in Prestwick

Putting Plus miniature golf course in Prestwick to host the Buzzworks Scottish Open Putting Championship.

John Hunter at the Putting Plus Putting Green in Prestwick, Scotland has let me know that the course will be hosting the Inaugural Scottish Open Putting Championship on the weekend of the 1st and 2nd August 2015.

The first-ever Scottish Open Putting Championship is sponsored by Buzzworks and there is a £1000 prize up for grabs (conditions apply, please see the poster, or contact the organisers for details).

The Buzzworks Scottish Open Putting Championship tees-off with qualification on Saturday 1st August, with the final taking place on Sunday 2nd.

The competition is open to all. Check out the Putting Plus Facebook page for more information about the event.

Good luck to all the competitors taking part. It's always great to see new minigolf competitions being set-up.

You can find the seafront Putting Green on Prestwick's Promenade.

A view of the Prestwick Putting Course in 2014

Links:

- Putting Plus on Facebook
- Putting Plus on Google+
- Buzzworks

Related blog posts:
- Golf Putting Green in Prestwick
- UK Mini Golf Competitions in 2015

Adventure Golf Island's Wednesday Night League

Adventure Golf Island at Fife Leisure Park in Dunfermline, Scotland is starting up a new Minigolf League this week.

Emily and I played the Adventure Golf Island courses in 2012

From Wednesday 17 June players players will be able to compete in a weekly league night at Adventure Golf Island with the chance to win up to £50.

Every Wednesday competitors will play both the Treasure Island and Pirates Cove courses. For more information check out the Adventure Golf Island Facebook page.

League nights are great fun and it's nice to see a course putting together a regular competition.

Back in 2008 I played in the Star City Adventure Golf League in Birmingham where I finished the season as runner-up.

Adventure Golf Island will also be hosting a British Minigolf Association tournament on Sunday 28 June. The third edition of the Scottish Open will be played on both courses with an 8.30am tee-off time. More information is available on the BMGA website.

The Adventure Golf Island courses were the 294th and 295th courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2012 while we were on a roadtrip exploring the north west of England, some of Scotland and the north east coast.

Emily playing the Adventure Golf Island course on our tour of Scotland

Links:
- Adventure Golf Island website
- Adventure Golf Island on Twitter
- Adventure Golf Island on Facebook

Shibden Park Crazy Golf course

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd for sending along these photos of the 4-hole(!) Crazy Golf course at Shibden Park in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

The course costs 50p a go - for which you get to play the four-holes three times each.

Brad's a frugal sort of character and wasn't swayed by the price of a round, so I've no idea what the course plays like. If we're up that way we'll swing by to have a look and a quick play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The UK's first Gluten Free BBQ Meal Deal on Ocado

Special Gluten Free Barbecue Meal Deal announced by CELIA Lager.

The team at CELIA Lager have let me know about a new barbecue meal deal they've set up with some other gluten free brands.

Until the 30th June 2015 you can order the UK's first Gluten Free BBQ Meal Deal on Ocado.

For £15 you'll get 4 burgers, 4 buns and 4 bottles of beer. The price is a saving of over 20%.

Obviously I've tried CELIA Lager before (although I haven't had the new CELIA Dark yet) and I've eaten many Genius gluten free products, but I hadn't heard of Dee's or Muddy Boots until this deal.

Find out more about the offer at the Gluten Free Burger Meal Deal for £15 on the Ocado website, and the brands on the links below.

Emily and I are always looking for new gluten and wheat free brands and recently found some savoury treats on our holiday on the south west coast. When we came home we noticed that some of those products (and a few others) are on sale via Ocado. We'll be looking to do an order...

Links:
- CELIA Lager
- Genius
- Dee's
- Muddy Boots
- Ocado

Related blog posts:
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac
- CELIA Lager
- Genius Gluten Free