Happy Halloween 2016

Ah, Halloween. The one day of the year when being a Coeliac Disease victim pays dividends. I'll never tire of 'dressing up' as Patient Zero. What a costume.

Not brown bread yet

Related blog posts:
- Halloween
- Coeliac Disease
- Gluten - my Kryptonite
- What a perfect Crazy Golf obstacle for a Coeliac
- Funny things about being a Coeliac

Blackpool Pleasure Beach Express Miniature Railway

A forgotten miniature railway ride from our archives.

The Pleasure Beach Express steams ahead

Unfortunately I couldn't find any photos of the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Monorail in our photo archive for my previous blog post. However, I did see that we had a ride on the Pleasure Beach Express Miniature Railway back in 2008!

One of the other trains at the Pleasure Beach Express station

The train ride gives you a whistle-stop tour of the park

A view of the monorail track running through the Pleasure Beach

Into a tunnel on the Pleasure Beach Express

We first visited Blackpool together in April 2008 when we headed to the resort to compete in the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open minigolf tournament on the park's new Adventure Golf course on the promenade. It was a brilliant trip with plenty of great memories. We returned the following year when I won the tournament!

Related blog posts:
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach 
- Miniature Railways

Link:
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach

The Blackpool Pleasure Beach Monorail

Spotting a disused monorail line in Blackpool.

In amongst the many many many different things I like to spot are monorails. On our recent trip to Blackpool I actually walked under one without realising. It was only when Emily mentioned that it looked like it wasn't used any more and pointed it out that I saw it.

The Blackpool Pleasure Beach Monorail was decommissioned in 2012 by which time there was only one station left on the loop. The ride ended its time as a sightseeing tour of the Pleasure Beach rather than an actual transportation system as it was when it first opened in 1966.

There is a claim that the Blackpool Pleasure Beach Monorail was the UK's first commercial monorail system. A claim also held by Butlin's - whose own monorail opened at the Skegness Holiday Camp in 1965.

Unfortunately I couldn't find any photos of us on the Monorail - or the ride in action - in our archives from trips to Blackpool in 2008 and and 2009. But I did find some other great photos that I'd forgotten all about!

Luckily there is still a monorail to ride in Blackpool - the indoor Pirate Flyer at Coral Island.

In the meantime check out this blog post about the monorail we got to ride at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach this summer.

Related blog posts:
- Monorail
- Blackpool

Link:
- Blackpool Pleasure Beach

Mini Golf at Puckpool Park on the Isle of Wight

A visit to the 12-hole Mini Golf Garden at Puckpool Park in Ryde.

Puckpool Park's Mini Golf Garden - Built in 2006 by the owners of Puckpool Tea Gardens

While on a recent trip to the Isle of Wight we managed to play a course that we didn't have time to on our only previous visit to the island back in 2009.

A view of the Mini Golf Garden from up the hill next to it

In our match-up on the Puckpool Park 'Mini Golf Garden' course I picked up the victory with a score of 30. Emily was runner-up with a round of 33, with Cat Patterson in bronze with a score of 39.

A nice straight shot was required on this tough hole

A tricky second shot

Emily tapping home a shot

The sign at the gates also said there was Putting in the park as well. We couldn't see any though.

There's lots to do in Puckpool Park. As well as the Crazy Golf course we also had a look at the Mortar Battery Emplacements

Could this be where the Putting course should be?

We did however see a sign for Petanque. They've got a very nice terrain there. And a Petanque team.

If we'd had more time we'd have had a game of Petanque. A fine sport

The Petanque Terrain / Boules Piste at Puckpool Park

All in all Puckpool Park was a nice spot for a round of fun minigolf. We'd play there again.

We played the course in some nice weather. But there'd obviously been quite a lot of rain earlier in the day

The Puckpool Park Mini Golf Garden was the 415th course we've played and the 705th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

At course number 705

We've played a lot of types of minigolf over the years, but the Puckpool Park course was the first we'd seen called a 'Mini Golf Garden'.

Emily about to get a two from a tricky spot. And during a light mid-round shower

Photos of the 12-hole Mini Golf Garden at Puckpool Park.

Hole 1

Hole 1 - Green

Hole 2

Hole 2 - Green

Hole 3 - loop-di-loop

Hole 3 - the tyre loop and green

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 5 - Green

Hole 6

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7 - Easter Island

Hole 8

Hole 8 - Green

Hole 9

Hole 9

Hole 10

Hole 10 - Green

Hole 11

Hole 11 - Green

Hole 12

Hole 12 - Green

Video:
- Hole in one at Puckpool Park

Related blog posts:
- Isle of Wight
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- The Old Barracks at Puckpool Park

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Blackpool's Smallest Pub - The Mitre

We recently visited another pub with a small claim to fame - that of being Blackpool's Smallest Public House.

A nice spot for a quick drink away from the crush of the illuminations crowd

A BIG claim - but not the smallest pub we've been to recently

It became The Mitre pub in 1902

And was formerly known as 'Ye Old Glue Pot'!

You can find the cosy boozer just off the seafront on West Street.

The had a dartboard at the pub, but even if it hadn't had a Halloween decoration on it we'd have been squeezed for space to chuck some arrers

Related blog posts:
- Pubs
- Blackpool
- The Corner Bar in Stockport Market
- A visit to the Smallest Pub on the Planet
- The Lakeside Inn at Southport, Britain's Smallest Pub