Minigolf at Dobbies Garden Centre in Peterborough

A look at the Peterborough Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre.

While traveling around East Anglia last week we stayed over the road from Dobbies Garden Centre in the Hampton area of Peterborough. We had to call in to check out the Peterborough Miniolf course there.

Time has flown since we played it back in July 2015.

The course was the 382nd played and 662nd visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 947 courses in total since September 2006.

It's an excellent 12-hole course and looks to be in great condition.

Visit the Peterborough Minigolf website for more information, opening times and prices.

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We've played a number of minigolf courses at garden centres on our travels and think it's a brilliant idea to give shoppers another reason to visit, revisit and stay at a garden centre.

The approach to the Peterborough Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre

Minigolf at Priory Golf Centre in Wimblington, March

While on an East Anglian road-trip last week we swung by the Priory Golf Centre in Wimblington, March, Cambridgeshire as our friend and minigolf rival Steve Lovell had told us there was an Adventure Golf course there.

Unfortunately the centre was closed last Friday afternoon.

Steve tells us that the Adventure Golf course is looking in a lot better condition than when he first played it a few years ago.

It appears that the whole of the Priory Golf Centre is undergoing a refurbishment.

There is also a Par-3 Pitch & Putt course there and the signs at the entrance also mention Putting Greens.

BUNKER Mini Golf & Bowling Lounge heading to Reading

A new minigolf and tenpin bowling venue is opening in Reading.

Reading will be home to a new indoor minigolf venue as BUNKER Mini Golf & Bowling Lounge opens at the Broad Street Mall in the town.

There will be a 12-hole minigolf course and two tenpin bowling lanes.

Visit the BUNKER Mini Golf & Bowling Lounge website for more information.

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Traditionally the two leisure activities have been quite separate and distinct, with people choosing to do either one or other and most operators running either a minigolf course or tenpin bowling alley.

With the rise in the popularity of minigolf and the growth in new courses, a number of tenpin bowling centres have added minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf courses. While other new sites are including both games from the start.

Putt Crazy at Playgolf London in Harrow

Two new minigolf courses are now open at Playgolf London in Harrow.

Playgolf London at Northwick Park in Harrow now has two new indoor 9-hole minigolf courses.

In a first that I've seen one of the courses has been designed specifically for children, while the other is a little trickier and designed for adults.

The Putt Crazy courses have a Mayan-theme.

For more information, opening times and prices visit the Putt Crazy website.

The Mini Majors minigolf course at Northwick Park was one of the first courses we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in July 2008. It was number 59. We've now been to 947 courses since September 2006.

On The Chase. Again

My episode of The Chase is going to be on Challenge TV again.

Series 5, episode 16 is scheduled to be on at:

8pm today, Monday 17th February.

9am on Tuesday 18th February.

1am on Wednesday 19th February.

Minigolf in Newcastle

A look at minigolf courses in Newcastle upon Tyne.

We've been to Newcastle a number of times over the years and played minigolf at the city's various layouts.

Parklands Golf Club Mini Golf

Parklands Golf Club at Gosforth Park is home to an 18-hole Harris Miniature Golf course. We played there in 2009.

Playing Mini Golf at Parklands Golf Club in 2009

Lane7 Mini Golf

Lane7 in the city centre has a very nice 9-hole Mini Golf course. You can find the course next to the bowling lanes in the basement of the competitive socialising venue. We've played the course on both of our recent visits to Newcastle.

Lane7's indoor minigolf course

Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf

Mr Mulligan's Space Golf has three 9-hole courses - the Inventors Hangar, Lunar Crash and Cosmic Storm. We played them all on Miniature Golf Day in 2018.

Playing Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf

Ghetto Golf indoor crazy golf

You can find a Ghetto Golf indoor crazy golf course at Hoults Yard in Byker. We visited when we were last up in Newcastle last summer.

One of the intriguing holes at Ghetto Golf

Junkyard Golf

There is a new Junkyard Golf venue opening in the city this year. The site will be home to three 9-hole crazy golf courses.

Junkyard Golf in Newcastle will be home to three indoor courses

Exhibition Park

There used to be a Crazy Golf course at Exhibition Park. Sadly that is long gone. There is a miniature railway there though.

The lost crazy golf course in Exhibition Park

Other spots for a game in the area

You can also find courses South Shields - Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf - and Tynemouth - the Lost World Adventure Golf at Tynemouth Park. We played both in 2009.

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf at South Shields, Tyneside was the 100th course I played. We've now been to 945 courses

Playing the Lost World Adventure Golf course in Tynemouth

Minigolfing in other Newcastles...

We've also played the miniature golf courses at The Clubhouse Stoke in Newcastle-under-Lyme and at Henllan Station on the Teifi Valley Railway in Newcastle Emlyn.

There's also an Adventure Golf course at Golf Centre Newcastle in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. We haven't played there yet.

Crazy Golf at Coal Drops Yard, King's Cross, London

Information about the pop-up Crazy Golf at Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross, London.

Coal Drops Yard in London will be home to a pop-up crazy golf course from the 19th February to the 29th March.

The artist designed 9-hole course has been inspired by the rave culture in the King's Cross area back in the 1980's and 90's.

Players can tee-off on the course midday to 8pm Monday to Saturday, with games costing £5.

Artists Baker & Borowski have created the rave-themed layout.

Visit the Coal Drops Yard website for more information.

Minigolf in Bournemouth, Boscombe, Southbourne, Poole and Sandbanks

A look at the miniature golf courses in the Bournemouth, Boscombe, Southbourne, Poole and Sandbanks area of Dorset.

We're gearing up for a minigolfing road-trip to the Bournemouth area in the spring and are looking forward to visiting and playing the courses down there.

We've visited the area a number of times over the years but our last trip there was in 2013. Since then a number of new courses have opened up, while some of the others have been refurbished.

If you know of any other minigolf courses in the Bournemouth, Boscombe, Southbourne, Poole or Sandbanks area do let us know.

Boscombe

Boscombe Chine Gardens is home to the Squirrel Café and mini golf. We played competitions on the course in 2009 and 2013.

Boscombe Chine Gardens Mini Golf course in 2009

Boscombe Pier was home to an eco-friendly Crazy Golf course for a while, we're not sure if it's still there though. The balls in use were made of fish food and the last hole had a drop into the sea!

Bournemouth

Mighty Adventures Crazy Golf at Playgolf Bournemouth is a relatively new 18-hole adventure golf course.

The Oasis Fun Centre in Bournemouth is home to an indoor jungle-themed adventure golf course.

Bournemouth Gardens Classic Mini Golf in the Lower Gardens has been in the gardens for decades. It re-opened following a refurbishment a few seasons ago. We visited in 2009 and 2013. The Lower Gardens have been home to miniature golf courses since 1931 when the first Putting Green was introduced.

Mini Golf in the Lower Gardens, Bournemouth in 2013

Smuggler's Cove Adventure Golf on Pier Approach in Bournemouth opened last year and is an 18-hole layout.

Mr Mulligan's Space Golf in Bournemouth is home to three 9-hole indoor adventure golf courses.

There used to be a derelict Crazy Golf near the Lower Gardens on Exeter Road in Bournemouth. It'll be interesting to see if it's still there and what state it's in now.

We checked out the course in 2009 and 2013

There's a Crazy Golf course at Tuckton Tea Gardens, Bournemouth. It looks like a fun layout.

Solent Meads Golf Centre in Bournemouth is home to a par-3 course as well as a Putting Green.

Christchurch

There's a Crazy Golf courses in Christchurch. We've known about it for a while but it's always been slightly off our route.

Poole

Harbour Pirates Glow Golf in Poole is a pirate-themed indoor UV minigolf course.

Poole Park Crazy Golf is a 12-hole outdoor course. We've also played a Putting Course next to the Crazy Golf. The park is also home to a miniature railway.

Poole Park Crazy Golf in 2010

Sandbanks

Sandbanks Crazy Golf is an interesting 18-hole layout. We've played tournaments on the course in the past.

There are some big obstacles on the Sandbanks Crazy Golf course

Southbourne

Cafe Riva in Southbourne is home to a Crazy Golf course. We played the course in 2009 and revisited in 2013. On our return we saw the venue is also home to a Putting course and a Pitch & Putt layout.

The Crazy Golf course at Cafe Riva in Southbourne back in 2013

Holiday parks

Two holiday parks in the area are home to courses:
Sandford Holiday Park in Sandford, Poole has a minigolf course.
Merley Court Touring Park in Merley, Wimborne, near Poole has a 9-hole minigolf course.

It should be a marvellous trip to the seaside.

What are the odds we find a few other hidden putting greens or pop-up crazy golf courses while we're down there?

Puttstars in Leeds

The first of Hollywood Bowl's new Puttstars minigolf centres is opening in Leeds next month.

The location at The Springs at the Thorpe Park shopping and entertainment site will be home to three 9-hole indoor crazy golf courses.

The minigolf venue from the Hollywood Bowl Group will also include a bar, diner and amusement arcade.

Puttstars Leeds will be followed by Puttstars York opening in April and Puttstars Rochdale opening in May.

Visit the Puttstars Leeds website for more information.

New indoor Adventure Golf opening in Hull

The Lost City Adventure Golf is opening in Hull.

A brand new two-course indoor adventure golf venue is opening at St Stephen's shopping centre in Hull.

The Hull site is the third location for the team at The Lost City Adventure Golf having opened courses in Nottingham and Belfast.

We've played the Nottingham course a number of times, but haven't got back over to Belfast for a few years.

Playing at The Lost City in Nottingham

Visit The Lost City Adventure Golf and St Stephen's Hull websites for more information.

We're looking forward to visiting Hull. Until last month there were no miniature golf courses in the city. That changed when Putt Club opened at the TeamSport indoor karting centre last week.

Boom: Battle Bar opening at Castle Quarter, Norwich in April

A new indoor games venue is opening at the Castle Quarter shopping and entertainment centre in Norwich.

Norwich will soon be home to a new indoor venue containing a minigolf course, boules piste, axe throwing arena, electric darts and shuffleboard.

It sounds brilliant.

We're looking forward to playing at Boom: Battle Bar when it opens later this year.

Visit the Castle Quarter Norwich website for more information.

The Castle Quarter has been home to pop-up minigolf events since the centre opened last year.

Junkyard Golf heading to Newcastle

New Junkyard Golf opening in Newcastle upon Tyne.

A new Junkyard Golf venue is set to open in Newcastle later this year.

Junkyard Golf Newcastle will be home to three 9-hole indoor crazy golf courses.

You can find other Junkyard Golf courses in Manchester, London, Leeds, Oxford and Liverpool.

Visit the Junkyard Golf website for more information.

Are you a robot?

Trafford Pétanque in Manchester

A visit to the Trafford Pétanque Boulodrome in Victoria Park, Manchester.

We took a different route home on our way back from the Trafford Centre on Sunday and found we were next to Victoria Park in Stretford.

We enjoy visiting different parks and playing petanque and as we knew Victoria Park is home to the Trafford Pétanque Club we parked up and had a look for the Boulodrome.

It's a nice looking piste.

Victoria Park was a nice spot for a wander. Hopefully we'll return for a game with the Trafford Pétanque Club in the future.

Check out the Trafford Pétanque Club website for more information on the club, events and details of training sessions.

A postcard from the Putting Green in Denton Gardens, Worthing

A look back at the Putting Green in Worthing's Denton Gardens.

A postcard showing the Putting Green, Denton Park, Worthing - it's unposted and undated

Minigolf was first played in Denton Gardens on Tuesday 1st July 1924.

You can still enjoy a round of miniature golf on the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course there.

Splash Point Mini Golf was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Related blog posts:
- Worthing
- Splash Point Mini Golf
- A Putting Green postcard from Denton Park in Worthing

Talking Crazy Golf

It was brilliant talking about the boom in Crazy Golf and the superb courses in Cleethorpes on BBC Radio Humberside this morning (listen in from 7.21am).

Playing at Terry's Traditional Crazy Golf course in Cleethorpes. One of five brilliant courses in the seaside town

We're looking forward to playing at the new Putt Club indoor minigolf course in Hull soon.

Princess Parade North Shore postcards from Blackpool

A look back at some views of Blackpool.

As an avid collector of minigolf postcards it was brilliant to find these two views of the Princess Parade area of Blackpool.

One is an undated and unposted Bamforth card of the Crazy Golf course at the North Shore and is one of a number in my collection showing the layout.

Crazy Golf, North Shore, Blackpool. 50. Bamforth Post Card. Unposted. Undated

The other is an undated and unposted Tuck's card and shows the area before it was home to the Crazy Golf!

Princess Parade, Looking North, Blackpool. Tuck's Post Card. Unposted. Undated

Before finding these postcards yesterday I had 21 postcards showing the North Shore Crazy Golf course with ten different views. Some of the cards have been postally used, while others are unused.

I have another copy of the Bamforth card. That one is also postally unused, but has the words 'Visited 14th April 1979' are written on the reverse.

We've visited the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course a number of times over the years. But we've never had a proper full round on the layout as it's never been open.

The teams at Blackpool Fulfilling Lives and Blackpool and the Fylde Street Angels are working on a project to reopen the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course on Blackpool's North Shore. It'll be superb to play the updated course.

Related blog posts:
- Renovation of the North Shore Crazy Golf course in Blackpool
- Princess Parade Crazy Golf course update
- A Crazy Golf postcard from Blackpool

Happy Groundhog Day 2020

The big question today is will Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators see his shadow and predict six more weeks of winter, or will he predict an early spring?

Check out the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club website and live stream from the event to find out.