Crazy Golf at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Cornwall

A look back at the Crazy Golf course at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Hayle, Cornwall.

It was one of 62 courses we visited during our two week holiday around the South West coast back in 2015.

The 18-hole course was the 37th visited on our South West trip, the 375th played and 636th course visited.

Playing Crazy Golf at Penwith Pitch & Putt in St Erth, Hayle, Cornwall

We've now been to 948 courses since September 2006.

Visit the Penwith Pitch & Putt website for more information.

Saw something on my daily walk. Made a meme about it

Saw something on my once a day outdoor exercise walk. Made a meme about it.

What do you read it as?

It's just not cricket

All this nice weather and we can't play minigolf (or cricket).

Where are you looking forward to playing minigolf when the world reopens after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown?

We've seen a couple of interesting cricket-themed holes on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Adventure Golf at Romsey Rapids Sports Complex in Southampton 

Trailer Trash Jim's Crazy Golf at Level Preston

We've got 40 more courses to visit to tick off all of the original 600 courses we set out to visit when our travels began in 2006.

Hundreds more have opened during the minigolf boom of the last decade.

There are quite a few in Nottingham and the wider East Midlands. The Highfields Park Adventure Golf course also has a cricket-themed hole.

A Typical Butlin Monorail

A look at an old Butlins postcard from Skegness.

I'm always on the lookout for old minigolf postcards and when I'm sorting through them at fairs, car boot sales, or in charity or antique shops I always keep an eye out for holiday camp postcards too.

This is one of the wonderful Butlin's cards from the late 1960's and it ticks a number of my interest boxes.

Firstly it's got a prominent view of a miniature golf course being played.

Secondly it's a Butlin's holiday camp card.

And thirdly it's got a monorail on it!

A Typical Butlin Monorail. I have two other versions of this card, but with the caption of 'Butlin's Skegness Monorail' instead. One was postally used on 27th July 1971

Two firsts

Skegness was the first Butlin's holiday camp and it opened its doors on the 11th April 1936.

The camp at Butlin's Skegness was the location for the UK's first commercial monorail. It opened in 1965.

Since then a number of camps opened and closed, underwent facelifts and rebranding exercises and offered marvellous holidays to millions of people.

Holidaying at Butlin's

My parents met at the Butlin's holiday camp in Clacton-on-Sea in the 1970's. My family often went on holiday to the Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead. We also had one stay at the Bognor Regis and Ayr camps. I spent many summers in the 80's and 90's at the Barry Island Holiday Camp, itself a former Butlin's camp.

I have not yet visited the Skegness camp, but have had some brilliant holidays in Skeggy itself.

We also used to ride the monorail at Butlin's Minehead all the time.

My brother Christopher foudnd this snap of us riding the monorail at Butlin's Minehead back in the early 90's while looking through some old family photos

Guess the Crazy Golf course location?

Guess the minigolf course location...

(If you were allowed out) where would you find this Crazy Golf course?

Clue: It's not in Brazil

The Big Apple Kiosk at the Mumbles in Swansea

A look at the The Big Apple Kiosk in Swansea.

During our road-trip around the Welsh coast in August 2009 we spent a day playing petanque and crazy golf at the Mumbles in Swansea.

While we were there the strange Big Apple building near the pier caught our eye.

From our seaside travels archive

Looking through our photo archives I found this snap of it in a bit of a state. Apparently it had been hit by a vehicle just days prior to our visit!

Looking online it appears that the kiosk was granted listed building status last year.

The Big Apple kiosk was created in the 1930s as part of a promotional campaign for the Cidertone cider brand and at one time others could be found at seaside locations around the UK.

Unfortunately the Big Apple at the Mumbles is the last one standing.

A return is planned

We haven't been to Swansea since, but it is on our revisit list as there's a new crazy golf venue in the town.

We love visiting Wales and the Welsh coast and can't wait until the coronavirus pandemic is over so we can return.

Minigolf around the world - guest blog posts

It's always brilliant to see and hear about minigolf courses around the world.

Over the years I've published guest blog posts about minigolf courses in 21 countries:

- Bermuda

- Canada

- Faroe Islands

- Finland

- France

Mini Golf in Civray, France by Thomas at Boîte de Timbres, 2019

- Germany

- Greece (Rhodes)

- Guernsey

- Italy

- Latvia

- Netherlands

- North Korea

- Oman

- Portugal

- Slovakia

- South Africa

Putt-Putt course in Three Anchor Bay in Moullie Point Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa by PJ Goedhals, 2019

- Spain (Lanzarote, Majorca and Tenerife)

- Sweden

- Switzerland

- UK

- USA

Plus on the high seas from Italy, to Montenegro, to Greece on the MSC Opera cruise ship!

Miniature golf course on the MSC Opera by Sophia and Karl Moles, 2019

Combined with our own Crazy World of Minigolf Tour that's a total of 32 countries blogged about on the Ham and Egger Files.

Emily, Christopher and I have been to courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the USA.

Within the British Isles we've been to courses in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Do you have a favourite course near you?

If you'd like to guest blog on the site please do get in touch.

The A-Z of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Together with my brother Christopher we've visited a total of 973 miniature golf courses around the world since September 2006.

A hole on the Crazy Golf course at Ancaster Karting in Grantham, Lincolnshire

Emily and I have been to 948 courses while Christopher has been to 34 on his own branch of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've been to nine of the 34 Christopher's visited.

A for Abingdon

The first minigolf course that Christopher and I ever played was the Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

The Crazy Golf course at the Abbey Meadows in Abingdon-on-Thames

Sadly that course was closed and removed at the end of the 2016 season.

Z for Zeltingen-Rachtig

In 2018 Christopher visited a number of courses during a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley, Germany. One of those was the Beton Minigolf course in Zeltingen-Rachtig.

The Beton / Concrete Minigolf course in Zeltingen-Rachtig, Germany

Together we've visited minigolf courses in 18 overseas countries:

1. Australia
2. Austria
3. Belgium
4. Croatia
5. Finland
6. France
7. Hong Kong
8. Indonesia
9. Italy
10. Luxembourg
11. Netherlands
12. New Zealand
13. Poland
14. Singapore
15. Spain
16. Sweden
17. Turkey
18. USA

Within the British Isles we've been to courses in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic we were closing in on visiting the final 40 courses of the original 600 we set out to play in 2006.

Check out our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour page for the list of, and links to, all of the courses visited on our travels.

Do let us know if there's a minigolf course out there that you think we should play once the world is again open for business.

World Art Day - art and minigolf

Today is World Art Day.

A look at art installation minigolf courses and crazy golf sculptures.

We've seen the worlds of art and minigolf combine a number of times over the years.

A relatively new term for this combination is 'artainment' - where art and entertainment mix to immerse visitors to an exhibition, gallery or installation in an interactive experience.

It'll be interesting to see where the next art-based minigolf course we play is when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Related blog posts:

- Art
- Artainment
- Artainment and the world of minigolf

World Art Day - Space Invader street art

Happy World Art Day!

These are a few of the Space Invaders by the street artist Invader I've found on my travels around Manchester, down in London and up in Newcastle.

I'm looking forward to getting out exploring and finding new street art when the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Related blog posts:
- Art
- Space Invaders
- Art and sculpture trails

A crazy golf postcard from Bridlington

A look at an old minigolf postcard from Bridlington.

One of the very nice old minigolf postcards we found at the Stockport postcard fair was this one showing the Crazy Golf course on Royal Princes Parade in Bridlington.

Royal Princes Parade and North Bay, Bridlington. B.2247, printed and published by E.T.W. Dennis & Sons Ltd, Scarborough & London

It was posted to a someone called Richard in Grimsby from his Auntie Nellie. Unfortunatley the stamp and postmark are missing so there's no date for when it was sent.

We really liked our visits to Bridlington. Time flies as we were last there in 2015. We must return in the future.

The World Bun Throwing Championships

A look back at the World Bun Throwing Championships held in Abingdon-on-Thames in 2012.

My home town has a very quirky tradition called bun throwing.

Townsfolk gather in the market place and attempt to catch currant buns thrown by the Mayor and other dignitaries from the top of the old County Hall.

The event dates back to 1761 when a bread dole / bun throw was held in the town to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

Since that first event there have been a further 34 bun throwings in the town. I've attended all of the bun throwings held in my lifetime.

In April 2012 the inaugural World Bun Throwing Championships were held to find the town's best bun throwers who would be invited to become bun throwers on the big day.

Throwing a currant bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club

I was the second person from the town to step-up for a throw and had selected four fine currant buns for my attempt at the title. After a couple of throws between the 18 and 21 metre marks I hit a personal best of 25m 10cm to set (and temporarily hold) the new World Record and clubhouse lead. In the event report on the excellent Abingdon Blog, it's noted that the World Record was broken a number of times in this inaugural event!

I wonder when it will be possible to hold another bun throwing event?

As a mass gathering and celebration event it'd be nice to think a bun throwing could be held to mark the safe ending of the coronavirus pandemic once a vaccine is created, distributed and working.

Visit my World of Bun Throwing blog for more information.

A look at the 18-hole Splash Point Mini Golf course in Worthing

Revisiting the crazy golf course in Worthing's Denton Gardens.

Last April we revisited the brilliant Splash Point Mini Golf course at Denton Gardens in Worthing.

Here's a look at the front-9 holes.

Holes 1-9

Here are the back-9 holes of the layout.

Holes 10-18

The course was the 181st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in July 2010.

Glo-Golf at the Riverside Bowl in Andover

A look at the indoor Glo-Golf course at the Riverside Bowl in Andover.

Last year we played the 9-hole round-the-world themed indoor glow-in-the-dark crazy golf course at the Riverside Bowl in Andover, Hampshire.

Our road-trip to Southampton last May saw us visit 18 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at The Bunker in Seahouses, Northumberland

A look at the Crazy Golf course in Seahouses, Northumberland.

In April 2012 we embarked on a huge trip on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and visited a 49 miniature golf courses!

One of those was the 18-hole Crazy Golf course at The Bunker on Seafield Road in Seahouses.

It was the 494th course visited overall and the 297th course played.

Adventure Golf at Rustington Golf Centre in Angmering

A look at the Out of Bounds Adventure Golf course at Rustington Golf Centre in Angmering, West Sussex.

This time last year we'd just returned from a trip down to West Sussex.

Driving between Worthing and Littlehampton we stopped off at Rustington Golf Centre in Angmering for a look at the Out of Bounds Adventure Golf course.

The 18-hole course was the 862nd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

A minigolf postcard from Rhos-on-Sea

A look at an old miniature golf course in Rhos-on-Sea.

One of the brilliant old minigolf postcards we bought at the Stcokport postcard fair was this one showing the Putting Course in Rhos-on-Sea.

Putting Course. Rhos-on-Sea. C1542. E.T.W. Dennis & Sons Ltd

Published by E.T.W. Dennis & Sons Ltd the postcard is postally unused and undated.

We've been to Rhos-on-Sea a couple of times on our travels. The first time was in 2009 and there was no sign of the course. The second time was in 2017 when we played the Crazy Golf course at the Rhos Fynach pub and restaurant on Miniature Golf Day. It was built on the site of the old Putting Course.

If you look past the course you can see the arched window on the seafront that also appears in the old postcard

Spotting a minigolf course in Oxford

Finding a minigolf course at the Fulbrook Centre at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

Many thanks to my friend Matt Roebuck for sending over some photos of a minigolf course he spotted on his daily lockdown exercise over the weekend.

I didn't recognise the course location when Matt sent me the photo

It's amazing what you see on your doorstep and find out doing a spot of urban exploration.

The path passing by the course

What a thing to spot while having a wander!

A look at the Crazy Golf course

Oxford's my home city and I never knew this particular course existed!

Back in 2011 a tournament was held on the course.

Interestingly it's a Swedish Felt B-Run minigolf course. While there are a few of them around the UK it's not the most common type of course. However, in Oxford we've visited three other Swedish Felt B-Run layouts. These were in Bury Knowle Park in Headington, Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park and Florence Park in Cowley.

As far as we're aware the course in Bury Knowle Park is still there.

The one in Cutteslowe and Sunnymead Park has been replaced by Crazy Croc's Mini Golf.

Matt tells me that until six weeks ago the course in Florence Park was in place.

Florence Park in Oxford by Matt Roebuck 2020

Have you spotted a minigolf course during your daily lockdown outdoor exercise during the coronavirus pandemic? Do let us know. We might not have it on our To Visit list yet.

Matt is the author of The Other Olympics. It's a brilliant book and well worth a read. It covers a number of international multi-sports competitions.

Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know?

• The world's first miniature golf course was set-up at St Andrews, Scotland in 1867.

Playing The Himalayas at St Andrews in April 2012

• James Barber opened the first minigolf course in the USA in 1916. The 'Lilliputian' miniature golf course was called 'Thistle Dhu' and located in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

• A Miniature Golf contest was part of the Olympic Games at the 1904 St Louis Games in the USA.

• Crazy Golf is 94 years old in 2020. The first course opened on South Parade in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England in 1926.

At The Original Crazy Golf in Skegness in May 2015

• 1926 also saw the first artificial miniature golf course open in the USA. Garnet Carter opened the 'Tom Thumb' miniature golf course near Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

• The first National Tom Thumb Golf Championship took place on the 23rd October 1930.

What are your favourite minigolf facts, stats and did you knows?

Minigolf Putting in Knaresborough

A look at the grass Putting course at Knaresborough's Castle Yard.

Time really does fly! Looking through our records it's been five years since we visited Knaresborough in North Yorkshire!

The last time we were there we enjoyed playing the grass Putting course at Knaresborough's Castle Yard. It was a course we missed on our first visit to the town in 2010.

The grass Putting course at Knaresborough's Castle Yard became the 357th course played and 591st visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We've now been to 948 courses since our travels began in 2006.

The course is the first we've ever been to that had a sallyport and secret tunnel running underneath it!

The tunnel was built in the late 13th or mid 14th century and was large enough for a small group of armed men to leave the castle secretly at night and launch an attack on any besieging troops.

Knaresborough is definitely on our list of places to go to post-lockdown.