The second narrowest street in England

Finding the second narrowest street in England.

You can find Stone Street off Eccleston Street in Prescot town centre

We always enjoy finding odd, obscure and interesting things on our travels and while in Prescot, Merseyside we checked out a number of the plaques to find out more about the people and places in the town.

Stone Street is only 28 inches wide

We hadn't expected to find the second narrowest street in England there though. What a claim to fame.

The street isn't wide enough to socially distance on

Other narrow streets

The narrowest street in Britain is Parliament Street in Exeter, Devon which measures 25 inches at its narrowest.

The narrowest street in the world is Spreuerhofstraße in Reutlingen, Germany. That street measures just 12.2 inches at its narrowest!

Other narrow things

While on holiday in Scotland in 2014 we visited the Isle of Cumbrae and the seaside town of Millport where we stumbled upon The Wedge - the world's narrowest house at 47 inches wide.

I've also been to The Piece of Cheese Cottage in Hastings. That dwelling lays claim to being the only three-sided cottage in England and the second smallest cottage in the country.

Some lost brand shop signs from my travels

A look at some lost brand shop signs from my travels.

Clockwise from top left Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Toys R Us in Ancoats, Manchester; Tandy in Hitchin; Blockbuster in Fallowfield, Manhester; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Blockbuster Video Express in Colne; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; RadioShack in Saint Annes on the Sea

Do you have a favourite brand from the past?

Carpet Golf by Turner Research (1970)

From the Crazy Golf Museum's board game shelf - Carpet Golf by Turner Research (1970).

Have you played this game before?

Do you have a favourite miniature golf board game?

New Adventure Golf course planned for Lower Hyde Holiday Park

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course to be built at Lower Hyde Holiday Park in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight.

Visit the Lower Hyde Holiday Park website for more information about the Parkdean site.

We've enjoyed our visits to the Isle of Wight on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and look forward to returning. There are a number of other new minigolf, crazy golf, grass putting and adventure golf courses on the island we're yet to play.

Parkdean Resorts operate 67 holiday parks in the UK, a number of which are home to miniature golf courses.

We visited the Crazy Golf course at Parkdean's Looe Bay Holiday Park in St Martins, Cornwall on our tour of the South West of England in June 2015.

A colourful Crazy Golf course

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Colne in Bloom

We recently had a nice wander around Colne in Lancashire and saw a number of planters out for Colne in Bloom.

This one in particular caught our eye!

We liked this one at Colne railway station as it had a nice train theme.

The Titanic Bed commemorated the ship and the band master Wallace Hartley who was born in Colne.

Lane7 opening in Leicester

A new Lane7 indoor bowling, minigolf and street food venue is opening at Leicester Central Station.

Lane7 will be opening a new venue in Leicester city centre in October.

The site at Leicester Central Station will be home to tenpin bowling, indoor crazy golf, arcade games, street food and more.

Visit the Lane7 website for more information.

We've been to Lane7 in Newcastle upon Tyne and played the crazy golf course there. We were last there a year ago yesterday!

We're looking forward to checking out the new Lane7 venue in Leicester on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

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Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth

A look back at Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

In all of my travels around the UK one of my biggest regrets is that I never visited Louis Tussauds House of Wax in Great Yarmouth.

The closest I ever got to going inside

It was the World's Worst Wax Museum!

Look at those star attractions. Bear in mind this photo was taken in June 2011

We've been to the Norfolk seaside resort a number of times over the years but either ran out of time to go in, or found it to be closed or out-of-season.

Sadly Louis Tussauds House of Wax permanently closed in 2012.

Did you ever visit? I'd love to know if it really was as bad as people say.

Orpheum Mini-Golf in Memphis, Tennessee

A look at the pop-up minigolf course at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Lion King

Many thanks to our friend, team-mate and minigolf rival Jon Drexler for sending us some photos from his visit to play the new pop-up minigolf course set up at the Orpheum theatre in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

Memphis The Musical

Orpheum Mini-Golf is a 9-hole socially distanced Broadway-themed course and is set-up on the stage of the theatre.

The view from the stage

It's a nice use of the theatre space during the pandemic and a way to connect with old and new audiences.

What a place to play some minigolf

The Orpheum Mini-Golf course opened this month and is open Thursday to Sunday. The 'show' runs until 15th November.

Hamilton

We love seeing miniature golf course pop-ups and unique layouts. The Orpheum Mini-Golf course certainly ticks those boxes. I really like the look of the Hamilton hole above.

Les Misérables

The green on Les Misérables

Memphis the Musical

Wicked

The Phantom of the Opera

The Colour Purple

Chicago

Fiddler on the Roof

Visit the Orpheum Mini-Golf website for more information, opening times, booking details and prices.

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Crazy Golf at Thornton Abbey Maze

There's a new Crazy Golf course at Thornton Abbey Maize Maze in Lincolnshire.

This year the maize maze layout at the farm is golf-themed!

Visit the Thornton Abbey Maze website for more information.

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Identifying the stars of The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth

A look at the stars of The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

We replayed the Crazy Golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth back in 2011.

Grazy Golf!

One of the holes added since our first play of the course in 2007 was the Stars of the Windmill hole, which features a Wall of Fame showing all the stars that at one time or another performed at the Windmill Theatre.

How many stars can you identify?

Here are the answers

The Crazy Golf course at The Windmill Theatre in Great Yarmouth was one of the first indoor minigolf courses to open in the UK.

Outside the course in 2011

The number of indoor minigolf courses has boomed in the last decade. When we first visited The Windmill Theatre course in 2007 there was one other indoor minigolf course in the UK. That one is also still there and can be found at Manning's Amusements in Felixstowe, Suffolk  

Visit The Windmill Theatre Adventure Golf's Facebook Page for more information.

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Jubilee Films video shop in Ashton-under-Lyne

A look at the Jubilee Films video shop in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Video, DVD and Laser Disks!

While doing some grocery shopping in Ashton-under-Lyne we took a look at the old Jubilee Films video shop on Old Street.

Jubilee Films closed its doors in 2013, the same year as Blockbuster

 

I wonder how many Laser Disks (sic) were still being rented or sold before the shop closed its doors for the final time?

Kansas Fried Chicken in Didsbury Village

Finding a 'KFC' in Didsbury Village, Manchester.

Another of the 'KFCs' we've seen on our travels is this Kansas Fried Chicken in Didsbury Village, Manchester.

There are other Kansas Fried Chicken shops in the Manchester and Cheshire area, including one in Handforth.

Putt18 World Pro League - Week 4

I'll be teeing-off in week 4 of the Putt18 World Pro League at 4.45pm this Friday, 21st August.

You can watch my four rounds live on Facebook.

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More information on the Putt18 golf game mat can be found on the Putt18 website.

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Hastings Adventure Golf - social distancing in numbers

A look at the work of Hastings Adventure Golf in the time of Coronavirus.

The three miniature golf courses at Hastings Adventure Golf reopened with social distancing measures in place in June.

The team at the south coast seaside venue have put together an informative film showing the stats from the work they've been doing.

Check out the Hastings Adventure Golf website for more information.

Hole 4 of the Crazy Golf course at Hastings Adventure Golf, one of my favourite courses

Competitive socialising

A look at the world of competitive socialising.

Before the coronavirus pandemic the phrase 'competitive socialising' had become a popular way to describe going out and having fun, with a number of new businesses catering to the demand of a public who wanted to compete at something while eating and drinking in a nice setting.

Whether it was table tennis, darts, shuffleboard, bingo, tenpin bowling, arcade games, or my personal favourite crazy golf, people were finding new ways to quench their thirst, have fun and compete without signing-up to a full sports league or taking things too seriously.

But we all know you have to take competitive socialising seriously – right?

'Competitive socialising' may, for the time being at least, have been replaced on a lot of people's lips by 'social distancing'. But when we're able to safely and fully emerge from isolation and lockdown there will be an appetite for playing games, having fun and doing new things.

Some of those experiences may not actually be totally new though, as people will want to experience the things they enjoyed, or were good at before lockdown.

Similarly, competitive socialising taps into nostalgia, retro experiences and halcyon days. Things that could feel even more important to people in the next few years as the world gets to grips with the effects of social distancing and the impact of the pandemic.

Competitive socialising wasn't a new thing. Instead it was a new way to describe something humans have done for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. While many of the sports and games we enjoy were codified in the last 150 years or so, people have been competing against one another – for honour, pride, money and bragging rights – for centuries.

Read more about keeping social and competitive in the new world of physical distancing in my blog post Competitive socialising in isolation.

I've also collated a number of blog posts about the pandemic as well as topics including Retailtainment, Artainment and Minigolf in the Time of Coronavirus at The Coronavirus (Ham & Egger) Files.

A postcard from Stockport

Dropping you a line from the Greater Manchester High Risk Coronavirus Protection Area Lockdown Zone.

Pop Putt pop-up minigolf on Walmer seafront

There's a new pop-up minigolf course on Walmer seafront in Kent.

The minigolf course is located next to the paddling pool on Walmer seafront and is open daily 9am-6pm.

Visit the Pop Putt Facebook Page for more information.

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Kansas Fried Chicken in Handforth

Finding a 'KFC' in Handforth, Cheshire.

Another of the 'KFCs' we've seen on our travels is this Kansas Fried Chicken in Handforth.

There are other Kansas Fried Chicken shops in the Manchester and Cheshire area, including one in Didsbury Village.

Hidden in plain sight

It's funny what you see when you look back on your travels.

With my current, new found interest in seeking out old Blockbuster Video stores while there are still traces of them, I checked out if there used to be any in Suffolk ahead of our next visit to see family and friends in the area.

In a normal year we'd have been to Ipswich and Felixstowe a number of times already by now. Felixstowe is probably our most visited seaside of all time, with the minigolf courses in the town our most revisited.

Sadly we've been there a grand total of zero times in 2020.

Looking online Felixstowe was once home to a Blockbuster Video store on Crescent Road.

Strangely I inadvertently blogged about it in 2017! In a way.

When I saw the location of the former store I knew I'd seen it before.

Back in 2017 I was alerted to the fact there was a new American Diner in Felixstowe that served a 98% gluten free menu. Something that intrigued me as it's a strange thing to offer as everyone with Coeliac Disease needs 100% gluten free food!

Looking at that blog post I noticed a remnant of its time as a Blockbuster. Can you see what it is?

Look closely^

Yes, the original Blockbuster Video sign was still in place and the big torn ticket outline is clear to see!

Blockbuster!

It's always interesting to see shadows, ghosts and remnants from a bygone time. Here in Cheadle Hulme you can still see the outline of the old Blockbuster Video logo on what is now a Majestic Wine Warehouse.

National Rollercoaster Day

Happy National Rollercoaster Day.

The 240th course we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour was underneath TWO rollercoasters at Fantasy Island in Ingoldmells, Lincolnshire back in 2011.

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