Adventure Golf at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge

We played Adventure Golf course at the Four Ashes Golf Centre in Dorridge, Solihull four years ago today.

Time flies!

The 18-hole Adventure Golf course became the 770th visited and 457th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Four Ashes Golf Centre website for more information, opening times and prices.

We've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

We've visited the Four Ashes Golf Centre a lot over the years. We played in a number of tournaments on the centre's now closed 12-hole Mini Golf course. That course was the 72nd visited on our tour.

---

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship

Looking back at the American Golf National Adventure Golf Championship.

I competed in the American Golf Adventure Golf National Pairs Championship Final at The Belfry three years ago this week.

My team-mate Peter Jones and I qualified for the American Golf Adventure Golf National Pairs Championship Final by winning the Welsh Regional Qualifier at Clays Golf Centre in April 2017.

The final was televised on Sky Sports Golf in November 2017. It was the first miniature golf tournament to be televised in the UK.

The National Adventure Golf Championships can be seen in the video below from 26m 55s.

The American Golf Championship Tour Season Review programme can also be watched on the American Golf YouTube Channel with the Adventure Golf competition starting at 31m 33s.

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Fuddruckers

Fuddruckers is soon to be no more.

It was announced this week that the brand is to be liquidated. Fuddruckers was founded in Texas in 1979. As of last year there were 156 Fuddruckers.

I've never eaten at one but did see a branch at The Orleans Casino in Las Vegas back in 2011.

If you've never seen the film Idiocracy check it out for a brilliant Fuddruckers visual gag.

Orange Wednesday

Last Wednesday was a very orange Wednesday.

It was brilliant to spot this old Orange Mobile shop sign while we were in Oswestry last Wednesday. A relic from another time.

We popped into a charity shop to escape the rain and while browsing spotted this old Orange mobile phone too. I used to sell mobiles from that era when I got my first job at Tandy back in 1996!

Orange launched in 1994 and merged with EE in 2010. The orange brand was continued until 2015 with existing customer plans ceasing in 2019.

Other lost and defunct brands

We've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants on our travels including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool; Happy Shopper in Preston and Blockbuster Video stores in Manchester, Colne, Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.

New Adventure Golf course at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes

The new Adventure Golf course at Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes is nearing completion.

We swung by Fairhaven Lake in Lytham Saint Annes on our trip to Blackpool last week.

The new 18-hole adventure golf course at Fairhaven Lake is almost ready to open.

The new course is being created by the team at Greenspan Projects.

We look forward to playing it on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at Fairhaven Lake

Until this year there was a Crazy Golf course at Fairhaven Lake.

In 2017

That course was the 436th course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2017. We'd originally made a flying visit to it in 2008.

Now a lost minigolf course

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Crazy Golf at The Beaver Inn, Appledore, Devon

There's a Crazy Golf course at The Beaver Inn, Appledore, Devon.

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Alan 'Storming' Norman for sending over these photos of the Crazy Golf course at The Beaver Inn in Appledore, Devon.

It looks like a very nice layout and one we've added to our To Play list when we're next down that way on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

It's always fun finding minigolf courses in pub beer gardens.

Visit The Beaver Inn website for more information.

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Adventure Golf in Telford Town Park

A look at the Adventure Golf course in Telford Town Park.

We swung by the Adventure Golf course in Telford Town Park while on a recent trip to Telford, Shopshire.

The 12-hole Adventure Golf course was made by City Golf and has a Telford-theme to it featuring local landmarks.

It was the 716th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour when I first visited it in October 2016. we've now been to 956 courses since September 2006.

Unfortunately it hasn't been open on either occasion I've been there.

The course is open but currently has restrictions on the opening times, with online bookings required to enter the course.

Visit the Telford Town Park website for more information.

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Portal Minigolf opening in Edinburgh

A new minigolf course is opening in Edinburgh.

There are plans for a new minigolf course to open in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Portal Minigolf will be a 1980's themed indoor layout.

Visit the Portal Minigolf website for more information.

We're looking forward to getting back up to Scotland on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Mini Golf at Airtastic in Craigavon and Cork

There are Mini Golf courses at Airtastic Entertainment Centres in Craigavon and Cork.

You can now find space-themed indoor mini golf courses at the Airtastic Entertainment Centres in Craigavon, Northern Ireland and Cork, Republic of Ireland.

Check out the Airtastic Entertainment Centres website for more information.

We look forward to playing them on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

------------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Pembrey Country Park Crazy Golf

A look at the new Pembrey Country Park Crazy Golf course in Wales.

A big thanks to James Palmer from UrbanCrazy for sending over these photos of the new Crazy Golf course at Pembrey Country Park in Wales.

We visited Pembrey Country Park and played the old Crazy Golf course there way back in 2009 during our road-trip around the Welsh coast.

It'll be nice to visit Wales again in the future and have a game on the new 18-hole layout on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We had a holiday booked in Wales in April but that was scrapped thanks to the pandemic.

Check out the Pembrey Country Park website for more information, opening times and prices.

Visit the UrbanCrazy website for more information about the courses they build and minigolf supplies they offer.

------------

Join our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour enewsletter mailing list

Happy Shopper

Finding a Happy Shopper store in Preston.

Short of completing my Time Machine and heading back to 1999 I thought it was nigh on impossible to find an old Happy Shopper shop sign. I guess yesterday was my lucky day.

What a sign

I just happened to be wearing the right colour jacket for the photo too!

I'm always a happy shopper when I find old branding and interesting signs. We'd gone to Preston to take a look at the abandoned Toys R Us store there

I remember seeing the Happy Shopper shops and branded products a lot when I was a kid.

The Happy Shopper branding was changed in the year 2000 and I think it lost a lot of its charm and individuality. Many of the former Happy Shopper stores were rebranded as Premier shops.

Happy Shopper does still exist, as both convenience stores and own brand food & drink products.

Do you remember Happy Shopper? Did you have a favourite Happy Shopper product?

Lost shops

On our travels we've seen a number of old shop signs and retro retail remnants including Tandy in Hitchin; RadioShack in St Annes on the Sea; Toys R Us stores in Ancoats, Manchester, Warrington, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent and Preston; Woolworths Big W in Brunstane, Edinburgh; Blockbuster in Fallowfield, Manhester; Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent; BHS in Stockport; Blockbuster Video Express in Colne; Orange Mobile in Oswestry; Kwik Save in Barrow-in-Furness; Cooltrader in Blackpool and the remains of Blockbuster Video stores in Oldham, Cheadle Hulme, Marple, Hastings, Felixstowe, Telford, Prescot and Chester.