Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championships 2021

The PIAG Open Championships are back for 2021.

The Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championships are once again taking place at the indoor Paradise Island Adventure Golf courses around the country. The events were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tiki Hut Trail course at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in the Trafford Centre, Manchester 

This year's event runs from the 15th to the 18th July.

Emily won the PIAG Open at the Manchester course in 2019 and I won it in 2018.

More details of the event and the PIAG courses in Manchester, Cheshire Oaks, Glasgow, Livingston, Sheffield, Derby, Rushden Lakes and Plymouth can be found on the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website.

Crazy Golf at Bressingham Steam & Gardens in Diss

Finding a Crazy Golf course at Bressingham Steam & Gardens in Diss.

My brother and his family had a day out at Bressingham Steam & Gardens in Diss at the weekend and found there was a new Crazy Golf course there!

The 12-hole layout became the 996th visited overall by members of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since 2006!

We're looking forward to playing the minigolf course at Bressingham Steam & Gardens in the future. It'll be fun to have a go on the miniature and not so miniature railways there too.

Visit the Bressingham Steam & Gardens website for more information.

Happy National 7-Eleven Day

Today is National 7-Eleven Day.

7-Eleven convenience stores celebrate National 7-Eleven Day on when else but the 11th July.

We were surprised to see a number of 7-Eleven stores in Stockholm on our last trip there in 2018. We'd only ever seen them in the USA before that

The first 7-Eleven Day was held in 2002.

Knowle West's Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course is open to play!

You can now play the community crazy golf course at Filwood Community Centre in Knowle West, Bristol.

You can book online for weekdays between 10am and 3pm.  

Or drop in Wednesday to Friday between 3.30pm and 6.30pm. 

The course is also hosting par-tee's on Saturdays!

Find out more on the Filwood Community Centre website.

Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club

We had a brilliant time at the launch of the brand new Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course last Saturday.

Cutting the ribbon to officially open the Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course

The real life miniature golf course was created during the pandemic and the ideas for the hole designs were generated by members of the Knowle West community during Lockdown 1.

We really enjoyed being a part of the clubhouse and tee party online meetings and to play the unique course and meet the people involved in person was wonderful.

The Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course was the 966th course visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 549th we've played since September 2006.

Aces Minigolf Gloucester - now open!

The new Aces Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gloucester is now open.

All the very best of luck to our friends at Aces Minigolf who are opening to the public for the first time at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gloucester today!

We had a fun time visiting the course for an invitational tournament last weekend.

Here's a look at the layout.

Take a look at the Aces Minigolf Gloucester Facebook Page for more information, opening times and prices.

New Mini Golf course at Mattishall Golf Academy in Norfolk

There's a new indoor mini golf course at Mattishall Golf Academy in Mattishall, Dereham, Norfolk.

A new 9-hole indoor mini golf course is now open at Mattishall Golf Academy in Mattishall, Norfolk.

The course was created by the team at Greenspan.

Find out more on the Mattishall Golf Academy website.

The indoor mini golf course at Mattishall Golf Academy is another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Plans for a new mini golf course in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

There are plans for a new outdoor minigolf course in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.

The Play2Day entertainment centre has submitted plans to create a new outdoor miniature golf course at the venue in Guyhirn, Wisbech.

Play2Day is home to a soft-play area, tenpin bowling and laser tag.

It'll be another new minigolf course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Aces Minigolf Gloucester at Dobbies Garden Centre

A visit to the new Aces Minigolf course at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gloucester.

Our friend, long-time minigolf rival and often time team-mate Seve Kukielka has created Aces Minigolf Gloucester - a superb 12-hole miniature golf layout at Dobbies Garden Centre in Gloucester.

We visited the course on Sunday to play a few rounds and compete in the Aces Minigolf Gloucester Invitational Tournament.

The event was the first minigolf competition we've played in since 2019 and it was fun to be back in action.

The course is a nice, tricky layout with interesting and unique hole designs, all within a very pleasant setting.

Aces Minigolf Gloucester was the 967th course visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 550th played since September 2006.

Aces Minigolf Gloucester opens to the public on Friday 9th July.

Check out the Aces Minigolf Gloucester Facebook Page for more information, opening times and prices.

We're looking forward to many more visits to the excellent course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

New Crazy Golf course planned for Canvey Island

A new dinosaur-themed Crazy Golf course is opening on Canvey Island, Essex.

An 18-hole dinosaur-themed Crazy Golf course is being created at Leisure Island on Canvey Island in Essex.

Visit the Leisure Island website for more information.

It'll be another new course for us to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on a revisit to Canvey Island.

Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf in Knowle West, Bristol

Playing the Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club's new Crazy Golf course in Knowle West, Bristol.

We had a superb time at the launch of the brand new Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course in Knowle West, Bristol on Saturday.

This was my favourite hole - the obstacle at the top of the ramp hid a sneaky surprise!

The real life miniature golf course was created during the pandemic and the ideas for the hole designs were generated by members of the Knowle West community during Lockdown 1.

I managed to score a hole-in-one taking the direct route across the beachy 'bridge'

We really enjoyed being a part of the clubhouse and tee party online meetings and to play the unique course and meet the people involved was brilliant.

I had the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially launch the course!

The Filwood Fantastic Crazy Golf course was the 966th course visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 549th we've played since September 2006.

There were so many fantastic people and organisations involved in the project and you can find out more about them via the links to their websites and social media below:

• Filwood Community Centre
• Filwood Fantastic Mini Golf Club
• Megan Clark-Bagnall
• Claudia Collins aka Claudia the Caddy
• Re:Work Bristol
• Nic Marshall Designs
• Knowle West Beaches
• Julian Wood

Blockbuster Video Express in Filton, Bristol

Finding a ghost sign at the former Blockbuster Video Express in Filton, Bristol.

While we were down in Bristol recently we checked out the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Filton, Bristol to take a look at the repurposed torn ticket sign on the side of the old video shop.

The former video shop is now a vets

I noticed the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and since then have found a few more signs of the brand on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

One other of those torn ticket signs had also been used by the new business in the location.

Check out my posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

Toys R Us in Milton Keynes

A look at the old Toys R Us store at The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes.

We took a look at the former Toys R Us store at The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes while on our way back from a trip to Luton last month.

There is still a lot of visible signage at the old store, including a nice sign in the car park. It's always interesting to see the variety of branding employed by Toys R Us over the years.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK. 

Check out my blog posts below about other former Toys R Us stores:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Enfield Retail Park in Enfield
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Free Crazy Golf in Dorchester, Dorset

A free to play pop-up crazy golf course will be set up in Dorchester's Brewery Square on Saturday 17th July.

Check out the Brewery Square Crazy Golf Day event website for more information and to book a slot.

Blockbuster Video in Ashton, Bristol

A look at a former Blockbuster Video store in Bristol.

The former video shop is now a gym 

We spotted another old Blockbuster while driving to the former store location in Filton, Bristol. This one was at Winterstoke Road in Ashton.

You can still make out the outline of the QuikDrop box at this location

I noticed the remains of a Blockbuster Video store while driving to Manchester in October 2019 and since then have found a few more signs of the brand on the high streets and retail parks of the UK.

Check out my posts about other former Blockbuster stores in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Colne, Lancashire
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

New Plonk Golf course at Camden Market

A new Plonk Golf indoor minigolf course is now open at Camden Market.

Plonk Camden is a new 9-hole indoor crazy golf course at Camden Market.

You can also find Plonk Golf courses at London Fields, the Horniman Museum, Peckham Levels and on the South Bank.

Check out the Plonk Golf website for more information.

We've visited a number of Plonk Golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since the first of the brand's layouts was created in Dalston back in 2015.

Plonk Golf in Shoreditch in 2019

New Crazy Golf course now open in Weston-super-Mare

A new indoor glow-in-the-dark crazy golf course has opened in Weston-super-Mare.

Weston-super-Mare is now home to a new 9-hole indoor crazy golf course.

You can find the miniature golf course at the old Seaquarium in the seaside resort. The venue is now called Revo and as well as the crazy golf course features a bar and kitchen.

Visit the Revo Facebook Page for more information.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

New Crazy Golf course installation in Greenwich, London

A new Crazy Golf course has opened in Greenwich.

Greenwich, London is now home to an immersive art installation consisting of a number of play experiences. One of which is Crazy Golf.

The art installation, called Promise me memories and I will let you in, has been created by Yinka Ilori and is open at Tide Square in Greenwich Peninsula until the 19th of September.

Toys R Us in Northampton

A look at the old Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton.

I called in for a look at the former Toys R Us store at St James Retail Park in Northampton while en route to Luton last month.

There is still a lot of visible signage at the old store.

I worked in the Gipsy Lane Toys R Us store in Luton, Bedfordshire back in the year 2000.

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's interesting to see that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK. 

Check out my blog posts below about other former Toys R Us stores:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Enfield Retail Park in Enfield
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby