Graffiti Golf on Blackpool promenade

A look at Graffiti Golf in Blackpool (September 2021).

We first played there back in 2009 when it was a Pirate Adventure Golf course. It was the 151st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Since then the venue has changed hands and look a couple of times. We played the Graffiti Golf version of the layout in August 2018 and swung by in May this year.

Visit the Graffiti Golf website for more information.

New Crazy Golf course open in Edmonton, London

A new motorsport-themed Crazy Golf course has opened in Edmonton, North London.

The new 9-hole indoor Crazy Golf course has been created by the team at Putt Club.

Putt Club London Edmonton joins other Putt Club courses in Hull, Watford and London Docklands. A new location is opening in Leicester in November 2021.

Visit the Putt Club website for more information.

Minigolf in London

There has been a real boom in minigolf courses opening in London. When we worked in the city there were very few options for minigolfing, but a number of new indoor, late night competitive socialising style venues have opened in London over the last seven years.

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 our 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.

Retailtainment

Minigolf has grown in popularity in the last nine years and has moved from being seen as a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at pretty much any time of the day.

A number of high streets, retail parks and shopping malls are now home to minigolf courses, with more new venues planned to open.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

We've played minigolf in London a number of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the last 15 years. We're looking forward to a return visit to the capital for a few rounds in the future.

Dunkin' in Manchester

Spotting two Dunkin' Donuts in Manchester.

Today is International Coffee Day so I thought it was the ideal day to post about two Dunkin' locations we've seen in Manchester over recent months.

It's always interesting seeing new, different and 'exotic' brands popping up on the high street.

Dunkin' in Manchester

The first Dunkin' branch to open in Manchester was this one on Deansgate in the city centre. We knew the brand had launched in the UK and had a wander past on a trip to town in May. At that point the brand had 12 locations in the UK.

Dunkin' on Deansgate

The second one we saw surprised us as we didn't know it had opened on Piccadilly. We noticed this one in July.

Piccadilly Dunkin'

There is now a third location in Manchester. It's at the Fort Shopping Park in Cheetham Hill.

Dunkin' in the UK

Dunkin' has a total of 16 UK locations at present. As well as the Manchester sites there are Dunkin' branches in Bury, Sheffield, Liverpool, Barnsley, Bradford, Doncaster, Rotherham, Nottingham and London.

The London Dunkin' is the sole location south of Nottingham!

Visit the Dunkin' website for more information.

New Crazy Golf course opening in Leicester

A new motorsport-themed Crazy Golf course is opening in Leicester in November.

Leicester will soon be home to a new indoor Crazy Golf course as the team from Putt Club are opening a venue in the city on the 6th November.

Putt Club Leicester joins other Putt Club courses in Hull, Watford, London Docklands and the newly opened London Edmonton location.

Visit the Putt Club website for more information.

Minigolf in Leicester

There has been a real boom in minigolf courses opening in Leicester, with the new Putt Club joining Treetop Adventure Golf and Caddyshackers in the city centre. The wider Leicestershire area is home to a number of other courses too.

Retailtainment

Minigolf has grown in popularity in the last nine years and has moved from being seen as a traditional outdoor seaside summer activity to become a year-round game that can be played indoors, outdoors and at pretty much any time of the day.

A number of high streets, retail parks and shopping malls are now home to minigolf courses, with more new venues planned to open.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

We've played minigolf in Leicester and Leicestershire a number of times on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour over the last 15 years. We're looking forward to a return visit in the future.

15 years of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Celebrating a decade and a half of our minigolf adventures.

We played the Victory Trail course at Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea, Hampshire on this day in 2006.

At the end of our 9-hole round on Saturday 30th September I won a free game by firing the cannon on the lucky last hole.

We've been putting on our miniature golfing adventures ever since!

Emily swung by Treasure Island Adventure Golf in Southsea again on the way back from her trip to the Isle of Wight during the summer.

When our travels began in 2006 there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

We've been to 973 courses overall in the last 15 years, with 934 of those courses in the British Isles.

You can see all of the courses we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour post.

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Visiting Boom: Battle Bar in Norwich

Playing the Crazier Golf course at Boom: Battle Bar in the Castle Quarter shopping and entertainment centre in Norwich, Norfolk.

We stayed in Norwich for part of our East Anglian road-trip last month and the second miniature golf course we played was the Crazier Golf layout at the first Boom: Battle Bar location in the Castle Quarter shopping and entertainment venue in the city centre.

The 9-hole course differs from 'standard' crazy golf courses as not all of the holes require the use of your putter and ball! Some of the obstacles require you to pump the ball, or launch it, via another mechanism. There's also a timed hole which is fun to play.

Our match-up was close and I picked up the win by one-shot with a 23-24 scoreline. Working out the scores was interesting as the holes don't necessarily have a stroke score - on the 4th I took 37:42 to play out the hole, while Emily took 46:08. On the 7th and 9th we had to race each other to figure out our points score!

Photos of the 9-hole Crazier Golf course at Boom: Battle Bar

Hole 1

Hole 1

Hole 2

Hole 2

Hole 2

Hole 3

Hole 3

Hole 4

Hole 4

Hole 4

Hole 4

Hole 5

Hole 5

Hole 5

Hole 6

Hole 6

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 7

Hole 8

Hole 8

Hole 8

Hole 9

Hole 9

Check out the Boom: Battle Bar website for more information.

The Crazier Golf course at Boom: Battle Bar in Norwich was the 970th course Emily and I visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. Combining the courses we've visited with those that my brother Christopher - a founding member of the tour - has too it was the 1,000th course we've been to overall!

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Bar Billiards at Sudbury Snooker Club

We spotted a sign for Bar Billiards while in Sudbury, Suffolk last month.

We really enjoy playing the game, unfortunately Sudbury Snooker Club was closed at the time we were there. We've noted it for a future visit though.

The New Albert Pub in Blackpool

I've seen a few homages to Only Fools and Horses over the years - the latest being The New Albert Pub in Blackpool.

The former Toys R Us in Oldbury

A look at the former Toys R Us in Oldbury, West Midlands.

We passed by the old Toys R Us store in Oldbury, Sandwell, West Midlands on our way back from Bristol and Gloucester in July.

The retail unit was in the process of being demolished so there wasn't any signage or ghost signs in sight.

However, you could tell by the exterior and frame it used to be a Toys R Us store.

Empty inside

Toys R Us closed in the UK in April 2018. It's been very interesting to find that there are still remnants of the brand on some retail parks in the UK and we've visited a number of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels in the last couple of years: 

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• 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

The former Toys R Us site at Oldbury is planned to become a B&M and Tim Hortons.

A sign of the times

A sign from the 2021 fuel shortage crisis.

What a sign!

They didn't have any petrol there.

A bench on Blackpool promenade

A seat with a view in Blackpool.