Allstars Battle Bar in Colchester

A new venue with Crazy Golf is opening in the former Argos shop in Colchester, Essex.

Allstars Battle Bar in Colchester will be home to a Crazy Golf course among other indoor sports and games including axe throwing and shuffleboard.

Free minigolf in Canary Wharf, London

There's a free play minigolf course in Canary Wharf, London.

The pop-up course is in place for the summer.

Visit the Canary Wharf website for more information.

Boom Battle Bar in Colchester

There are plans for a new Boom Battle Bar venue to open in the old Debenhams in Colchester, Essex.

The new Boom Battle Bar in Colchester would be home to a minigolf course.

Visit the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

A Woolworths ghost sign in Northampton

We spotted this ghost sign on the old Woolworths store in Northampton on our recent visit to the town.

You can still see the outline of the lettering on the building on Abington Street.

Other former Woolworths shops

It's fun seeing old & lost brands, ghost signs and retail relics. I took a look at the ghost signs on a former Woolworths store on Blackpool promenade in September 2021.

We saw a Woolworths ghost sign in Nuneaton in May 2022 too. That was a nice surprise!

Like the Blackpool store, the Nuneaton shop site had also most recently been a Poundland and a TJ Hughes.

We also saw these old Woolworths trolleys in use at Bolton Market last year!

The last Woolworths shop in the UK closed in January 2009. Every so often remnants of the brand become visible again.

We visited the Woolworths in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent in September 2020. That store still had the signage in place and we'd originally spotted it while driving through the town the previous November.

We took a look at an old Woolworths store in Brunstane, Edinburgh in August 2011. That was a Big W Woolworths store at The Jewel retail park. It's long gone now.

You can however still see an old mosaic tile logo at the former Woolworths on Stamford Street Central in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

Interestingly, there's a playable Woolworths Pick n' Mix Crazy Golf hole at the Teezers Retro Golf course in Coventry!

Accessible Adventure Golf at Lappa Valley in Cornwall

There's a new fully accessible Adventure Golf course at Lappa Valley in Cornwall.

The new 12-hole Adventure Golf course at Lappa Valley in St Newlyn East, Newquay relaces an old Crazy Golf course and has been designed to be fully accessible for wheelchair users and visitors with limited mobility.

Visit the Lappa Valley website for more information.

Adventure Footgolf at Stonham Barns

Smugglers Pass Adventure Footgolf is opening at Stonham Barns in Suffolk this month.

The team at Stonham Barns Golf Park in Suffolk have created a new way to play 'golf' - Adventure Footgolf!

The game is a cross between Adventure Golf and Footgolf.

Footgolf is already a marrying up of elements of football and golf, and played on Pitch & Putt / Par-3 layouts.

It'll be interesting to see the new invention when we next swing by Stonham Barns.

Stonham Barns offers a number of ways to play a round of golf

We've played miniature golf at Stonham Barns on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour several times over the years. The first time was in August 2007 when the old Crazy Golf course became the 33rd place we played.

Crazy Golf at Stonham Barns in 2007

We played the Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf course there in April 2019 when it became the 506th we've played and was the 815th visited overall.

Smugglers Bay Adventure Golf at Stonham Barns

 

Visit the Stonham Barns Golf Park website for more information.

Pubs of Stockport during the coronavirus pandemic

A look at Stopfordian Pubs.

Three years ago today we photographed The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. It became the first of 265 pubs, bars and clubs we visited in the borough between April and the 4th of July when the first lockdown ended.

Pub number 1 - The Kings Tap on Station Road in Cheadle Hulme. A lovely Art Deco building. We'd never seen it shuttered before the lockdown

We visited each of the pubs while on our daily outdoor exercise between Wednesday 1st April and before pubs were allowed to reopen with social distancing measures on Saturday 4th July.

It gave us something to do during the lockdowns and it was interesting to see the variety of architecture, different signage, parts of the town we haven't been to for a long time and other parts of the area we've never been to. I documented the pubs on Instagram using the #StopfordianPubs tag.

At the 265th pub on our lockdown 'pub crawl'. Not a drop was drunk on our daily walks in April, May, June and July

Crazy Golf in Troon, Scotland

A look at the seafront Crazy Golf course in Troon.

My friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown sent some snaps of the seafront Crazy Golf course in Troon from his visit in January this year.

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

Crazy Golf in Troon. Photo by Simon Brown, January 2023

The 18-hole Crazy Golf course in Troon was the 573rd miniature golf course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2014.

East Park Mini Golf in Southampton

A look at the East Park Mini Golf course in Southampton.

My friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown sent me these photos of the East Park Mini Golf course in Southampton from his visit last month.

East Park Mini Golf in Southampton. Photo by Simon Brown, February 2023

East Park Mini Golf in Southampton. Photo by Simon Brown, February 2023

East Park Mini Golf in Southampton. Photo by Simon Brown, February 2023

We played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in 2019.

South Downs Way Adventure Golf at Marwell Resort

A look at the South Downs Way Adventure Golf course at Marwell Resort.

Thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown for this snap of the South Downs Way Adventure Golf course at Marwell Resort from his visit earlier this year.

South Downs Way Adventure Golf course at Marwell Resort. Photo by Simon Brown, February 2023

Visit the Marwell Resort website for more information.

Stratford Adventure Golf

Stratford Adventure Golf at Swans Nest Recreation Ground in Stratford-upon-Avon has re-opened after a refurbishment.

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Many thanks to my friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown for these photos of the layout.

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

Visit the Stratford Adventure Golf Facebook Page for more information.

Stratford Adventure Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, March 2023

The course was originally the 49th visited and played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2008. And we've played several tournaments on the layout over the years.

Crazy Golf at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol

A new Mulligans Minigolf venue is opening at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol.

A new Mulligans indoor miniature golf venue is opening at The Venue in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol.

The location is the 15th site for the Mulligan's brand and will be home to two 12-hole crazy golf courses.

Visit the Mulligans website for more information.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

Check out my minigolf marketing ebook - The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

Created after years of playing, promoting and consulting in the world of minigolf, the ebook gives players, courses, federations, associations and clubs a guide to the world of marketing.

You can see a preview, read the reviews, and buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing from Amazon.

Abingdon Bun Throwing for the Coronation of King Charles III

Details of the bun throwing to mark the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6th May 2023.

To mark the royal occasion my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames will be holding a bun throwing event in the Market Place at 4pm on Sunday 7th May.

The last bun throwing event was held to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Sunday 5th June 2022. 5,000 currant buns were thrown to the crowd in the Market Place and High Street below as part of the tradition that dates back to 1761.

Platinum Jubilee Bun Throwing in Abingdon, 2022

The bun throw for the Coronation of King Charles III will be the 37th Bun Throwing in Abingdon since 1761. The town holds the event to mark, mostly, special royal occasions.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion

It'll be the 17th bun throwing held in my lifetime.

You can find out more about Abingdon Bun Throwing events on my other blog - the World of Bun Throwing.

New Adventure Golf course in Basford, Nottingham

A new dinosaur-themed Adventure Golf course is opening in Basford, Nottingham.

An 18-hole dinosaur-themed Adventure Golf course is being created at Stockhill Lane in Basford, Nottingham.

Visit the Jurassic Cove Adventure Golf website for more information.

Shoreditch Balls Crazy Golf in London

There's a Crazy Golf course in Shoreditch.

Many thanks to our fellow minigolf enthusiasts at A Couple of Putts for letting us know there's a new(ish) miniature golf course in London that we didn't know about already!

Shoreditch Balls opened on Old Street in late 2021 and is a new venue to add to our Crazy World of Minigolf 'To Visit' list.

Check out the Shoreditch Balls website for more information.

I used to work in the Shoreditch area of Hackney and commuted into Old Street everyday back in the mid-noughties. Those were the days when there were next to no minigolf courses in the capital. Fast forward to 2023 and you can't move for places to have a putt. At my last count there were 37 minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf locations in the city.

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford - in 2020

I saw a Back to the Future DeLorean time machine three years ago today.

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford

Time flies! Or does it...

A Back to the Future DeLorean in Salford

What a different time 2023 is!

Minigolf did you knows...?

Did you know these things about minigolf?

• 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 97 years old in 2023. 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.

• The first Putt-Putt brand miniature golf course was set-up by Don Clayton in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1954.

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

Crazy Golf at Dreamland Margate

The Dreamland Margate theme park is re-opening for the 2023 season on Saturday 1st April.

Brand new for 2023 is a Crazy Golf course.

Visit the Dreamland Margate website for more information.

Treetop Adventure Golf at the Metrocentre in Gateshead

A new Treetop Adventure Golf venue is opening at the Metrocentre in Gateshead.

The latest location from Treetop Adventure Golf will be home to two indoor 18-hole minigolf courses.

You can find other Treetop Adventure Golf courses in Cardiff, Manchester, Leicester and Birmingham.

Visit the Treetop Adventure Golf website for more information.