Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Manchester

A look at the Paradise Island Adventure Golf venue at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

The 36-hole indoor Adventure Golf venue at the Trafford Centre opened in 2008. It was one of the very first of the new wave of themed indoor adventure golf venues. How time flies!

The Tiki Hut Trail and Temple Ruins Adventure courses were the 85th and 86th courses played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009.

Following our move north in 2016 Paradise Island Adventure Golf became one of our local places to play and we've returned for fun and tournaments at PIAG Manchester a lot over the years.

I won the Paradise Island Adventure Golf Open Championships in 2018 and Emily won the tournament in 2019.

Visit the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website for more information about the PIAG courses in Cheshire Oaks, Derby, Glasgow, Livingston, Manchester, Plymouth, Rushden Lakes and Sheffield.

Winning the 2009 Pleasure Beach Open minigolf tournament in Blackpool

A look back at a big minigolf win.

On this day in 2009 we were in Blackpool to play in the second Blackpool Pleasure Beach Open minigolf tournament that was held as part of the Illuminations celebrations.

We had a cracking time in the seaside resort and to top things off I won!

Toys R Us inside WH Smith at the Trafford Centre

Toys R Us has opened at the Trafford Centre in Manchester.

The new Toys R Us concession is now open inside WH Smith at the Trafford Centre.

I spotted signs for the new Toys R Us opening inside the WH Smith at the Trafford Centre in Manchester on a trip to the shopping centre in June this year. 

While the last of the original Toys R Us stores in the UK closed on the 24th April 2018 the brand returned to the UK in 2022 with an online presence, and further expanded in 2023 with the opening of nine concessions inside WH Smith.

There are currently 39 Toys R Us concessions in WH Smith shops, with more planned to open through 2024. Visit the Toys R Us website for more information.

Working at Toys R Us

My first job while at university in the year 2000 was as one of Geoffrey's helpers at the Luton store. I worked on the video game and electronics section.

Toys R Us concessions in the USA

Emily saw a Toys R Us at a Macy's department store in Fort Worth, Texas and a sign for one at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on a trip to the USA earlier this year.

The old Toys R Us

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 several of these closed, abandoned, derelict and demolished Toys R Us locations on our travels.

Former Toys R Us locations we've been to on our travels:

• Brighton Hill Retail Park in Basingstoke
• Central Retail Park in Manchester
• Cathedral Retail Park in Norwich
• Deepdale shopping centre in Preston
• Festival retail park in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent
• Gateway retail park in Reading
• Gemini Retail Park in Warrington
• Interchange Retail Park at Copdock Mill, Ipswich
• St James Retail Park in Northampton
• Teesside Retail Park in Stockton-on-Tees
• The Leisure Plaza in Milton Keynes
• Trafford Centre in Manchester
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Lost Toys R Us Stores

My book about Lost Toys R Us Stores is available to buy from Amazon.

There were once 105 Toys R Us stores in the UK. The business ceased trading in 2018 and all of those shops closed. It is still possible to find traces of the brand on some retail parks and shopping centres around the UK. The book takes a look at some of those old stores between 2019 and 2021.

Buy Lost Toys R Us Stores on Amazon.

Mini Golf at War Memorial Park in Coventry

A look at the Golden Putter Mini Golf course at War Memorial Park in Coventry.

Many thanks to our friend, fellow crazy golf adventurer and minigolf rival Matt Dodd for sending over some photos of the Golden Putter Mini Golf course at War Memorial Park in Coventry.

The Golden Putter Mini Golf course at War Memorial Park is a temporary pop-up seasonal course. The portable layout is a 36-hole course.

Check out the Golden Putter Mini Golf website for more information.

We've played and visited several Golden Putter Mini Golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at the Dog and Duck pub in Walthamstow

There's a Crazy Golf course at the Dog and Duck pub in Walthamstow E17.

The Dog and Duck pub in Walthamstow, London has a minigolf course in its beer garden.

Visit the Dog and Duck website and social media for more information.

It's another course for us to check out on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It's fun seeing pubs adding minigolf in their beer gardens and we've played a few on a travels over the years.

CenterCup - an Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept

A new Arnold Palmer-themed golf and dining concept is launching in the USA.

CenterCup will feature a 27-hole mini-golf course at the venue in the Butler Shopping Center District of Gainesville, Florida, USA.

The CenterCup concept is a new partnership between 23 Restaurant Services and Arnold Palmer Enterprises.

Check out the CenterCup website for more information.

Hopefully we'll get to visit CenterCup on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future.

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses

Arnold Palmer Putting Courses are a design classic and include all the elements that make a Crazy Golf course great – the Windmill, the Waterwheel, an Obelisk, ledges, bunkers, traps, flat loops, hills and plateaus – everything laid out to make a course interesting, testing and most of all fun!

They're my favourite type of minigolf course and I've visited most of those that still remain in the UK.

The Arnold Palmer branded miniature golf courses were part of the Arnold Palmer Enterprises empire set-up in 1961 that saw the legendary golfer's name licensed and franchised to a wide-range of activities and products including Dry Cleaning centres and an Arnold Palmer brand foot detergent.

A sign at the Arnold Palmer Putting Course in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, UK

By 1966 there were 130 Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the USA, with ten in Japan and some in South Africa.

The first Arnold Palmer Putting Course in the UK opened in Coventry in 1965 and was part of an Arnold Palmer Driving Range. A course was also located at a Driving Range in Sheffield.

Take a look at my blog post about Arnold Palmer Putting Courses in the UK for further information.

Scorecard from Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes

A look at a minigolf scorecard from Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes.

Photos from our visit to Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

The Enchanted Forest course at Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes

Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes

Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf can be found in the Theatre District of Milton Keynes and is home to two 12-hole indoor courses.

The Enchanted Forest course at Mr Mulligan's was the 1,032nd course visited and 570th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006. The Underwater Kingdom was the 1,033rd visited and 571st played. The theming on the courses was excellent. We both agreed that the Enchanted Forest was our favourite of the two challenges.

We've played several of the Mr Mulligan's brand of minigolf on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, including the outdoor Pirate Golf Mr Mulligan's at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre also in Milton Keynes.

Emily teeing-off among the giant obstacles

Visit the Mr Mulligan's website for more information on their course locations around the UK.

City Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, USA

There's a Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

A sign for the Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park

Emily was recently back in Chicago and walked through Maggie Daley Park

A look at the City Mini Golf course at Maggie Daley Park in Chicago (May 2019)

Emily was on holiday in Chicago, USA back in May 2019 and visited the Chicago-themed City Mini Golf layout at Maggie Daley Park.

The course was the 884th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

  

Check out the City Mini Golf course website for more information, opening times and prices.

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Since 2006 Emily and I have visited 1,064 miniature golf courses around the UK and overseas on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. As well as playing minigolf in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey and the Isle of Man we’ve travelled to minigolf courses in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain (Lanzarote and Majorca), Sweden and the USA.

When added to the courses Christopher and his family have visited around the British Isles and Türkiye, Spain (Majorca), Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Indonesia, Croatia and the USA, the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour stands at a combined 1,111 courses visited!