Saturday, May 17, 2014

Pitch & Putt Miniature Golf at Barton's Point Coastal Park on the Isle of Sheppey

A visit to Barton's Point Coastal Park in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey to look for a Crazy Golf course.

We didn't find one.

However, there was a Pitch & Putt style of Miniature Golf at Barton's Point.

Miniature Golf at Barton's Point Coastal Park on the Isle of Sheppey
The 9-hole Pitch & Putt at Barton's Point Coastal Park on the Isle of Sheppey

We couldn't find any of the Minigolf courses on the Isle of Sheppey - at Sheerness, Half Way or Minster Beach.

There was however a Miniature Railway at Barton's Point Coastal Park!

Miniature Railway at Barton's Point Coastal Park
The Miniature Railway Station at Barton's Point Coastal Park

Links:
- Barton's Point Coastal Park
- Sheppey Miniature Engineering and Model Society
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Friday, May 16, 2014

Awareness Week: Coeliac Facts from Udi's Gluten Free

New Coeliac Disease infographic from Udi's Gluten Free.

The team at Udi's Gluten Free have put out a new infographic with a range of facts about Coeliac Disease to coincide with Coeliac Awareness Week that is running from the 12th to the 18th of May.

Udi's Gluten Free
The Udi's Gluten Free Awareness Week: Coeliac Facts infographic (click on the image to enlarge and also available to view here)

Udi's launched in the UK at the end of 2013 and have been in the USA since 1994. Check out the Udi's website for details of their range and stockists.

Further details about Coeliac Disease and Coeliac Awareness Week can be found on the Coeliac UK website and Twitter. May is also Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada - check out the hashtag on Twitter.

Link:
- Udi's Gluten Free

Related blog posts:
- Udi’s Gluten Free – more than just mince pies
Coeliac UK Awareness Week 2014 and the Gluten-free guarantee
- Gluten Free
- Coeliac

Crazy Golf at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham

Playing the 18-hole Wild Frontier Crazy Golf course at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham as part of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golf at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham
At the Wild Frontier Crazy Golf course at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham, Kent

On our way to Whitstable on the 8th of May we decided to make a stop in Gillingham, Kent to visit the Strand Leisure Park and play the Crazy Golf course we’d heard was there.

On this occasion the course was open to play. Emily decided she didn’t want to play so I paid the man the £2.70 for a round on the 18-hole ‘Wild Frontier Crazy Golf course’, plus the £2.50 deposit required for the putter and ball and headed off for a quick round as the weather wasn’t all that great.

Oddly the course didn't have a pathway, or stepping stones, between holes, just grass – which was a bit annoying as it was wet underfoot.

Each of the holes on the good looking scorecard had a different ‘Wild West’ name and the course was split into three parts – Holes 1 to 6 were in ‘Dodge City’, holes 7 to 12 were in ‘Indian Country’ and holes 13 to 18 were in ‘Gold Valley'.

Wild Frontier Crazy Golf in Gillingham
Hole 1 - Cowboy Hat

There was a big cowboy hat on hole 1, some horseshoes on hole 6, a snake on hole 7, wig-wams on hole 9, a US flag on hole 10 (named ‘Death Valley’) and a peace pipe on hole 11.

Wild Frontier Crazy Golf at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham, Kent
Playing hole 1 - Cowboy Hat

Wild Frontier Crazy Golf at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham, Kent
Hole 2 - Cliff Edge

Wild Frontier Crazy Golf at the Strand Leisure Park in Gillingham, Kent
Hole 2 - Cliff Edge

Hole 3 - Wagon Wheel

Hole 3 - Wagon Wheel

Hole 4 - Deadmans Creek

Hole 5 - Horse Shoe

Hole 6 - Six Shooter

Hole 7 - Snake

Hole 7 - Snake

Hole 7 - Snake

Hole 8 - Canyon

Hole 8 - Canyon

Hole 9 - Wig-Wam

Hole 10 - Death Valley

Hole 11 - Peace Pipe

Hole 11 - Peace Pipe

Hole 12 - Ravine

Hole 12 - Ravine

Hole 13 - Gold Pan

Hole 13 - Gold Pan

Hole 13 - Gold Pan

Hole 14 - Hill Billy Ridge

As we approached hole 15 (‘Rock Tunnel’) and the end of our round we noticed the man emerge from the hut and walk along the path away from the course towards the car park. He didn’t say anything to us, but we assumed he’d be back in a couple of minutes to take the putter and ball back and refund me my £2.50 deposit.

However, he never reappeared!

So, for only the second time* on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we’d returned to the hut to find it abandoned and so had to leave the putter and ball leant up against the door. On our walk back to the car park we saw no sign of the man – or anyone else for that matter.

Hole 15 - Rock Tunnel

Hole 16 - Devil's Drop

Hole 17 - Mine Collapse

We left the Strand Leisure Park slightly dejected and £2.50 lighter.


The highlight of playing the course was the solitary hole-in-one I scored on the 18th hole (‘Mine Entrance’) – which in my mind was the hardest hole out there.

Hole 18 - Mine Entrance

As well as the 18-hole Crazy Golf there was also a Pitch & Putt miniature golf course at the park. But with the man doing a disappearing act we were unable to find out how much it was to play.

The Par 3 miniature golf course at the Strand Leisure Park

A view of one of the holes on the nice looking course

The Strand Leisure Park also had a miniature railway. Unfortunately it wasn’t running on our visit.

The siding and depot of the miniature railway

The miniature railway station next to the Crazy Golf course

En route to Gillingham we passed through one of the other Luton's! It's in Chatham.

Luton, Kent

Link:

Related blog post:


* The other time was at Coalville in Leicestershire where the man at the Minigolf course was also the bailiff for the fishing lake on the same site.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Minigolfing gluten free in Margate

I’m an avid blogger and tweeter on all things Minigolf and Gluten Free so with May being Celiac Awareness Month in the USA and Canada and Coeliac UK running its annual Awareness Week from the 12th to the 18th May what better time for me to be exploring the gluten free options available while on a roadtrip to the British Minigolf Association’s National Championships in Margate, Kent.

Minigolfer, and Coeliac, 'Squire' Richard Gottfried at Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

Arriving in Margate in the early afternoon on practice-day-Friday Emily and I headed straight for Strokes Adventure Golf course on Westbrook Promenade. We’d spent the previous day in nearby Whitstable – via Gillingham and the Isle of Sheppey – and had a great meal at the Pearson’s Arms on the seafront there.

Richard Gottfried playing the 14th hole at Strokes Adventure Golf course

After the first practice round – Emily winning by 39(+3) to my 41(+5) – we had a bit of a sit-down with team-mate/rival John ‘Thighs’ Moore. While we were relaxing a bit of post arrived for me at the course, in the form of a Coeliac UK t-shirt!

Special delivery

A second practice round followed, with me, Emily and John having a round with BMGA Tour rookie Derek ‘Needs a nickname’ Bentall. The scores in this round saw me hit a 38(+2), with John shooting a 39(+3), Emily a 44(+8) and Derek a 46(+10).

Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent
Playing the 16th hole - Shark's Teeth - at Strokes Adventure Golf course

After some more practice on the course’s more testing holes Emily and I headed off to check in to our hotel and explore Margate. We hadn’t been to the town since the BMGA British Open tournament in 2012 so we wanted to see what had changed. The Old Town in Margate is always worth a look and we popped into a few of the new vintage shops searching out old postcards.

Unfortunately one of the things that had changed for the worse in the town is the closure of the classic Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Cliftonville. We played there in 2007 and 2011.

On the plus-side The Ambrette restaurant is still going strong in Margate and after our last visit – a recommendation by Matt Wood at Strokes Adventure Golf – we were really looking forward to our meal.


What a gluten free feast

I can’t recommend The Ambrette enough, it really is great. The staff are very knowledgeable about the gluten free needs of Coeliac diners and when you eat there you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. For example, with the main course you are served a dosa pancake, rather than a naan bread – whereas in many other places you’d just have to ‘go without’. My dessert of Chocolate Silk was amazing. 

Time for pudding at The Ambrette

The first day’s play of the 2014 BMGA British Minigolf Championships teed-off on National Miniature Golf Day and the minigolfing gods were somewhat on our side as the rain which had been forecast never arrived. However, the field of 30-players had to contend with some very windy weather indeed, making the difficult Strokes course even harder in places. With nine-rounds(!) in total a lot of minigolf was to be played over the weekend.

A view of the 18-hole Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate, Kent
A rather overcast day in Margate

During the rules briefing and announcement of the groups and playing order I tweeted "This year's @bmga_minigolf championships @strokesgolf features a Portuguese and a Canadian. And a bunch of Brits. #minigolf #Margate" to which @Strokesgolf replied "and a coeliac." Brilliant :-)

Despite the wind cutting through the players there were still some opportunities to play some great shots and Emily and I hit ten and eight holes-in-one during the day respectively.

Prior to visiting places on the BMGA Tour and during our roadtrips I will put out a tweet or two to see if anyone can recommend anywhere to safely eat gluten free.

A great reply came from Annie’s Supperclub and Larder who let me know she was able to arrange delivery of a variety of picnic and lunch orders to any of the beaches, or stations (and Minigolf courses!) in Thanet. This sounded great, as I always struggle to eat anything substantial during the day while playing in a competition. 

While I did keep myself going on the Pom Bears Strokes Adventure Golf course sells, it was great to know I’d be having a proper lunch too.

The lunch of a Chicken & Bacon Sub (freshly baked bread), a bag of Prawn Cocktail crisps and a Chocolate Cupcake was great and I’d certainly use the service again and recommend it to others. It made such a big difference in being able to eat some well made, fresh and tasty food – all in the knowledge it was 100% gluten free and made by someone with extensive knowledge of coeliac disease and gluten free food.

Lunchtime - a proper meal after a busy morning of tournament minigolf

Having had two large and delicious meals out on Thursday and Friday, plus a filling lunch, I opted for a ‘hotel room picnic’, while Emily had a meal at the hotel restaurant while we watched the Eurovision Song Contest with some of our fellow minigolfers – living the high-life!

Having visited the local Morrisons it was an opportunity to complete one of the Coeliac UK Awareness Week postcards detailing what was available in the store’s free from section. I duly noted what was there, and what was missing, and sent this off. I’d encourage all my fellow coeliacs to have a look in their local (or not so local) supermarkets to help inform the work of Coeliac UK.

Day two began much like day one, with windy weather, but a little less sun – that’s not to say we didn’t catch the sun after three days exposure – getting a nice tan on my face and hands!

During the break between rounds the Hole-In-One Charity Challenge took place, with 28-players stepping up to tackle the 17th hole – the Ski Jump – with a standard low-bounce course ball, rather than with a Minigolf sport ball that we’d used during the main-event.

Playing the 17th hole at Strokes Adventure Golf during the BMGA Hole-in-One Challenge contest

I was third to play the hole, with neither of the first two players managing to score an Ace I lined-up the shot, hit it for a jump over the ramp, a rebound off the bricks at the back of the green and in it went! I greeted the shot with my Ace-shout of “Yee-ha” and a round of applause from my fellow competitors. It was a nervy ten or so minutes of waiting for the rest of the field to give it a shot. Luckily for me no-one else managed to score a hole-in-one, though some came very very close, so I won the shootout – my first win in a BMGA Hole-in-One Challenge!

Just as I was being declared the winner of the challenge contest I noticed my lunch from Annie’s Larder was arriving – a great victory meal of Falafel Sub with a salad, Prawn Cocktail crisps and a Lemon Polenta Cake.


Playing the 11th - Heartbreak Ridge - a real killer hole in Minigolf

It was a brilliant weekend of minigolf, food & drink, good company and nice seasides.

Thank you to Matt, Brian and Frankie at Strokes Adventure Golf for allowing me to use the course as my weekend’s residence and 'mail-drop' and to the team at Coeliac UK for putting the t-shirt and Awareness Week information in the post to me.

Strokes Adventure Golf course - an 18-hole Minigolf course on Westbrook Promenade in Margate Kent
Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate - well worth a visit 

For more information about Coeliac UK, Coeliac Disease and the Gluten-free Guarantee Awareness Week check out the Coeliac UK website.

As a Coeliac I’m always keen to highlight the condition and spread the word in order to get more places offering uncontaminated gluten-free choices. I’m also a Gfree Athlete with the Glutenlibre team based in the USA. Check out my interview with them here.

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune disease caused by intolerance to gluten and while there is no cure (yet!) the only treatment is to adhere (endure) a strict lifelong gluten free diet – which can be harder than you think when you factor in the risks and hazards of cross-contamination!

Links:

Food and restaurant links:

Related blog posts:

Funny things about being a Coeliac #6

Its Coeliac Disease (pronounced see-lee-ack). So I am not:

a celeriac - that's Howard ;-)

a celery - even though my brother thinks I am!

a solero - that's an ice cream!?

Links:
Funny things about being a Coeliac #1
Funny things about being a Coeliac #4
Funny things about being a Coeliac #5
Coeliac-related blog posts
Gluten Free-related blog posts

Monday, May 12, 2014

British Minigolf Association Ranking updates following the BMGA British Championships

National Miniature Golf ranking update from the British Minigolf Association following the BMGA British Championships Margate.


In the latest update of the official BMGA Order of Merit for 2013/14 I am ranked in 10th place of 85 places (138 players).

Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate
Richard Gottfried on hole 14 of the Strokes Adventure Golf course in Margate

Richard Gottfried's rankings in the Strokeplay Order of Merit in the 2013/14 season:
Following the BMGA Star City Open - 12th of 74 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA Star City Open & AGM changes - 11th of 79 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA British Masters - 7th of 84 places (137 players)
- Following the BMGA British Championships - 10th of 85 places (138 players)

Emily has moved up in the BMGA Order of Merit rankings to be listed at number 21.

Emily playing hole 17 in the BMGA Hole-in-One Challenge shootout at Strokes Adventure Golf in Margate during the BMGA British Championships weekend

Emily Gottfried's rankings in the Strokeplay Order of Merit in the 2013/14 season:
- Following the BMGA Star City Open - 42nd of 74 places (135 players)
Following the BMGA Star City Open & AGM changes - 34th of 79 places (135 players)
- Following the BMGA British Masters - 26th of 84 places (137 players)
- Following the BMGA British Championships - 21st of 85 places (138 players)

Further details can be found on the British Minigolf Association website.

Link:

Related blog posts: