The Chilli Shop in Leeds

While we were up in Leeds to watch some live PDC darts and Hal Cruttenden's stand-up tour we stumbled upon a great shop in the Merrion Shopping Centre.

We were making our way to the First Direct arena for the kick-off of the 2016 PDC Premier League of darts and spotted the Chilli Shop. And what a marvellous shop it is too.

Our haul from the Chilli Shop in Leeds. The flyers for the shop also contain a version of the Scoville scale - a 'Survival Guide' to the hottest things on the planet!

As well as 50 free tasters of the world's best chillies there was all manner of other merchandise and snacks to buy.

Two things caught my eye - the first was 'The Museum of Pain'. This exhibits the hottest chillies in the world, some of which are a mind (and mouth) blowing two million plus on the Scoville scale! As a curator of The Crazy Golf Museum it was great to see the owner of the shop, Frank Jay, has taken the time and effort to display the array of chillies, trinkets, objects and info.

The Museum of Pain - it contains the world's hottest Easter Egg!

The second thing that caught my eye was the Chilli Challenge of the 'Hunger Games' where you got to play some darts, but with the caveat that if you didn't hit the bullseye to win the star prize (a bag of the world's hottest peanuts) you had to do a forfeit.

Darts, with a difference

I stepped up and scored a dismal amount that doesn't need to be recorded here. Needless to say that Emily was brave enough and stepped up to take my forfeit of a spoonful of a Chilli and Garlic condiment. I was more fearful of trying it due to cross contamination with all the gluten knocking around from the crackers used for tasters. For once, Coeliac Disease came to my aid!

We did return to the shop the next day and tasted a few other items and picked up some nice bottles of sauce, including the condiment which has a nice kick to it. We also bought a Goan Curry Sauce that is gluten free.

The Chilli Shop is well worth a visit if you're in Leeds. Do check out the Chilli Shop website for more info and details on how to order online.

Links:
- The Chilli Shop website
- The Chilli Shop on Facebook

- The Chilli Shop on Twitter

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Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Sheffield

Playing at Paradise Island Adventure Golf in Sheffield on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Driving home from a few days away in Leeds we called in to the Valley Centertainment leisure park in Sheffield to play at Paradise Island Adventure Golf.

A lovely bit of theming

We've wanted to play the courses for a few years now and were really looking forward to our round. We weren't disappointed as it was great fun.

Playing hole one

We decided to play the Cinnamon Cove course, one of the two 18-hole courses there, and teed-off in our very competitive contest.

On dry land in Cinnamon Cove

The Paradise Island Adventure Golf layout in Sheffield is unique, fun, well designed and looks magnificent.

All aboard!

It's not often we play a course where you actually do feel transported to a different location, but the starting-point of the Cinnamon Cove course does that, with the very nice ship-effect.

A fairly straight first hole

Emily holing out

From the confines of the boat you make your way to the jungle-themed course, full of animatronic animals, tikki heads, monkeys, tunnels, hills and pipes. And a Cannibal Camp!

Outside the Cannibal Camp in Cinnamon Cove

We were concerned that playing the course on a rainy Saturday morning would mean we'd be queuing a lot on the courses, but even though there were quite a few other players out on the course the games were flowing nicely and we were able to wrap up our game in about 45 minutes.

In amongst the cargo on the first hole

The other players seemed to be enjoying themselves, with plenty of shouting, cheering and laughing heard around the course. Something that is always nice to see in minigolf.

A lovely little loop hole. A nice ace opportunity

The cheeky monkeys get quite raucous on this hilly pipe hole 

Emily about to ace the 13th. I threed it

The Cinnamon Cove course became the 391st course played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the 674th visited overall since we started our tour of the UK's courses in September 2006.

Perhaps Emily should of rubbed the Buddha's belly on the 17th hole for good luck 

As the very tricky 18th hole was to be her undoing

In our 18-hole match-up I defeated Emily by one-shot - the 18th hole was a cruel decider - with a 40 to 41 scoreline. Emily won on aces, scoring a pair of holes-in-one on the 4th and 13th holes. We found there were plenty of ace opportunities on the course as we were leaving plenty of shots out there as tap-in twos.

A pair of characters

Neither of us won on the 'lucky' 19th hole

We're looking forward to returning to play the Shell Bay course one day in the future. Hopefully on a return to Paradise Island Adventure Golf I'll get to see the course mascot Maggie McCaw!

The starting point for the second course at Paradise Island Adventure Golf

A view of the Shell Bay course

As a big collector of minigolf merch it was brilliant to be able to buy some trinkets at Paradise Island Adventure Golf. I bought a button badge, keyring and golf ball stress ball.

A nice selection of minigolf merch

You can find the 36-hole Paradise Island Adventure Golf at the Valley Centertainment leisure park in Sheffield. There did look like there was plenty to do there, including two of our other favourites - laser tag and tenpin bowling!

Another minigolf shark captured on our tour

We've been to Paradise Island Adventure Golf courses in Manchester and Glasgow, and the courses at Livingston and Cheshire Oaks are on our 'to visit' list. Visit the Paradise Island Adventure Golf website for more information, prices and opening times for all the courses. You can also sign-up to the Paradise Island Adventure Golf newsletters on the site to keep up-to-date with news and offers from the courses.

Links:
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf website
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf Sheffield website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- 85 Manchester (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Tiki Hut Trail) - Adventure Golf
- 86 Manchester (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Temple Ruins Adventure) - Adventure Golf
- 90 Glasgow (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Maggie McCaw's Challenge) - Adventure Golf
- 91 Glasgow (Paradise Island Adventure Golf, Tiki Hut Trail) - Adventure Golf
- Paradise Island Adventure Golf at Braehead, Scotland
- Indoor Minigolf, Crazy Golf and Adventure Golf courses
- Mini Golf Sharks

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Gluten free at 2 Oxford Place in Leeds

Dining out at 2 Oxford Place in Leeds.

2 Oxford Place gets the double-thumbs up from me

Ever since I heard that a 100% gluten free restaurant was opening in Leeds I had been excited to visit. Luckily we got to eat there on Friday. It was certainly well worth the wait.

The kitchen at The Oxford Place is totally gluten free so I was able to dine without fear of cross-contamination. And even better, I was able to order without having to explain I have Coeliac Disease. I haven't done that for well over six months and it's certainly not a regular occurrence!

Delicious food, great drinks, excellent service, 100% gluten free - 2 Oxford Place is brilliant

We'd arrived in Leeds on Thursday but unfortunately found ourselves at 2 Oxford Place between the afternoon and evening opening times.

With my hunger built and a great looking menu I really wanted to treat myself, so when we returned on Friday we went all out, and ordered a grilled cheese sandwich to start. I then had a huge portion of haddock, chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce for my main course.

One of my favourite meals. And something I don't get to eat all that often

Even though we were quite full of delicious food and drink (we opted for Prossecco, wine and cocktails - although there are gluten free beers available) we had to treat ourselves to dessert. And what a dessert it was!

Look at that Assiette!

The last time we'd had a meal out together in a 100% gluten free restaurant was at The Galley in Plymouth in June last year. On that occasion we were blown away by the dessert. And the dessert we were served at 2 Oxford Place over six months later amazed us again. The Assiette of Puddings to share at 2 Oxford Place included crème brulee, chocolate brownie, cake truffles, and mini pavlovas.

We're still eating some of the dessert after having had to take it away!

We really enjoyed the whole experience of eating at 2 Oxford Place. The food, service and venue are all brilliant and we would definitely eat there again.

Check out the The Oxford Place website for further details, menus and opening times.

Links:
- The Oxford Place website

Related blog posts:
- Gluten free
- Coeliac

Mr Mulligan's Pirate Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes

Revisiting Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course in Milton Keynes.

A view of the tremendous facility

On Tuesday 2nd February I played my first round of miniature golf of the year as I swung into action against my old minigolf rival Marc 'The Roller' Bazeley at Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf course at the Abbey Hill Golf Centre in Milton Keynes.

Playing through the cannon

Marc in the ship on hole 1

The game was a rematch from our first round at the tremendous facility in December 2011.

A criminal element on the course

This time the score was not as close, as I picked up the win with a score of 47 to Marc's 60. March had been royally robbed on the 9th hole as he scored a dreadful seven. A couple of other jiffs on his scorecard, caused in no small part to his ridiculous 'tactic' of only playing the ball "to the right" on every single hole, meant 'The Roller' added another silver medal to his collection.

Unfortunately the rafts were out of action rendering the island hole unplayable

Visit Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf website for details of the course, opening times and prices. You can also find out about other Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf courses in Castleford, Nottingham and Woking. We've played at Castleford and Woking, but are yet to get to the Ramsdale Park Golf Centre course. There's a pair of new Mr Mulligan Adventure Golf courses opening in Stevenage, Hertfordshire this year too.

Related blog posts:
- Mr Mulligan's Pirate Golf in Milton Keynes
- Pirate Island Adventure Golf at Abbey Hill Golf Centre, Milton Keynes - Minigolf Course Played #281
- Milton Keynes
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Links:
- Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf website
- Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf, Milton Keynes website
- Mr Mulligan's Adventure Golf on the Abbey Hill Golf Centre website

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

More minigolf puzzles

What better day for a blog about some new (old) miniature golf puzzles than today - as the 29th January is National Puzzle Day!

A Putt-Putt Puzzle of a very crazy Miniature Golf course. Published by Hallmark Cards Inc. Many thanks to our friend 'Hacksaw' Jon Drexler for sending it across the pond to live in the Crazy Golf Museum

The 'Loopy Links Putting Green Stacking Puzzle' made by the Binary Arts Corporation in 1998. Nice to see a Golf-related toy using the term 'Putting Green'

Check out our blog post from last year's National Puzzle Day to see pics of even more Crazy Golf and Minigolf jigsaw puzzles we've collected and completed* over the years.

* Well, puzzles that Emily has put together.

Related blog posts and links:
- Jigsaw Puzzles
- National Puzzle Day on 29 January 2015
- Finding the Jan Van Haasteren Crazy Golf Jumbo Jigsaw Puzzle in Derby
- The British Jigsaw Puzzle Championship 2014
- Jigfest 2012!
- The Crazy Golf Museum

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Dinosaur Encounter Adventure Golf at Heighley Gate Garden Centre

New Jurassic Mini Golf course opening in Morpeth, Northumberland.

Our friend, and sister of superstar minigolfer (and all-round sporting marvel) John 'Big Al' Moore, Kay Heslop alerted us to a brand new minigolf course opening soon in the north of England!

The Dinosaur Encounter Adventure Golf course will be a 12-hole layout located at the Heighley Gate Garden Centre in Morpeth, Northumberland. It's scheduled to open on Saturday 5th March 2016.

The team at Golf Attractions are behind the new dino-themed course. We've visited and played their portable courses in Milton Keynes and Hatfield. They've also got a Jurassic Golf course at Bridgemere Garden Centre in Nantwich, Cheshire.

One of the temporary Golf Attractions courses has a Jurassic-theme. We played it when it was set-up in Milton Keynes in 2013

Visit the Golf Attractions website and Dinosaur Encounter Heighley Gate Adventure Golf Facebook page for more details and photos of the course as it builds towards the grand opening.

We're looking forward to having a round on the course as part of our Crazy Golf World of Minigolf Tour.

Links:
- Golf Attractions website
- Dinosaur Encounter Heighley Gate Adventure Golf Facebook page
- Heighley Gate Garden Centre website

Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf World of Minigolf Tour

- Jurassic Golf from Golf Attractions in Milton Keynes

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Crazy Golf course at Berryfields Holiday Park in Cornwall

While driving from Mawgan Porth towards Padstow on our South West roadtrip last summer we spotted a sign for Berryfields Holiday Park - a sign that said 'Crazy Golf' on it!

The sign next to the road to Padstow - if it wasn't for this we'd never have known there was a Crazy Golf course in Porthcothan Bay

A quick bit of manoeuvring and we were on the lane down towards the holiday park located at Porthcothan Bay. And what a minigolf sight we were about to behold.

We love finding interesting and unique miniature golf courses. On our travels since 2006 we've seen some very different courses, and the Berryfields Crazy Golf course was certainly a minigolf mystery. Even the question mark was in reverse!?

The Crazy Golf course at Berryfields Holiday Park was the 50th we visited on our roadtrip and the 649th visited overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. It was also unique!

Some theming

Something blue

Is it a boat or a castle?

The view from the mystery hole

A zig-zag hole

With a truly terrifying middle bit

It'd take a very lucky shot to get an ace on this hole

A view of the Berryfields Crazy Golf course

The other side of the two holes

A circle of pencils!

And a volcano in the middle!

Crazy Golf at its very maddest!

Not believing what he's seeing

There's also a Pitch and Putt course at the Holiday Park, that looked to be a nice layout.

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Mini Golf in the South West of England

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow Richard and Emily on Twitter. You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.