Playing Crazy Golf in St Erth

Crazy Golf at Penwith Pitch and Putt in St Erth, Cornwall.

This is a bit of a throwback blog post, but it seems crazy that our adventure around the south west coast of England was back in 2015! We've still got a few minigolf blog posts to do about that trip!

You can see the full list of 62 courses we visited on our two-week holiday in our post 'Mini Golf in the South West of England'. One of those courses was the Crazy Golf layout at the Penwith Pitch & Putt centre in St Erth, Cornwall.

Emily playing the very tricky 18th

On the Wishing Well

It was a brilliant and brightly coloured 18-hole course and great fun to play.

A happy character. And a fun Crazy Golf obstacle

The course was the 37th visited on our south west trip, the 375th played overall and 636th course visited since September 2006.

In our game on the 8th June 2015 Emily won with a score of 42 to my 46.

Emily on the Wishing Well hole

On the 4th hole

Emily putting on the Helter Skelter

Playing the 14th

On the long last hole

It's always nice to see a windmill on a Crazy Golf course

For more information and opening times visit the Play Golf Penwith Pitch & Putt Facebook page.

A view of the Pitch and Putt course in St Erth

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 us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Winning at Subpar Miniature Golf

A great online minigolf contest.

I do enjoy a good minigolf contest and courses often hold online 'guess the number of ball' competitions. A recent promotion from Subpar Miniature Golf in Alameda, California was definitely one of the best I've ever seen and had a fun and novel twist.

To win you had to incorrectly guess the number of golf balls in the photo!

How many golf balls do you see?

Using my many years of minigolf experience I guessed at 732 and won!



The prize is a Subpar Miniature Golf bumper sticker - it'll be a fine addition to my collection and the Crazy Golf Museum archives - and by posting a photo of it stuck on my car I'll also receive a free round at the course. Now, to book my flights so I can collect the sticker...

Let's hope it's not my last minigolf win of the year!

You can find the Subpar Miniature Golf course at 1511 Park Stree, Alameda, California. Visit the Subpar Miniature Golf website for more info, opening times and prices.

It sounds like a great place as it's also got pool, a slot car track, an arcade and air hockey. On Fridays and Saturdays the Miniature Golf course becomes a Glow Golf layout too!

Our friends over at A Couple of Putts played the course last year, check out their review. It certainly looks like they had fun there.

Links:
- Subpar Miniature Golf website
- Subpar Miniature Golf on Facebook

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Laser Disk shopping!

I've found the perfect shop to take over to expand my business empire!

Laser Disks!?

I'm sure there's still money to be had in the VHS tape and Laserdisc markets...

A trip to Ashton-under-Lyne railway station

Visiting Ashton-under-Lyne railway station.

While visiting Ashton-under-Lyne and the great Portland Basin Museum for the first time we swung by the railway station for a quick look for some classic Northern trains.

Train nerd

We were in luck as we saw BOTH 16:34 services arriving at and departing from the station! One was a two-coach Class 150 Sprinter heading to Huddersfield, the other was a four-coach Pacer Railbus en route to Wigan Wallgate.

Bound for Wigan Wallgate

Off to Huddersfield

One of the non-stopping trains passing through Ashton-under-Lyne station

Videos:
- Northern Sprinter and Pacer Railbus trains at Ashton-under-Lyne station
- Northern Sprinter train on a railway bridge at Normanton Road, Cheadle
- GBRf 66737 with Drax freight trucks at Cheadle Heath

Related blog posts:
- Train nerd
- Trains

Some new old minigolf postcards

A look at minigolf postcards from Woolacombe, Droitwich and Margate.

I recently bought some excellent old postcards from one of my favourite dealers and the batch included many we'd never seen before.

One was from the Once Upon a Time theme park in Woolacombe, Devon and features the attraction's mascot Pippa Pig enjoying the activities that were on offer - including an interesting looking Crazy Golf. Checking online, the Once Upon a Time theme park is long gone, having closed at the end of the 2005 season. The park had opened in the early 1990's and was based in the old Mortehoe and Woolacombe railway station.

Pippa Pig at Once Upon a Time Children's Theme Park, Woolacombe, N. Devon. Postally unused postcard published by Dowland Press Ltd,. Frome, Somerset. No date

Another of the brilliant cards shows the Putting Greens at the Raven Hotel in Droitwich, Worcestershire. It's the first minigolf card I've seen from Droitwich. Unfortunately I can't find any information on the exact location of the hotel but I'm fairly certain it's not there now. There are a number of other hotels in the area that are, or were, called the Raven. The closest looking one is the St Andrews Town Hotel.

The Putting Greens, Raven Hotel, Droitwich, Worcs. Postally unused 'Gravure' postcard by Lucas Engraving Co. Ltd., Birmingham. No date

The card showing The Oval in Cliftonville is the first I've seen that contains a full view of all 36-holes which used to form the Little Oasis Crazy Golf course. Luckily we managed to play both of the classic Arnold Palmer Putting Courses before they were removed in 2014.

The Oval, Cliftonville, PT4419. Postally used postcard postmarked from Thanet, Kent on the 24 September 1975. By Photo Precision Limited, St. Ives, Huntingdon

Related blog posts:
- Postcards
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Playing Junkyard Golf in Manchester

A revisit to play the Junkyard Crazy Golf course in Manchester.

The two 9-hole Junkyard Crazy Golf Club courses in Manchester's Piccadilly Place were the 718th and 719th courses visited on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour last November. They are now the 421st and 422nd played.

Hole 1 and 2 on the Pablo course

In my round on the Pablo Crazy Golf course I scored a 27 - the last hole, a Volcano, did me in with a five! It's got a very tough second putt up hill.  I shot a 29 on the Frieda course, with the third hole doing me in with a costly seven!

There's a blacklight section of the course. One of my favourite types of minigolf design

There are definitely some good hole-in-one opportunities on the course, with the loop-di-loop first hole and skate ramp fourth holes on Frieda my favourites.

The first hole on the Freida course is a good hole-in-one opportunity

A view from the tee

The skate ramp is another chance for an ace

From the tee to the 'green'

The whole venue has a very crazy feel and the minigolf holes and obstacles at Junkyard Golf are certainly unique.

Putt downhill...

...into a bathtub!

One of the more normal looking holes at Junkyard Crazy Golf

Truly...

...bizarre!

While it wasn't the easiest hole on the course I did enjoy seeing an Alan Partridge themed hole there!

Hole 6 on the Freida course is an Alan Partridge hole!

A-ha, it's a steep ramp

A Crazy Golf hole Jed Maxwell would be proud of

Visit the Junkyard Golf website for more details on the Manchester and London courses. We've heard good things about the FOUR London courses the team at Junkyard Golf have created.

We've visited 721 courses in the UK and overseas. One of those courses was in the exact same spot as Junkyard Golf. Back in 2012 there was a Christmas-themed Crazy Golf course set-up for six weeks. That course was the 313th played. I also won the Chrizy Golf Masters tournament there during that visit!

Links:
- Junkyard Golf
- Junkyard Golf Manchester

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Manchester

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

A trip to Reddish South railway station

Visiting Reddish South railway station.

Last year we watched the TV programme Paul Merton's Secret Stations and were interested to hear about the once a week 'parliamentary' rail service from Reddish South railway station in Greater Manchester.

Reddish South railway station. A very quiet spot

When we moved to Cheadle Hulme last summer we noticed on a local map that Reddish South was one of our closest stations here in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport!

The station's timetable makes for grim viewing

Yesterday we went to explore the station. Unfortunately we didn't see any trains pass through Reddish South and we didn't fancy waiting for the next and only service - the 09:27 to Stalybridge. On Friday!

Five days early, or two days late, for the next train from Reddish South

The station is one of the quietest in the UK, and the least used in Greater Manchester, with only 38 passengers using the station in 2015/16.

A view of Reddish Station from down the line

Ticking off another railway station visit on our travels

The station has a Friends group that are campaigning for a regular service from Reddish South

Practicing my hailing motion for when we actually catch a train from the request stop

An old unused tunnel to the right

A view of one of the old and unused platforms

The station has no facilities for passengers at all. At least Denton, another station on the Stockport-Stalybridge Line, has a bench.

Distinctly lacking in facilities

You can find out more about the station and service from the Friends of Reddish South Station group.

Watch episode 3 of Paul Merton's Secret Stations to see Reddish South station.

Further information about the station can be found on the Northern Railway website.

A new bus shelter in Stockport

My mate and minigolf rival Steve 'Le Velle' Lovell recently tagged me in a Stockport bus stop-related post on the Angry People in Local Newspapers Facebook page and asked if there was "any chance you could do a Ham and Egger piece on this...".

Well, yes. Yes there is.

I recognised the spot where the bus stop shelter should be straight away. It's on Edgeley Road, near St Lesmo Road, and we play pétanque just up the road from it at Alexandra Park in Edgeley.

On a recent drive up the road I noticed that JCDecaux have replaced the shelter.

The new bus shelter on Edgeley Road in Stockport

All's well that ends well.

A while back I noticed a sign on a lamppost that said the area used to have a tram line running through it

Related blog posts:
- Stockport
- Bus
- Steve Lovell

Sector 7 Laser Tag at Parrs Wood in Manchester

I'm a big fan of Laser Tag, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see that there's a Laser Tag game arena at the Parrs Wood entertainment complex in Manchester.

At the Sector 7 Laser Tag Adventure it's the Reds versus the Greens

Parrs Wood is just down the road from us and the Sector 7 Laser Tag can be found within the Tenpin bowling centre. We can't wait to return for a game there.

In the seemingly everlasting Laser Tag war waged between the forces of the REDS, BLUES, GREENS, and YELLOWS, players in our Laser Tag Rankings have taken part in battles in 'laser-war-torn' places including Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, Bristol, London, Peterborough, Crawley, New Brighton, Cannock, Whitstable, Skegness, Rayleigh and Milton Keynes.

Links:
- Tenpin Parrs Wood
- Parrs Wood Manchester

Related blog posts:
- Laser Tag
- Lazer Tag

Instascran in Stockport

We love funny signs and business names, so when we heard that there was a deli called 'Instascran' in the Heaviley bit of Stockport we had to go for a look.

Instagram is one of the few social networks I'm not on, so I don't know whether Instascran is actually on Instagram.

I'm now on Instagram. As is Instascran.

One of our favourite shop name puns is Singhbury's in Aylesbury.

Related blog posts:
- Stockport
- Funny sign

Links:
- Instascran on Twitter
- Instascran on Facebook

A return to the Leopoldpark minigolf courses in Blankenberge

A revisit to the Mini Golf courses at the Leopoldpark in Blankenberge, Belgium.

Emily recently returned to Blankenberge in Belgium she noticed there was a large Christmas decoration still standing next to the miniature golf courses at the Leopoldpark.

Not a wacky waving inflatable, but a decent looking snowman Christmas decoration

You can see the snowman to the left of the snookergolf course

While there Emily also took a few more snaps of the colourful minigolf, crazy golf and snooker golf courses at the Leopoldpark. They do look marvellous and we can't wait to return and actually play them!

The Blankenberge Crazy Golf course

Hole 1 of the Mini Golf course at the Leopoldpark

 

The Snookergolf layout

The three 18-hole courses at Leopoldpark became the 710th, 711th and 712th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Another view of the Snookergolf course. It looks like a brilliant game

On her last visit Emily spotted there was also a Petanque terrain at the Leopoldpark. This time she spotted there are some undercover pistes there too. Looks like a great spot to play some boules.

The uncovered Petanque pistes

The undercover Boulodrome

Visit the Leopoldpark website for more information about the courses, opening times and prices.

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf at Leopoldpark in Blankenberge
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.

Crazy Golf in London

Details of Crazy Golf, Minigolf and Adventure Golf courses in London.

Since our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour began in 2006 we've played a number of Crazy Golf courses in London. Up until a few years ago there was a real dearth of courses to play in the capital, but recently the London minigolf scene has changed quite dramatically with a number of late night, indoor Crazy Golf pop-ups and permanent venues opening.

You can't get much more of a London-scene than this. Sadly this Crazy Golf course in Chiswick closed a few years ago

Where to play Crazy Golf in London

Acton - Putt in the Park at Acton Park
Arkley (near Elstree and Borehamwood) - Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf at the A1 Driving Range
Barnet Copthall/Hendon - Captain's Bay Adventure Golf at Metro Golf Centre
Battersea - Plonk Golf at the Four Thieves Pub
Battersea - Putt in the Park at Battersea Park
Beckenham - Championship Miniature Golf at Kelsey Park
Brentwood - Rascal Bay Adventure Golf at Brentwood Golf Centre
Brick Lane - Junkyard Golf Club at the Old Truman Brewery
Brixton - Plonk Golf at the Duke of Edinburgh pub
Camden - Crazy Golf at Clarence Way Housing Estate
Carshalton - Crazy Golf at The Grove Park
Chingford/Waltham Forest - Jurassic Falls Adventure Golf
City of London EC3A - Swingers Crazy Golf Club at Brown's Buildings
Croydon - Dragon Quest Adventure Golf at World of Golf
Dalston - Plonk Golf at Efes Snooker Hall
Edgware - Lost Jungle London Adventure Golf
Greenwich - CrazyPutt Adventure Golf at the Greenwich Peninsula Golf Range - under construction as at November 2017
Hackney - Plonk Golf at Victoria Park
Harrow - Mini Majors Adventure Golf at Northwick Park
Hyde Park - Grass Putting Green at Hyde Park Sports Centre
London Fields - Plonk Golf and Plonk Golf's Crazy Golf Puzzle Room
Merton/Motspur Park - Mini Golf at Sir Joseph Hood Memorial Playing Fields
Mill Hill - Crazy Golf at Mill Hill Park
New Malden - Jurassic Encounter Adventure Golf at World of Golf
Northolt - Dinosaur Adventure Golf at West London Golf Centre
Romford - Moby Adventure Golf at Golf Kingdon
Shepherd's Bush - Puttshack at Westfield London (opening March 2018)
Sidcup/Chiselhurst - Mr Mulligan's Dino Adventure Golf at Sidcup Family Golf Centre
Southgate - Adventure Golf at Broomfield Park
Southgate - Jungle Falls Adventure Golf at Trent Park Public Golf Course
Sparrows Den, West Wickham, Bromley - Enchanted Village Adventure Golf
Sparrows Den, West Wickham, Bromley - Pitch & Putt
Staines-on-Thames - Golden Putter Mini Golf at Lammas Park
Stratford - Birdies Crazy Golf Club is reopening at Roof East in May 2017
Upminster - Crazy Golf at Hall Lane Miniature Golf
Walthamstow - Plonk Golf at The Chequers
Wandsworth - Putt in the Park at Wandsworth Park
Wandsworth - Adventure Putting at the Central London Golf Centre
West Horndon, near Brentwood - Miniature Golf at Dunton Hills Golf Course
Wimbledon - Crazy Golf at Wimbledon Park

Playing Moby Adventure Golf at Golf Kingdon, Romford in June 2014

Perhaps the strangest minigolf course we found in London is the excellent Putting Green tucked away in Hyde Park. It's well worth a visit. You can see a walk around the course on my YouTube Channel.

The Hyde Park course is a mixture of grass Putting with some Crazy Golf obstacle elements

Other courses that have been - and gone - include the sporting themed pop-up course created by our friends at the London-based minigolf specialists UrbanCrazy for the JW3 Jewish Community Centre. This layout looked great, but unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity to get along for a game. Hopefully a similar course will be created in the future.

Playing at the Brewmaster's Open Crazy Golf tournament at the Camden Town Brewery in 2012

You can view the original Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London blog post to see further photos and details of the Adventure Golf, Crazy Golf, Minigolf and Golf Putting Green courses we've visited and played in and around London since July 2008. Some of the forty-plus courses we've visited have sadly closed down, or were temporary pop-up courses. But on the plus side there are lots of new, fun and wacky Crazy Golf courses still to play in London.

Putting on the green of a crashed plane at the Golf Apocalypse of 2012

Related blog posts:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in and around London

- London

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems. Please do sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter too.