Minigolfing in Grange-over-Sands

Playing two more courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Crazy Golfing in Grange-over-Sands

We've added two more minigolf courses to our visited list after playing the Crazy Golf and Putting Green at Promenade Recreation Park in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria.

Emily's best hole saw her score a 2 on hole 2

The visits were numbers 820 and 821 overall on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. The two layouts were the 485th and 486th we've been able to play during our 12-year journey.

Minigolfing on the grass Putting course

Visit the Grange Promenade Recreation Park website for more information, opening times and prices.

Having a nice sit down outside the course

Our friend and minigolf rival Marc Bazeley visited the course and guest blogged about it on the site last year.

The courses at Grange Promenade Park are the sister courses to those at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside, Cumbria. We visited those during a road-trip in April 2012. The Crazy Golf course in Ambleside was the 463rd we visited.

Roasted Gluten

Many 'thanks' to my mate Paul O'Connor for sending me this snap of a bag of Roasted Gluten he spotted in a Chinese supermarket.

As a Coeliac this is my version of Kryptonite!

They look like croutons to me

It's not the first time Paul has documented his gluten discoveries.

Related blog posts:
- Fried Gluten in a Can
- Gluten - my Kryptonite

Minigolf in Carcassonne - Lac de la Cavayère

A look at the minigolf course in Lac de la Cavayère, France.

Charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Christopher Gottfried has been off on his travels in continental Europe again and this time has come up trumps in finding a minigolf course at Lac de la Cavayère.

However, the course is only open in July and August!

  

A view of the course from afar

Christopher remarked that the place seems to combine my love of mini golf and park benches... one for every hole it seems!

What a lovely spot it'd be to have a sit down

There do certainly seem to be ample facilities for sitting

A couple of days ago Christopher was in Sète and spotted Mini Golf listed on this map (C1), however it's been turned into a skatepark.

C1 is now a skatepark

Earlier this month Christopher ticked off a few more minigolf course visits in Europe during a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley in Luxembourg and Germany.

Putting Green at Beach Gardens in Swanage, Dorset

A look at the minigolf grass Putting course at Beach Gardens in Swanage.

Many thanks to our friend and minigolf rival Tiger Pragnell for sending over these minigolf snaps from his recent trip to Swanage. While on holiday in the Dorset seaside resort he found a Putting Green that we missed on our tour of the South West coast in 2015!

A nice flag. And bench

Tiger also swung by the Jurassic Adventure Golf course at the Santa-Fe Fun Park on the seafront. That particular course was the 600th visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

The Adventure Golf course in Swanage

Adventure Golf at Dinton Pastures Country Park in Wokingham

A look at the new Adventure Golf course at Dinton Pastures Country Park in Wokingham.

Many thanks to fellow minigolf adventurer Matt Dodd for sending over a snap from his visit to the new Adventure Golf at Dinton Pastures Country Park in Wokingham.

The 18-hole Dinton Adventure Golf layout opened earlier this month and Matt and his family were among the first players to have a round on the course.

Dinton Adventure Golf course is located at Dinton Pastures Country Park, Davis Street, Hurst, Wokingham, Berkshire RG10 0TH. Visit the Dinton Adventure Golf course website for more info.

Happy Birthday Pac-Man

Today is Pac-Man's 38th birthday!

Pac-Man was originally launched in Japan on the 22nd May 1980. His first appearance in the USA was on the 10th October.

The last place I saw Pac-Man was at Level in Preston while visiting the new Crazy Golf course there

I'm a big fan of Pac-Man and have seen him (and some of his clones) a fair bit on my travels.

'Pac-Man' on a shop sign in Preston

Check out all the other Pac-Man related blog posts on the Ham & Egger Files. I think Credit Cruncher in Bristol is my favourite bootleg Pac-Man shop sign.

Crazy Golf at Hall Lane in Upminster

A look back at the Crazy Golf course at Hall Lane in Upminster.

My mate and minigolf rival Brad 'The Fist' Shepherd recently sent me over these pics of the Crazy Golf at Hall Lane in Upminster, Essex from his archive. They were taken a couple of years ago and before the 2017 refurbishment of the course.

Check out what the Hall Lane Crazy Golf course looks like now on the Upminster & Cranham Residents' Association website. Very smart and clean.

The course was never open on my previous visits back in 2010 and 2012 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Miniature Railway in Ipswich

Taking a look at the track layout at Ipswich Model Engineering Society.

We recently found out there's a Miniature Railway in Ipswich. Emily grew up in the town and we visit often, but never knew about it!

Last Sunday we popped along for a look. It was marvellous.

The station, bridge and signage at Ipswich Miniature Railway - wonderful

Hopefully we'll be able to coincide a future visit to the town with one of the Ipswich Model Engineering Society open days.

We had a nice chat with one of the club members who told us about the history of the club and track layouts. Ipswich Model Engineering  

Check out the Ipswich Model Engineering Society website and Facebook group for more info.

You can find the Miniature Railway tucked away down this path off Foxhall Road

Related blog posts:
- Miniature Railways
- Ipswich

Munch Mart in Ipswich

We spotted what looked like Pac-Man on a shop sign while driving along Nacton Road in Ipswich last weekend! We had to stop to get a snap of it.

That's not Pac-Man!

Mini Golf at Sandown Park Golf Centre in Surrey

A look at the new Adventure Golf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre in Surrey.

Many thanks to my mate, minigolf rival and blogger Oliver 'The Machine' Florence for these snaps of the horse-themed Adventure Golf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre, taken during a round against Richard 'Michael Skaggs' Skeggs.

I've never seen a tee-off area like this before!

I'm looking forward to playing a round there on my Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

What a huge minigolf loop-di-loop

The minigolf course at Sandown Park Golf Centre looks like it'd be a nice spot to play the biannual Surrey Invitational Tournament on.

Happy National Miniature Golf Day!

Today is a prime time to play a game of minigolf as it's National Miniature Golf Day.

Have a great day!

We hope you have a superb time wherever you get to play the game.

Coeliac UK Awareness Week

Coeliac UK’s Awareness Week starts on Monday 14th May.

Coeliac Disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition, where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In Coeliac Disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This can trigger a number of painful, stressful and uncomfortable symptoms.

Next month is my tenth year gluten free. Any suggestions for how I can celebrate my Coeliacversary?

My life as a Coeliac in LEGO form

Having suffered from a range of symptoms for around ten years I finally received a positive diagnosis of Coeliac Disease following some 'interesting' tests and procedures in 2008. It came as a relief to finally have a name for the mysterious cause of my illnesses and ailments, but at the time I was only given a brief summary and told that I'd have to "cut down on bread and beer". It was only later when I met with my Gastroenterologist and a dietitian that I found out that the only treatment for people with Coeliac Disease is a strict, life-long gluten free diet.

There's no sign of gluten in me

For more information about Coeliac Disease and Coeliac UK's Awareness Week visit the Coeliac UK website.

May is Celiac Awareness Month in the USA.

Minigolf in the Mosel Valley, Germany

A selection of minigolf photos from a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley, Germany.

Charter Member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Christopher Gottfried has just returned from a cycling trip in the Mosel Valley, Germany. While travelling along the route he managed to spot quite a few miniature golf courses.

He began his journey in Luxembourg where he found this Eternit Miniature Golf course on the Esplanade de la Moselle in Remich.

Minigolf in Remich

He followed that visit over the border in Germany when he went looking for the Minigolf course in Nittel.

A sign for the Minigolf course in Nittel

Next up was a stop in Zeltingen-Rachtig where he found this Beton / Concrete style of Minigolf course.

The Minigolf course in Zeltingen-Rachtig

The Hammer Cage lane - you have to pitch the ball from a tee, across the grass and onto a large concrete circular 'green. We've played this tricky hole in Finland and Sweden

In Traben-Trarbach he found this Eternit Miniature Golf layout.

The approach to the minigolf course in Traben-Trarbach

The Eternit miniature golf course in Traben-Trarbach

The minigolf course in Traben-Trarbach

While in Kobern-Gondorf he spotted an indoor Abenteuergolf course, as well as an Eternit Miniature Golf.

Christopher Gottfried outside an indoor Adventure Golf course in Kobern-Gondorf

The Eternit Miniature Golf course in Kobern-Gondorf

The last course he found on his mini-tour was in Bernkastel-Kues.

The minigolf course in Bernkastel-Kues

Check out the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour list for details of the 815 courses Emily and I have visited, along with the 20 Christopher has been too as well.

Knowing my interest in petanque and trains Christopher also sent over these snaps from the trip.

A Boule-Platz in Traben-Trarbach

A freight train in Bernkastel-Kues