Abingdon Bun Throwing 2022

There is just one week to go until the Bun Throwing to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The next Bun Throwing event will be held in Abingdon to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 5th June 2022.

The town celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing back in 2012.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion 

The last bun throwing held in the town to date was in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

The tradition sees the mayor and other dignitaries climb to the top of the old County Hall to throw hundreds or thousands of currant buns down to the townsfolk gathered in the market place below.

This will be the 16th Bun Throwing event in my lifetime. I've been to them all so far.

Visit the Abingdon Town Council website for more information on the jubilee events.

Princess Parade Crazy Golf in Blackpool

The Princess Parade Crazy Golf course in Blackpool has now been open again for a year and a day.

Princess Parade Crazy Golf is on the North Shore in Blackpool

The Princess Parade Crazy Golf course in Blackpool was re-opened on the 28th May 2021.

A view of the 18th hole

Holes 1-9

Holes 10-18

Check out the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course Facebook Group for more information.

Reopening the abandoned North Shore course

Blackpool and the Fylde Street Angels and Blackpool Fulfilling Lives joined forces to refresh and reopen the Princess Parade Crazy Golf course on Blackpool's North Shore in 2019 and a number of other people and groups have been a part of the project. Including me.

The base of the course itself has changed very little since it was first created in the late 1950's and it's wonderful that the area is easily recognisable from old postcards from the 1960s, 70s and 80s.

There have still been some very noticeable improvements to the course and the whole area it sits in. Most notable are the repairs to the obstacles as well as the addition of professional putting carpet to the holes. It makes the course very nice to play.

More information can be found in my blog post from the launch event in May 2021, in one of my previous posts charting the progress on the refurbishment and this blog post from September 2020.

Gloryholes Crazy Golf in Nottingham

A look at the Gloryholes Adult Crazy Golf course in Nottingham.

Emily recently swung by the new Gloryholes Adult Crazy Golf course while on a trip to Nottingham.

The course was the 993rd visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Check out the Gloryholes Crazy Golf website for more information on the courses in Nottingham and Sheffield.

Mini Golf at the Farm House Pub in Ixia, Rhodes, Greece

A look at the Mini Golf course at the Farm House Pub in Ixia, Rhodes, Greece.

My brother and his family recently spotted the Mini Golf course at the Farm House Pub in Ixia, Rhodes, Greece.

The layout became the 1,031st visited on our overall Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

 

New Adventure Golf course in Harrow

Work is underway on the new Adventure Golf course at Bannister Sports Centre in Harrow, London.

The outdoor adventure golf course at the Bannister Outdoor Sports Centre will have a dinosaur theme.

Check out the Bannister Outdoor Sports Centre website for more information.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Birdies Adventure Golf in Folkestone

A new Adventure Golf course is opening at Folkestone's Harbour Arm in Kent.

Work is underway on the new 12-hole Adventure Golf course and café on Folkestone Harbour Arm and it is planned to open this summer.

It's another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Mini-Golf at Clippesby Hall in Great Yarmouth

A look at the Mini-Golf course at Clippesby Hall in Clippesby, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

I played a round on the 18-hole Mini-Golf course at Clippesby Hall in Clippesby, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk earlier this month. And what a pleasure it was.

The course has been at Clippesby Hall for a number of years and we did swing by it on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2011 when we were a bit too late for a game.

It was worth waiting all this time for a play of it though.

It's a brilliant 18-hole layout and a great test of putting skill. There are a few good rebound opportunities too.

A very nice setting for a game.

Check out the Clippesby Hall website for more information.

Volcano Falls Adventure Golf in Milton Keynes

A new Volcano Falls Adventure Golf centre is opening in Milton Keynes.

Volcano Falls Adventure Golf is opening at Xscape in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

The venue will be home to three indoor courses and a total of 36-holes.

Volcano Falls Adventure Golf have venues in Castleford and Edinburgh.

We've played the Castleford Volcano Falls Adventure Golf centre on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Visit the Volcano Falls Adventure Golf website for further information.

Totally Stockport Comic Con

80s TV, film and pop culture heaven!

Gremlins causing a scene

We had a marvellous morning at the Totally Stockport FREE Comic Con. What a brilliant event. So much to see and do.

The event was organised by Totally Stockport.

There have been some superb events here in Stockport. The last Comic Con was excellent too. The event was set to become an annual attraction, but the coronavirus put paid to the follow-up event in May 2020.

I've wanted to see K.I.T.T. in real life since I was a little kid. This was amazing!

We're so glad the event went ahead and are looking forward to the next Stockport Comic Con already!

Ecto-1

Urgh, this tauntaun smelled bad on the outside

Me and Chewbacca

R2-D2

Johnny 5

The A-Team van

Mini Golf course at Laser Quest Derby

A look at the indoor Mini Golf course at Laser Quest Derby.

Mini Golf at Laser Quest Derby. Photo by James Trubridge, May 2022

Many thanks again go to our friend and minigolf rival Jam Trubridge for sending over these photos of the indoor Mini Golf course at Laser Quest in Derby.

Mini Golf at Laser Quest Derby. Photo by James Trubridge, May 2022

Mini Golf at Laser Quest Derby. Photo by James Trubridge, May 2022

Mini Golf at Laser Quest Derby. Photo by James Trubridge, May 2022

Mini Golf at Laser Quest Derby. Photo by James Trubridge, May 2022

It'll be ace to play it on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in the future. We love playing both minigolf and laser tag so the 9-hole course is in the right location!

The Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is no more

The former Toys R Us store at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby is now a completely lost shop.

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020

The unit is now home to a Go Outdoors.

It's good that the site is being used again, but kind of sad to see the relic from the past slip away.

Toys R Us at the Wyvern Retail Park in Derby. November 2020

We're glad we went to take a look at the unit on our tour of the former Toys R Us stores in the UK back in November 2020.

Former Toys R Us locations we've visited 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
• 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
• Western Esplanade in Southampton
• Wolverhampton Road in Oldbury
• Wyvern Retail Park in Derby

Cheddar Crazy Golf

A look at the Cheddar Crazy Golf course in Cheddar, Somerset.

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Thank you to our friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown for these pics of the Cheddar Crazy Golf course. It's an ace layout and one we'd like to return to on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. We played there in 2012.

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Cheddar Crazy Golf. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

New Putt Putt Noodle Crazy Golf in Telford

There are plans for a new indoor crazy golf course to open in the former Debenhams retail unit in Telford, Shropshire.

The plans come from the team at Putt Putt Noodle who have a three-course venue in Norwich.

My brother Christopher has played at the Putt Putt Noodle location in Norwich on his part of our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Putt Putt Noodle Crazy Golf in Norwich. Photo by Christopher Gottfried, May 2022

Crazy Hills Putting in Weston-super-Mare

A look at the Crazy Hills Putting course in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset.

A big thank you to our friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown for sending this photo along of the Crazy Hills Putting course in Weston-super-Mare. It's a brilliant Arnold Palmer Putting course and one we played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2011.

Crazy Hills Putting in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre

A look at the Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course at Bristol Golf Centre.

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Many thanks to our friend and minigolf rival Simon Brown for sending over these photos from his trip to play the Pirate Bay Adventure Golf course at Bristol Golf Centre. It's a course we haven't visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour yet.

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

Pirate Bay Adventure Golf at Bristol Golf Centre. Photo by Simon Brown, May 2022

A Walkabout Mini Golf VR Pencil

An interesting miniature golf pencil.

We always enjoy finding and seeing minigolf courses with branded pencils and our friend Pat Sheridan from The Putting Penguin minigolf review website has passed a fair few our way over the years.

But this one is most peculiar as it's a real life pencil for a virtual minigolf game!

Check out the Walkabout Mini Golf VR website for more information on the game.

Crazy World of Minigolf Tour update

We have now been to 992 courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

947 of them have been in the British Isles (UK home nations, Jersey & the Isle of Man) plus 45 in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA.

In 2006 we set out to visit every miniature golf course in the UK. When we began there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

Where will the 1,000th one be???

Crazy Golf at Greenlands Farm Village in Tewitfield, Carnforth

There's a new indoor Woodland-themed Adventure Golf course at Greenlands Farm Village in Tewitfield, Carnforth, Lancashire.

Greenlands Farm Village in Tewitfield, Carnforth, Lancashire is now home to an indoor Woodland-themed Adventure Golf course.

Check out the Crazy Golf @ Greenlands website for more information.

We've played Crazy Golf at Greenlands Farm Village on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. But that was a different layout in June 2019. The new course opened in 2020 so we'll have to head back for a game in the future.

Here are snaps and videos from our round on the old Crazy Golf course at Greenlands Farm Village.

The 9-hole layout became the 519th course played and 892nd we've visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour since September 2006.

It was a fun course and we had it to ourselves as the weather was a little rainy.

Happy National Miniature Golf Day

Today is National Miniature Golf Day.

Playing at the Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course in Skegness on a previous National Miniature Golf Day

Each year there are two Miniature Golf Days - National Miniature Golf Day on the second Saturday in May and Miniature Golf Day on the 21st September.

Getting close to 1,000 courses

We're edging closer to our 1,000th minigolf course visit!

Crazy Putting Challenge minigolf course at Hamptworth Golf Club - the 875th course we visited during a road-trip to Southampton in 2019

Where will it be...?

Our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

In 2006 we set out to visit every miniature golf course in the UK. When we began there were around 600 courses in the UK. There are now more than 1,000, with new courses opening all the time.

At the Adventure Golf Course at the Pleasure Beach Gardens in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk during a tour of the Norfolk coast in 2016

We have visited 983 courses in total (944 in the British Isles (UK home nations, plus Jersey & the Isle of Man) plus 39 in eleven overseas countries including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden and the USA).

Playing the Mini Golf Pitch and Putt course at Onchan Park on the Isle of Man in July 2018

Where will the next ones be...?