New Putt Putt Noodle Crazy Golf in Poole, Dorset

There are plans for a new indoor crazy golf venue to open at the Dolphin shopping centre in Poole, Dorset.

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

Drift Park Crazy Golf in Rhyl, Wales

A revisit to the Drift Park Crazy Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales.

We took a look at the Crazy Golf course at Drift Park in Rhyl yesterday.

The course was the 145th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour back in 2009.

We last visited Rhyl in December last year.

Mini Golf at Clubhouse Meadowhall

A new indoor entertainment venue is opening at Meadowhall in Sheffield.

Clubhouse Meadowhall will be home to mini golf, tenpin bowling and more when it opens at the shopping centre.

Visit the Clubhouse website for more information.

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

Mini Golf at the Palace Fun Centre in Rhyl, Wales

A revisit to the Palace Fun Centre Mini Golf course in Rhyl, North Wales.

We swung by the indoor Mini Golf course at the Palace Fun Centre in Rhyl on our day trip to the seaside resort yesterday.

We last visited the town in December last year.

I played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in June 2019.

Lost Shops - Grainger Games in Warrington

Spotting an old Grainger Games shop in Warrington.

We saw this former Grainger Games shop at the Golden Square shopping centre in Warrington, Cheshire today.

We've also seen former Grainger Games stores in Stretford, Salford, Hyde, Ashton-Under-Lyne and Bradford.

Interestingly some of them still had a few bits of stock inside!

The shop unit in Warrington will soon be home to Funky Figures. It's nice to see they've kept all of the former Grainger Games shelving inside to give it a nostalgic hit.

The company was founded in 1996 and ceased operations on the 28th March 2018.

As a brand with shops in the North of England and Scotland I only became a regular shopper at Grainger Games when I moved to Stockport in 2016. I picked up some nice old games for my SEGA Master System there.

New indoor Adventure Golf in Stourbridge

A new indoor Adventure Golf course could be opening in Stourbridge.

There are plans for a new indoor Adventure Golf course to be created at the industrial estate at Mill Race Lane in Stourbridge in the West Midlands.

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

Adventure Golf at Shibden Park in Halifax

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course at Shibden Park in Halifax.

A 12-hole woodland-themed Adventure Golf is planned to be created at Shibden Park in Halifax, West Yorkshire.

It'll be another new course for us to visit on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, but not a new location.

We've visited the Pitch & Putt course at Shibden Park, along with the incredibly unique 4-hole abandoned Crazy Golf course there!

Scrap Yard Golf at Worcester Bowl

A look at the indoor crazy golf course at Worcester Bowl.

A new course visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Find out more about the Scrap Yard Golf course on the Worcester Bowl website.

Mulligans Crazy Golf in Worcester

A look at the new Mulligans Crazy Golf course in Worcester.

The location is home to two indoor crazy golf courses.

We've played a number of Mr Mulligans courses on our travels and the new Worcester course was swung by on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour recently.

Check out the Mr Mulligans website for more information.

Boom Battle Bar opening at Stevenage Leisure Park

A new Boom Battle Bar is opening at Stevenage Leisure Park in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

The venue will be home to crazy golf, axe throwing, shuffleboard and more. It's due to open in December.

Visit the Boom Battle Bar website for more information.

Golf Fang crazy golf opening in Cardiff

A new Golf Fang indoor crazy golf venue is opening in Cardiff, Wales in 2023.

Visit the Golf Fang website for more information.

Blockbuster on Netflix

There's a new Blockbuster Video comedy out on Netflix! Will you be watching it?

The new show is about the last (operating) Blockbuster Video store in the world. This is a sign we snapped at our old local (abandoned) Blockbuster Video store in Manchester

Check out my blog posts about Blockbuster.

Mini Golf at Hotel Pinija in Croatia

A look at a Miniature Golf course at Hotel Pinija in Petrčane, Croatia.

My brother, and charter member of the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, has sent me a few more snaps of the Miniature Golf course at Hotel Pinija in Petrčane, Croatia. It's one of two layouts at the hotel.

Our combined total of course visits now stands at 1,046 since September 2006.

The Empourium in Stafford

A new competitive socialising venue is opening in Stafford.

Stafford will soon be home to a new competitive socialising venue called The Empourium.

The Empourium will feature a number of indoor games, including crazy golf.

The venue will also have Darts, Pool, Shuffleboard, Beer Pong, Bowling and Table Tennis.

The Empourium is scheduled to open on Thursday 10th November.

Visit The Empourium's Facebook Page for more information.

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

Par 59 minigolf in Bristol

The new Par 59 minigolf bar venue is opening in Bristol in December.

The second of Gareth Bale's Par 59 venues is scheduled to open in Bristol on Friday 9th December. The indoor minigolf course in the city follows the first Par 59 location in Cardiff.

Check out the Par 59 website for more information.

New Adventure Golf at Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes

A new dinosaur-themed Adventure Golf course has opened at Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

The adventure golf course is an 18-hole layout and is called Dinosaur Valley.

Visit the Dinosaur Valley booking website and Facebook Page for more information. 

New Adventure Golf at Regent Park Golf Club in Bolton

There are plans for a new Adventure Golf course to be created at Regent Park Golf Club in Bolton.

The Adventure Golf course would be built by City Golf and is proposed to have a jungle-theme.

Guess the minigolf course

Where in the world would you find this crazy golf course?

A mini mystery...

Minigolf at Riverside Park in Llangollen, Wales

A revisit to the Minigolf course at Riverside Park in Llangollen, Wales on Saturday 15th October 2022.

Minigolf at Riverside Park in Llangollen

We played the course on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour on the 21st August 2009.

37 years of Blockbuster Video

Not entirely gone, and not entirely forgotten.

This was the sign at the Blockbuster Video store in Nuneaton, Warwickshire when it was uncovered for a short period of time in 2021

The first Blockbuster Video store opened in Dallas, Texas, USA on this day in 1985.

At its peak in 2004 there were more than 9,000 stores around the world. 500-plus of those were in the UK.

There is now just one Blockbuster Video store left open. It's in Bend, Oregon, USA.

There has been a boom in nostalgia for the brand - which back in the day was seen as something of a category killer that saw off many smaller operators.

Blockbuster in the UK

The remains of the Blockbuster Video Express store in Billingham, Teesside in 2020

Blockbuster ceased operations in the UK in December 2013. At the start of that year there were 528 Blockbuster locations in the UK. The number dwindled until October when only 264 shops remained. The remaining stores closed on the 16th December.

There are still clearly visible remnants of the brand on the high street and on retail parks. And we've been to most of them on our travels!

Blockbuster Video stores we've visited

Check out the posts about other former Blockbuster Video stores we've been to in:

• Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Ashton, Bristol
• Barnsley, South Yorkshire
• Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Billingham, Teesside
• Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester
• Chester, Cheshire
• Chorley, Lancashire
• Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
• Colne, Lancashire
• Failsworth, Manchester
• Fallowfield, Manchester
• Felixstowe, Suffolk
• Filton, Bristol
• Great Moor, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Hastings, East Sussex
• Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Luton, Bedfordshire
• Marple, Greater Manchester
• Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire
• Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Oldham, Greater Manchester
• Prescot, Lancashire
• Shanklin, Isle of Wight
• Southampton, Hampshire
• Telford, Shropshire
• Wisbech, Cambridgeshire
• Wythenshawe, Manchester

A ghost sign at the old Blockbuster Video Express store in Shanklin on the Isle of Wight in 2021

Lost brands

Emily and I have spent a lot of the last few years reminiscing about 'the good old days' before the coronavirus pandemic hit the planet. One of our areas of interest is in old retail brands - we're both marketers by profession and two of my first jobs in the 1990's and the year 2000 were at Tandy and Toys R Us, while Emily's first job was at a Happy Shopper shop. It's been fascinating to find remnants of these brands - and a number of other lost, dead and defunct brands - on the high street and at retail parks around the UK.