Showing posts with label Banksy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Banksy. Show all posts

Friday, September 25, 2015

Mini Gulf minigolf at Dismaland

Photos of the miniature golf course at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The oil caliphate themed crazy golf course at Dismaland

Our fellow minigolf enthusiasts Matt and Helen Dodd recently visited the seaside resort of Weston-super-Mare and went along to the Dismaland theme-park created by renowned street artist Banksy. They were kind enough to send along some photos of the five-hole Mini Gulf course which features an oil caliphate theme.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A flamingo looks on

When I asked Matt, the reigning Surrey Invitational Minigolf Champion, what the it was like, he said "It was a dreadful course."

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
The corner of the flamingo hole

"But it's Dismaland after all." he added.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
It might've been dismal, but it was only a quid a go. Although for five-holes after you've already paid to go in and it doesn't look so cheap. That grey sky looks bleak too

With the Dismaland site closing this weekend it's a course we won't ever get to play on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour. But it's great to know that plenty of people got to have a go on the layout before it shut down.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Some barrels

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
A green

Matt and Helen recently hit 102 minigolf courses visited on their travels! Their landmark 100th course visit was the Tropical Trail course at Treetop Adventure Golf in Cardiff, Wales. That's another course on our 'to play' list! Matt also let me know there's an Adventure Golf course at Fishers Farm Park in Wisborough Green, West Sussex - that was their 101st course played.

Crazy Mini Golf at Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park in Weston-super-Mare. Photo by Matt Dodd
Minigolf explorer Helen Dodd putting through an old tyre obstacle. In the Dismaland battle of the Dodds the result was a draw with a score of 18 apiece. There was no official par for the course. Nor were there scorecards

The Dismaland Bemusement Park was built on the site of the old Tropicana Lido on Marine Parade in Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset. You can watch the Dismaland advert on YouTube to see what you've missed.

Weston-super-Mare has some permanent mini and crazy golf courses that we have played. We've also played a few art installation miniature golf on our tour too.

Link:
- Dismaland website

Related blog posts:
- Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park
- New indoor adventure golf course in Cardiff, Wales
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Banksy's Dismaland Bemusement Park

New temporary Bemusement Park open for the summer in Weston-super-Mare.

Renowned street artist Banksy has created a dystopian theme park on the site of the old Tropicana Lido in Weston-super-Mare called 'Dismaland', and the park features a Crazy Golf course.

We love visiting the British seaside and while there are some top spots for fun and entertainment, we've seen our fair share of dismal seaside resorts and deteriorating fun parks and amusement arcades amongst the 200 we've been to.

Having visited 669 Crazy, Mini and Adventure Golf courses on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour we have come across a large amount of derelict and abandoned courses.

One of the many many many derelict and abandoned miniature golf courses we've found on our tour
One of the many many many derelict and abandoned miniature golf courses we've found on our tour

We've even played the Crazy Golf course at the end of the world!

This was 'Golf Apocalypse' during the summer of 2012
What's more dismal, dystopian and crazy than playing a minigolf obstacle made of old tyres next to another that is made of the fuselage of a crashed plane. This was 'Golf Apocalypse' during the summer of 2012

Minigolf has been used in many artistic creations so it's not surprising to see a course pop-up at Dismaland. The 'Mini Gulf' layout features an oil caliphate theme, and the course is constructed from the old hockey pitch at Cheltenham Ladies College.

On our tour we've played art-based minigolf at the one-day only M!MS Mini Golf course in Bedford, Crazee Golf at the TinType Gallery in London, the Bompas & Parr food architecture course on the roof of Selfridges and Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects in Croydon. We've also not played art courses in Clerkenwell and Folkestone, where the remnants of the old Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf course were used to create a series of beach huts!

The '18 Holes' Crazy Golf art installation by Richard Wilson in Folkestone
The '18 Holes' Crazy Golf art installation by Richard Wilson in Folkestone

Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects was a temporary art installation minigolf course in Croydon
Putt Putt #2 by TURF Projects was a temporary art installation minigolf course in Croydon

This year our friends over at A Couple of Putts created an art-installation course called Sparkle City Mini Putt in Spartanburg, South Carolina. While the team at The Putting Penguin have seen and reviewed a number of art-courses over the years. Earlier this summer my friend and crazy golf rival Gareth Holmes visited "The BEST Mini Golf Course in Venice" at artist's Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf.

Dismaland does look well worth a visit. Hopefully we'll get along before it closes for good on the 27th September this year.

As big fans of Crazy Golf we also run The Crazy Golf Museum - itself featured in the book Crap Days Out!

While you're in Weston-super-Mare there are plenty of other traditional seaside amusements to visit, along with three miniature golf courses.

Fella's Crazy Golf course near the pier in Weston-super-Mare
Fella's Crazy Golf course near the pier in Weston-super-Mare

The old grass Putting course and Miniature Railway we visited in 2011 was removed a couple of years ago, but I've recently heard it's re-opened and called 'The Putting Shed'.

Mini Golf course and Miniature Railway in Weston-super-Mare
Putters Junction Signal Box

At Dismaland there are a limited number of tickets available each day, with 4,000 punters allowed in at £3 per person, which sounds reasonable. Check out the Dismaland website for more information, opening times and a site map.

The Banksy artwork Well Hung Lover on Park Street in Bristol
Back in 2011 our friend and minigolf rival Kevin Moseley took us for a tour around Bristol and we spotted the Banksy artwork Well Hung Lover on Park Street

If you like your entertainment options to be unique and weird then I highly recommend a visit to the Novelty Automation arcade in London and the Under the Pier Show in Southwold, Suffolk too.

Link:
- Dismaland Bemusement Park website
- Banksy website
- The Crazy Golf Museum website

Related blog posts:
- Art
- Art Gallery
- Art Installation
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Weston-super-Mare
- Crazee Golf Art Exhibition to Open at the Tintype Gallery in London
- M!MS Empire Sunset Nine Hole Mini Golf course in Bedford
- Crazy Golf Course visited but not able to be played - Folkestone (Seafront) - 18-holes Art Installation
- Playing Bompas & Parr's Minigolf course on the roof of Selfridges
- Not playing Crazy Golf at Clerkenwell Design Week 2014
- Putt Putt #2 Crazy Golf in Croydon
- Doug Fishbone's Leisure Land Golf
- Novelty Automation arcade in London
- Sparkle City Mini Putt in Spartanburg, South Carolina
- Crap Days Out - at The Crazy Golf Museum?
- Miniature Golf Putting at Weston-Super-Mare, plus a Miniature Railway
- Fella's Crazy Golf in Weston-Super-Mare
- Crazy Hills Putting Arnold Palmer Crazy Golf Course in Weston-Super-Mare

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