Showing posts with label French Boules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French Boules. Show all posts

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Petanque at the Memorial Park in Marple

A look at the Petanque piste at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.


Petanque at Memorial Park in Marple

We found another Petanque piste while out on our daily walk on Friday. It's at Memorial Park in Marple, Stockport.

Petanque at Memorial Park in Marple
It's in a nice setting

Petanque at Memorial Park in Marple
We're looking forward to playing Petanque on the piste in the future. We haven't had a game in a while

Last month we saw a sign for a Boules area at Bramhall Park. But couldn't find any trace of the terrain itself.

We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport

Spotting a sign for Boulles (sic) in Stockport.


Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport

We visited Bramhall Park for the first time yesterday. Crazy really as it's more or less on our doorstep!

We've been to so many other parts of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and surrounding areas since moving here in 2016 but have never got round to go going.

While there we saw a sign for a 'Boulles Court'.

Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport

It should be 'Boules' with one l. And it's a terrain or piste rather than 'Court'.

And really it should be called 'Petanque'.

Boules at Bramhall Park in Stockport
We couldn't find the 'court' and we got a bit lost in the woods too

Petanque in Stockport


We play for the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Bramall Hall


We're looking forward to visiting Bramall Hall when it reopens. In the meantime we'll spend some of our outdoor exercise time exploring the grounds during lockdown.

Bramall Hall at Bramhall Park in Bramhall, Stockport
Bramall Hall

Related blog posts:

Tuesday, February 04, 2020

Trafford Pétanque in Manchester

A visit to the Trafford Pétanque Boulodrome in Victoria Park, Manchester.


We took a different route home on our way back from the Trafford Centre on Sunday and found we were next to Victoria Park in Stretford.


We enjoy visiting different parks and playing petanque and as we knew Victoria Park is home to the Trafford Pétanque Club we parked up and had a look for the Boulodrome.


It's a nice looking piste.

Trafford Pétanque Boulodrome in Victoria Park, Manchester

Victoria Park was a nice spot for a wander. Hopefully we'll return for a game with the Trafford Pétanque Club in the future.

Trafford Pétanque Boulodrome in Victoria Park, Manchester

Trafford Pétanque in Victoria Park, Manchester

Check out the Trafford Pétanque Club website for more information on the club, events and details of training sessions.

Pétanque in Victoria Park, Manchester

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Petanque in Leeds City Centre

Spotting a Petanque Piste in Leeds City Centre.


Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre

We love visiting Leeds and go there quite a lot. On our last trip there we found ourselves exploring some new bits of the city and while having a wander on Saturday we discovered a Petanque Piste in Bond Court, just off Wine Street!


Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre

What a layout!
 
Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre
What a marvellous sculpture

Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre

Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre

Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre

We enjoy a game of Petanque / Boules and play at the Woodstock Petanque Club in Edgeley, Stockport.

Petanque Piste at Bond Court in Leeds City Centre
The rules of boules

We'll have to take our boules with us on our next trip to Leeds.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Leeds

Sunday, April 08, 2018

Start of the Petanque season in Stockport

Today marks the start of the Pétanque season in Stockport as the Woodstock Pétanque Club take to the terrain at Alexandra Park in Edgeley.


The club meets on the second and fourth Sunday of the month and play between 1pm and 4pm.

Petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
Playing a shot last April

Petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
The club receiving coaching from the English Petanque Association last summer

Check out the Woodstock Pétanque Club Facebook Group, Twitter and website for more information.

Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
The Woodstock Petanque Club

Wednesday, October 04, 2017

Petanque at Beacon Park in Lichfield

Finding a Petanque piste at Beacon Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.


On our recent Midlands road-trip we visited Beacon Park in Lichfield, Stafffordshire to play the Crazy Golf course. After our game we noticed the park was also home to a Petanque terrain. Good to know as we're fans of the game too.

The Petanque Terrain at Beacon Park in Lichfield
The Petanque Terrain at Beacon Park in Lichfield

The rules of boules
The rules of boules

The area looked in good condition. It was next to the park cafe and also had a nice view of the Crazy Golf, Pitch & Putt, FootGolf and Disc Golf courses too.

The Petanque Terrain at Beacon Park in Lichfield
As well as Petanque you can play four types of Golf in the park!

Check out the Visit Lichfield and Lichfield Historic Parks websites for more info on Beacon Park and its facilities.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Boules
- Lichfield
- Minigolfing in the Midlands

Monday, July 24, 2017

Back in action at the Woodstock Petanque Club

Playing petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.


It was great to be back in action at the Woodstock Petanque Club yesterday after a bit of a break in playing the game. The Sunday session began with some coaching from two English Petanque Association coaches who led the group in some training drills and gave some pointing and shooting demonstrations.

The Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
The players practice some pointing and lobbing on the Edgeley piste

It's always interesting receiving some top level coaching and advice and I'll certainly be putting some of the techniques into practice. I'm not sure going straight into a competitive match was the best thing to do after relearning the basics of holding and throwing a boules as my playing partner Carol and I lost 13-2 to Hilary and Dave!

My record at Woodstock Pétanque Club is now 6 wins and 5 defeats.

All-time
- Played 11, won 6, lost 5

2017
- Played 5, won 4, lost 1

2016
- Played 6, won 2, lost 4

Woodstock Pétanque Club meets on the piste at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Membership for the year is £10, with a £1 fee for each afternoon you play. A bargain price to spend playing a fun and skillful game in great company.

Visit the Petanque in Manchester Facebook Group and Ptonk in the Park Twitter account for more info. You can find out more about the game on the English Petanque Association website.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Latest report from the Woodstock Petanque Club

Yesterday we spent a nice afternoon playing Boules at Woodstock Pétanque Club in Edgeley, Stockport. The day was even nicer as I won all three of my games! Emily also played well on her first appearance of the new season, with two wins from three games.

Petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
Throwing in game 1

In my first game I was teamed up with Richard J to take on Barbara and Joan. Richard had won the first session of the season so was undefeated in his three games so far. It was also the first-time we'd been paired together, but what a team we made, picking up the victory 13-4.

Petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
Playing across the newly refurbed terrain at Alexandra Park

Next up was a game against Emily and Hilary J. For this contest I was paired with Andrew and in a close match we won 13-11.

My final game of the afternoon was a three-on-two game pitting me and David C against the trio of Cath, Hilary J and Jean W. The match was also the last to finish as we battled to a 13-8 victory, the scoreline not showing how close the game actually was.

Petanque at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport
A head scratcher

My record at Woodstock Pétanque Club is now 6 wins and 4 defeats.

All-time

  • Played 10, won 6, lost 4


2017

  • Played 4, won 4


2016

  • Played 6, won 2, lost 4


Woodstock Pétanque Club meets on the piste at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Membership for the year is £10, with a £1 fee for each afternoon you play. A bargain of a price to spend playing a fun and skillful game in great company.

Visit the Petanque in Manchester Facebook Group and Ptonk in the Park Twitter account for more info.

Sunday, April 09, 2017

Start of the Pétanque season in Stockport

Boules club back in action at Alexandra Park.

Today saw the start of the 2017 Pétanque season in Stockport as 18 members of the Woodstock Pétanque Club met on the terrain at Alexandra Park in Edgeley.

Petanque action at Alexandra Park in Edgeley
Club organiser Jackie B in action on the Edgeley piste

It was marvellous to be back out and playing pétanque in some wonderful weather. In my match-up I was drawn to play in a triples game alongside Carol H and newcomer Hilary 2. In a very close match against David W, Jackie and Paul we picked up the win 13-10.

Petanque action at Alexandra Park in Edgeley
Carol H pointing a shot on the way to victory

It was my third ever win at the club, and the second teaming up with Carol H. My record at Woodstock Pétanque Club is now 3 wins and 4 defeats, with a 'winning streak of sorts' carried over from last year.

Petanque action at Alexandra Park in Edgeley
Club stalwart Andrew Smith plays a shot in our pre-match warm up

The Woodstock Pétanque Club meets-up from 1pm on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. New players are very welcome. It costs just £10 for the annual membership, with a £1 fee per week when you play - with prizes up for grabs for results over the three games played.

Check out the Woodstock Pétanque Club website, on Twitter as well as the Pétanque in Manchester Facebook Group for more info and to check on playing dates.

The Friends of Alexandra Park are also on Facebook so do give them a like and a follow too.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales

Blog about the Boules piste at the Parkway Hotel in Cwmbran.


Looking through our photo archive for my recent blog post about the old Petanque piste at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester I spotted a couple of snaps from one of our stays at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales and the 'Boules Pitch' they have there.

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales
They play petanque differently in Wales!

Petanque at the Parkway Hotel & Spa in Cwmbran, Wales
The Boules Pitch at the Parkway Hotel in Cwmbran

Back in 2009 we competed in a Boules Invitational Tournament at The Mumbles in Swansea. The competition against our friends and minigolf rivals the Kukielka family took place prior to the first-ever Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) and during our BIG minigolf roadtrip around the Welsh coast.

Petanque at The Mumbles in Wale
Boules Invitational Tournament champion Seve 'Steve' Kukielka on his way to victory at The Mumbles

We've found quite a few petanque terrains and boules pistes on our travels and since we moved up to the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport last summer we've been members of the Woodstock Petanque Club in Edgeley.

Related blog posts:
- Petanque
- Boules
- Cwmbran
- Wales

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Games at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester

Minigolf and Pétanque at Wythenshawe Park in Manchester.

Since we moved up to Greater Manchester towards the end of last summer Emily and I have started playing pétanque ‏with the Woodstock Pétanque ‏Club based at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport.

Playing with the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport last August
Playing with the Woodstock Petanque Club at Alexandra Park in Edgeley, Stockport last August

There's a growing pétanque ‏scene in the area, with the Trafford Pétanque‏ Club doing a lot to promote the game and mixing it up in some friendly melee's with Mirfield Pétanque Club, Huddersfield Pétanque Club and Heckmondwike Pétanque Club.

Aly and Chris from Trafford Pétanque‏ Club recently recce'd Wythenshawe Park and found an abandoned boules terrain there. They asked me if I remembered it from when we visited a few years back. Off the top of my head I didn't.

Petanque was not listed on the sign at the Games Pavilion in Wythenshawe Park
Boules / Petanque was not listed on the sign at the Games Pavilion in Wythenshawe Park. It wasn't on the price list either

However, looking through our photo archive I found we had indeed visited the petanque piste while at Wythenshawe Park to play the minigolf course back in 2009!

The Petanque terrain at Wythenshawe Park - and a handy How to Play sign!
The Petanque terrain at Wythenshawe Park - and a handy How to Play sign!

We'll have to head over to Wythenshawe Park to have a look at the Crazy Golf course considering it's now our most local layout! In the meantime here are a couple of snaps from our visit to the course on the 25th July 2009. We were in the area to compete in the Miniature Open tournament held at Playgolf Manchester - we'd finished first and second in the event earlier in the day.

The Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park was an Eternit-style of Miniature Golf
The Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park was an Eternit-style of Miniature Golf

Crazy Golf course at Wythenshawe Park
Quite a zig zag of a hole!

Related blog posts:
- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Petanque
- Minigolf Course Visit No. 114 - Wythenshawe Park

Links:
- Trafford Pétanque‏ Club
- Woodstock Pétanque ‏Club
- Northern Pétanque Clubs
- Northern Pétanque
- English Pétanque Association

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Miniature Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Playing Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside, Cumbria.


Back on the 5th April 2012 we visited White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside, Cumbria where we found Crazy Golf, Putting and Pitch & Putt courses. And a French Boules Terrain.

White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside, Cumbria

The Crazy Golf course became the 287th played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the 463rd visited overall.

White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside
Plenty to do at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Minigolf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

In our minigolf match-up on the White Platts Crazy Golf course I picked up the win 26 to Emily's 30 on the 9-hole layout.

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Crazy Golf at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Unfortunately we didn't have time to play the Putting course or the Pitch & Putt, but they both looked in great condition. 

Putting at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Putting at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Putting at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Pitch and Putt at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Pitch and Putt at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Pitch and Putt at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside

Check out the White Platts website for more information, opening times and prices.

White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside
The 2012 price list

Boules at White Platts Recreation Ground in Ambleside
On the Boules Piste at White Platts. We'll definitely give it a play on our return visit

Related blog posts:
Visiting a further 49 Minigolf and Crazy Golf courses in England and Scotland
Unplayed Minigolf Courses on our Roadtrip to Scotland & Back
Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Link:
- White Platts Recreation Ground website

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.