While in Wales last weekend we decided to stop off at the seaside resort of Penarth, as it was one of the seasides we did not visit on our 2009 Tour of Wales.
We were just planning to visit the town to see what was there and unexpectedly found that there was a Mini Golf (Golff Mini) course there! It's at Cioni's Bistro on the Cliff Top.
The Mini Golf (Golff Mini) course was actually a Pitch and Putt (Golf Byr) as opposed to a Crazy Golf (Golf Gwyllt) type of Minigolf (Minigolff).
Unfortunately we didn't have time to have a game, the course did look good though.
A visit to Pontypool Park in search of a Minigolf course.
After visiting the TGS Adventure Golf course in Hereford we headed back to Wales and Pontypool/Pont-y-pŵl to visit Pontypool Park/Parc Pont-y-pŵl, as we'd heard that there was a Crazy Golf sight to behold at the Park!
A terrible sight to see. Although hopefully a new minigolf course will take the place of the demolished one in the future. Pontypool Park was quite big and looked nice, however it was not very easy to find due to a lack of signage!?
The course is great fun to play, with some excellent obstacles and well designed holes. I'd definitely return to play there again.
While at the course we talked with Lindsay Heyes, co-owner of the Wye Valley Miniature Golf course who kindly gave us some background history to his very well thought out course.
He told us that the Wye Valley Miniature Golf was opened on 11th September 2007, and he designed the course, while his brother Edward Heyes led the construction team. In the research stage they looked at 80 parameters which determine playability, from drainage and gradient to type of ball and gap-width between obstacles.
Interestingly the whole course acts as a water-collector for, and admits light to, the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo as part of their environmental sustainability effort. Nearly all components were sourced from local suppliers - e.g. the colonnade was cast just a mile away from the course, where they had the columns distressed to age them two thousand years!
The concept was that the course would wind its way through a fictional excavation, complete with a grave, of a Romano-British villa engaged in the fellmongery business.
The centre also has an Amazing Maze (and Maze Museum), Butterfly Farm, Tea Room and Garden Centre, and makes a great location for a day out.
The Maze
Richard Gottfried, Leo Kukielka & Owen Johnson try their hand at juggling(!?) at the Amazing Maze after the minigolf.
On Saturday 21st August 2010 we played minigolf course number 192 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, when we visited the 9-hole course at Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport, Wales to play the first three rounds of the 2010 Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament).
The course wasn't too bad to play, but unfortunately the park's facilities and course hut/kiosk weren't even open, despite our visit being on a Saturday during the summer!?
Having previously spent '10 minutes in Canvey Island' in 2008 we found ourselves visiting Barry Island in Wales for a quick 45 minutes of amusements and seaside attractions*.
On Saturday 21st August 2010 we visited the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar in Fairwater (Coed Eva), Cwmbran, Wales as we'd heard they sold Gluten Free Fish & Chips.
And they did!
They also sell a wide-range of Gluten Free Fish & Chip shop classics that are safe for Coeliacs to eat - including Battered Sausages, an absolute rarity!
Highly recommended, very knowledgeable staff and very tasty Gluten Free food!
Contact details for the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar: 15 Fairwater Square Fairwater, Cwmbran, Gwent NP44 4TA 01633 485 262
Leo Kukielka won the second annual Cystadleuaeth Minigolff Cymraeg (Welsh Minigolf Tournament) in a 5-round 48-hole tournament played at Tredegar Park, Newport, Wales and the Roman-themed Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course at Symonds Yat West, Herefordshire on Saturday 21st August 2010.
Seve Kukielka was runner-up, with Paul Johnson taking the bronze medal back to England.
On the 14th August 2010 we played the Mini Golf Putting course at London's Hyde Park.
Video - Introducing the visit to Hyde Park's Adventure Golf Grass Putting course
The 9-hole layout is also called 'Adventure Golf' on one of the Park's signs, and the Grass Putting course was quite different to other Putting Miniature Golf courses we have played.
Video - A Walkround of the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course in Hyde Park, London
The course was the 191st played on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour, and the 251st minigolf course location visited since the tour began in 2006.
The Hyde Park 'Adventure Golf' grass putting course is open from early-May to October.
Video - Richard Putting on Hole 6 at the Hyde Park Adventure Golf Grass Putting course in London
The cost was £5.00 per player for two 9-hole rounds. The holes are quite tricky and if some of the lawns were in a little better condition it would have been great. Apart from that it was one of the most aesthetically pleasing courses we have visited to date.
In our match I managed to beat Emily by one-shot with a score of 33(+6) over the one 9-hole round we had time for.
The Green Mini Golf Club (GMGC) has released the first edition of its ranking list and I am currently ranked at number five.
Selected ranking list for GMGC members as of August 14, 2010: 1. Nick Sandqvist -5 2. Michael Smith -4 3. Marc Chapman -4 4. Sean Homer -2 5. Richard Gottfried -1 6. Oliver Florence +2 (21 players are currently ranked in the GMGC List.
The GMGC are based at the Green Indoor Mini Golf course in Hither Green, Lewisham, London.
.JPG "Miniature Golf in Penarth, Wales")
.JPG "Miniature Golf in Penarth, Wales")
.JPG "Mini Golf / Golff Mini in Penarth, Wales")
.JPG "Brown Tourist Sign in Penarth - include direction to a Golf Byr")
Unfortunately we didn't have time to have a game, the course did look good though.
.JPG "Parc Pont-y-pŵl / Pontypool Park in Wales")
.JPG "The remnants of a Minigolf course in Pontypool Park / Parc Pont-y-pŵl")
.JPG "The remnants of a Minigolf course in Pontypool Park / Parc Pont-y-pŵl")
.JPG "Signs of where the Minigolf course once sat in Pontypool Park")
.JPG "Signs of where the Minigolf course once sat in Pontypool Park")
.JPG "Playing Ghost Minigolf on the haunted Minigolf course in Pontypool Park")
.JPG "Signs of where the Minigolf course once sat in Pontypool Park")
.JPG "Richard Gottfried having a closer look at the remnants of a Minigolf course in Pontypool Park / Parc Pont-y-pŵl")
.JPG "The remnants of the Labyrinth hole on a derelict Minigolf course in Pontypool Park / Parc Pont-y-pŵl")
.JPG "Where the hut once stood at the derelict ghost Minigolf course at Pontypool Park / Parc Pont-y-pŵl")
.JPG "TGS Adventure Golf in Hereford")
.JPG "TGS Adventure Golf in Hereford")
.JPG "TGS Adventure Golf in Hereford")
.JPG "TGS Adventure Golf in Hereford")
.JPG "TGS Adventure Golf in Hereford")
.JPG "Playing the Wye Valley Miniatvre Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Wye Valley Miniature Golf course in Symonds Yat West")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
.JPG "Tredegar Park Minigolf, Newport")
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.JPG "Gluten free fish and chips at the Fairwater Fish & Chip Bar in Cwmbran")
.JPG "Hyde Park in London is home to a 9-hole Mini Golf Putting Green")
.JPG "Richard playing the Mini Golf course in Hyde Park, London")
.JPG "Emily playing the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course at Hyde Park, London.")
.JPG "Emily playing the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course at Hyde Park, London.")
.JPG "Emily playing the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course at Hyde Park, London.")
.JPG "Emily playing the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course at Hyde Park, London")
.JPG "Richard playing the Adventure Golf Grass Putting course at Hyde Park, London.")
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