2020-08 Tidal Wave Crazy Golf, Basingstoke
The blog has been quiet during the Covid-19 lockdown. Somehow we seem busier than ever with less to do! With summer over, the weather getting cooler and the nights drawing in, I am going to try to catch up on the writing. Some entries, such as this one, are going to look at activities we have done despite the restrictions. Other entries are going to look at back things we did before lock down which we are hoping will start up again in the new year. And lastly, I will be trying to catch up on some of the fantastic places we have been on holiday which I will reminisce over and ready ourselves to start planning for 2021 (or maybe 2022)!
With our plans for 2 weeks off in September cancelled due to travel restrictions, we decided to take the time off anyway. We would spend the first week leisurely clearing out the kitchen and dining room and then spend the second week out and about avoiding the noise and dust as the whole kitchen was stripped out and walls knocked down. We did consider cancelling the time off and using it in the future when we could go away but then who knows when that will be and I can't see either of our companies allowing us to carry over that many days. It was a good thing we did take the time off, I don't think I could have managed to concentrate or participate in conference calls with all the racket going on downstairs!
It was during the first week of our time off, when I had really had enough of boxing up pots and a pans, cleaning and fridges and freezers and dealing with frustrating people wasting my time on Facebay, I decided we needed to get out. I kept seeing adverts of Tidal Wave Crazy Golf popping up on my Facebook page and had been wanting to try it out for a while. Who can resist crazy golf?!
Covid recommendations on the website were to pre-book although we really didn't need to do this having gone mid-week on one of the wettest days of the year. Lee didn't question my plans, even when we jumped in the car and the rain came pelting down with a rumble of thunder. We just took our rain coats and went for it.
We were lucky. Just as we arrived, there was a break in the rain and it lasted for the entire time we played. There was even a moment when the sun tried to come out. As soon as we finished and got back into the car, it poured down again.
A number of the holes were flooded, one so much so that we couldn't play on it but we were just thankful to be out and about, doing something together. The water made the course that little bit more challenging and we were in hysterics when it came to trying to dig balls out of large puddles or find the hole in the middle of a small pond which had formed over the green.
The venue needs some TLC. You can see that in its heyday, it would have been an amazing course with lots of unique water features, animals (fish, birds and tortoise) and fun activities besides the golf but even with the rain aside, it looks run down and could do with a refresh. I am hoping this is only due to the impact of Covid and with people visiting again, the money will be available to get the course back to its full glory.
Lee won but I managed to get the most points, which makes me feel like a winner.
You can't beat a bit of crazy/adventure golf. It is a family favourite of ours and especially the big and new courses like this one, a massive improvement on the holiday camp crazy golf of my youth!
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