The school summer holidays are on the horizon and families will be looking for fun ways to spend their days.
If you want a great trip out – with everything conveniently under one grass-covered roof – then look no further than the Flower Bowl Entertainment Centre in Barton, near Preston.
With a full-sized curling rink, a boutique three-screen cinema, ten-pin bowling, a crazy golf course adorned with colourful and pretty flowers, it is one of the most unique venues of its kind in the UK.
The centre opened in 2018, after an investment of £8m, and is owned by The Barton Grange Group, which also operates Barton Grange Garden Centre situated next door. That explains the flower theme which even extends to adorable flower-shaped sinks in the pristine loos.
In fact, the whole place is pristine and it’s clear a lot of time, thought and money has gone into the aesthetics of the centre.
No wonder it won the prestigious Lancashire Tourism Award for Best Visitor Attraction of the Year 2022.
We arrived on a Saturday morning and headed straight for our booking on the crazy golf course.
I’ve worked my way round a few crazy golf courses in my time, but this one is definitely the prettiest – and the hole with the windmill has a fun twist up its sleeve!
Next up was a game of bowling, on one of eight super slick lanes. My five-year-old son opted to have the bumpers up, and they automatically go up or down for individual players – depending on how good your bowling skills are (or, in my case, not so good).
With a one-year-old in tow, we thought it best to not try our hand at curling but the Olympic-size rink with its four ice sheets looks great fun.
In the summer school holidays, the Flower Bowl will hold mini curling and shuffleboard on ice sessions – two activities that give children the chance to try out a quick and fun version of the Olympic sport.
When you’ve worked up an appetite, visitors can chose from several food and drink options including Blooms Restaurant, The Ocean Fish & Chips and Knickerbockers Ice Cream Parlour.
We headed for The Ocean and enjoyed a slap-up meal of filo king prawns (£7.90) to share for starter, delicious Lancashire cheese and onion pie with chips and mushy peas (£11) and a large (9oz) haddock and chips (£16.50) – smaller portions are available!
Also on offer are burgers, salads, a children’s menu, a vegetarian menu, a gluten free menu, soft drinks, as well as beers and wines to enjoy in the ‘under the sea’ themed restaurant.
After being fed and watered, it’s a wonder we managed to finish our final activity at the golf simulator but we gave it our best shot – although it’s a lot harder than crazy golf!
You book and pay for each activity individually so it would add up if you spent a morning, afternoon or even a day there.
But if you’ve got a birthday or special family occasion coming up, or just want to treat the family then the Flower Bowl is a blooming marvellous day out.
For information, prices and to book, visit theflowerbowl.uk
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