Puttstars: A hole lot of fun for all in Peterborough

So to round off Saturday afternoon, and to kickstart the evening, we paid a visit to Puttstars, the great, new, fun leisure attraction that is now an integral part of what Peterborough's Queensgate centre has to offer.

Set on floor 2 at the bus station end, the bright lights of the arcade games and amusements draw you in to be fair, and at 6pm there was a real mixture of groups enjoying themselves - couples, families, friends creating a bit of a hubbub along with the enjoyable musical soundtrack adding to the appeal.

At the heart of it, of course, is the mini golf and there are three courses to choose from, depending on your age or level of ability.

To give the wife and two girls a chance we opted for the "Rookies" course, up a flight of stairs where there were pool tables and people eating and drinking at tables as well as enjoying a game.

After a quick briefing – it was our first time – we were each equipped with a putter and differently coloured golf ball. Then with our game details logged into the Puttstars app - you just point your phone at a QR code, simple - off we set.

Expectations were high as I play golf regularly, so it was a cause of much amusement as I failed miserably on the first hole.

Thankfully the highest score you can register is a six!

For anyone who has played crazy golf on a day trip to the seaside, well this is a marked step up, with an array of windmills, slopes, tubes, bends, turns and all manner of obstacles having been brought into the 21st century.

There is a great mix of challenges but the underlying feeling is one of fun - it is definitely played with a smile on your face. Cheers for the good shots, good-humoured jeers for the bad ones.

You add your scores as you go along and are awarded points dependant on your level of success - with the opportunity to "play a joker” and double your points score along the way.

And at the end of the nine holes you even get to see where you stand among the best scores of the day. Or not.

Our game lasted just over half an hour but with plenty in the amusement areas to lure young and old, it is easy to see how you could spend a couple of hours there. Especially with comfortable seating, plenty of chairs and tables, a bar and a menu offering pizzas, hot dogs and the likes.

It's open 10am to 10pm (11pm on Friday and Saturday) and games start at £5 for children, £6 for adults.

Look out for the offers though with Puttstars, which has had some bad press recently, keen to show it can offer great entertainment in the evenings for family/friends, with an unlimited putting deal on Sunday evenings where from 7pm customers can play as many rounds of mini-golf as they’d like for £10 per person, for instance.

There's also a family meal deal, where a family of four can enjoy one round of mini-golf, two large pizzas and four soft drinks for £39.80, and some great party opportunities.

More at www.puttstars.co.uk/peterborough