Mini Golf in East of England

Six courses, two of them in Watford, and the split is fairly clean: indoor tech-driven putting, outdoor courses with a real challenge, and one relaxed spot for the youngest players.

Puttshack Lakeside in West Thurrock and Puttshack Watford are the indoor option, with automated scoring so nobody argues over the card. Reviewers describe Lakeside as suiting everyone from grandparents down, with four courses to pick from at the upstairs check-in screens and reserved packages for groups of ten or more. Watford reviews praise the staff, who will suggest a game format for four to six year olds, though they also mention premium pricing and occasional ball-tracking glitches, fixed on the spot by floor staff.

Outdoors, Adventure Golf at Topgolf Watford is a full 18 holes under floodlights, so weeknight evenings work, and under-16s need an adult with them on the course. Rascal Bay - Adventure to a Tee in Brentwood is the one reviewers call genuinely hard, enjoyable for adults and frustrating for under-4s; allow extra time for all 18. Mulligans Hemel in Hemel Hempstead is really a mixed venue: reviews rate the arcade and electro-darts above the crazy golf, which draws maintenance complaints, so go for the variety rather than the putting.

PuttShots Mini Golf in Waltham Cross has only a handful of reviews so far, but they point to a gentle outdoor course with no steep or narrow sections, a cafe on site, and a fit for spontaneous outings with toddlers in tow.