A visit to Dalton Park's new wizard-themed mini golf.

The Hole in the Wand is the fourth of the magical mini golfing experiences to open nationwide.

Transcript

00:00Dalton Park has been making a real effort in recent years to brand itself as much as

00:04a family destination as simply a retail centre, and the Hole in the Wand is the latest addition

00:09to its leisure offer. Located next to the cinema and close to KSA and McDonalds, the

00:14mini-golf centre is the newest of four nationwide, alongside York, Chester and Blackpool.

00:21So what sets it aside from similar indoor golf courses?

00:26For this instance, it's all about the theming. The Hole in the Wand is inspired by a certain

00:31Scar-Faced Boy wizard, though ironically in this case it's Harry Potter rather than Lord

00:36Voldemort, who must not be named. The imagery steers a careful course between paying loving

00:43tribute and casting a copywriter's infringementia curse.

00:49It's all very Hogwarts, with wizard portraits, alas not moving, on the walls and each of

00:55the nine holes magically themed, but there's never quite enough similarity to have Warner

00:59Brothers' legal wizards operating on the doorstep.

01:03The designers have made clever use of their northeast location too, however, with holes

01:07named after various local landmarks, and J.K. Rowling's terrifying basilisk cleverly reinterpreted

01:13as the Lambton Worm.

01:16On arrival, guests are invited to pick a dragon's egg, fortunately the exact same shape and

01:20size as a golf ball, and a wand which, to the muggle eye, could easily pass for a golf

01:25club.

01:26And it's great fun. Players make their way through spooky passageways with ultraviolet

01:31light to make the most of fluorescent victories, fittings and even boards and clubs.

01:36At the end, each player is awarded a magic potion, which again bears no uncanny resemblance

01:41to a soft drink, according to their score.

01:44In addition to the mini-golf offering, parent company The Potions Cauldron Group will launch

01:48its first ever Little Wizards Experience at Dalton Park, designed for toddlers and

01:52young children, featuring a wand shop, wizard kitchen and ball pit, as well as a cafe, confectionery,

01:58potions and merchandise.

02:00For fans of Harry Potter mini-golf, the hole in the wand is a lot of fun.

02:05For fans of both, it's a must.