There are a number of mini golf venues, but only a few dog-friendly crazy golf courses in London (and dog-friendly mini golf/adventure golf courses). In addition, among those that welcome dogs to some extent, only some of them allow you to take your dog on the actual mini golf course, while at others your dog will only be admitted at the clubhouse. My husband is a big mini golf fan, so it was about time for me to go on the hunt and put together a guide to help you (and him) find the best one you can visit without leaving your dog behind.
Dog-friendly crazy golf courses in London
To give you an easy range of choice, I have ordered London dog-friendly mini golf venues starting from the least dog-friendly up to the most dog-friendly ones, so if you don’t have time to read it all, just scroll to the bottom to find my favourite venue (i.e. the most dog-friendly and cool one). Before starting with the list, just a note on the Junk Yard Crazy Golf in Brick Lane: despite coming across a photo of a dog at their place (entrance area, it seemed), the manager of the space told me that dogs (unless they are guide dogs) are not allowed inside the venue.
One last note: if you are serious about golf and want “the real thing”, a guide on dog-friendly golf courses is available on the blog.
Plonk
Plonk owns a number of indoor crazy golf venues that are not dog-friendly. Although they advised that their outdoor one in Horniman Gardens would to some extent accomodate dogs, they were fast to specify that dogs are not allowed on the course, and somebody would have to wait outside in the main gardens with the dog. In light of this, I wouldn’t consider them dog-friendly after all.
Putt in the Park
Putt in the Park is a chain which has 3 venues in London, in Battersea Park, Wansworth Park and Acton Park respectively. Their restaurants/coffee shops are all very dog-friendly, and they offer water bowls and dog treats to furry guests. The Wandsworth venue has even got a wall with photos of the regular canines named “Pups in the Park” and Putts in the Park Acton will follow their lead very soon. While dogs are allowed in the clubhouse/restaurant/cafe areas of these venues, we confirmed with the staff that dogs can’t access the mini golf course (hence the current formulation of the FAQs is a bit misleading on the point). The staff also advised that due to dog byelaws in the park dogs must be kept on leads.
Putt in the Park Wandsworth Park
Putt in the Park Wandsworth Park is a 12-hole mini-golf course. Dogs on a leash are only allowed in the cafe’-restaurant area (which serves food and drinks) and can enjoy water bowls, treats and feature on the Pups in the Park photo wall.
Where: Wandsworth Park, Putney Bridge Road, London SW18 1PP
Prices: Adults £9.00, Kids (Under 15) £7.00, Family of four £28.00, Pensioners (Mon-Fri) £7.00
Opening times: Daily 9am to dusk, weather permitting
Putt in the Park Battersea Park
Putt in the Park Battersea Park has a mini-golf course and a clubhouse which also serves Neapolitaner pizza from their wood-fired pizza oven. As the other venues, dogs are allowed in the restaurant area, on a leash, but not on the actual course.
Where: Battersea Park, Albert Bridge Road, London SW11 4NJ
Prices: Adults £10.00, Kids (Under 15) £8.00, Family of four £30.00, Pensioners (Mon-Fri) £9.00
Opening times: Daily 9am to dusk, weather permitting
Putt in the Park Acton Park
Putt in the Park Acton Park has a 15-hole mini golf course (which doesn’t allow dogs on the course) and a dog-friendly clubhouse and restaurant serving wood-fired Neapolitaner pizza.
Where: Acton Park, East Churchfield Road, London W3 7LL
Prices: Adults £9.00, Kids (Under 15) £7.00, Family of four £28.00, Pensioners (Mon-Fri) £7.00
Opening times: Daily 9am to dusk, weather permitting
Argo at Lost Jungle London
Canary Wharf (free) crazy goulf course
Every year, in Canary Wharf there is a free mini golf course. This has 9 holes and during the opening times you will find stewards providing clubs, balls and score sheets. Last year we had a good fun playing there before Christmas, when the mini golf course took the space in front of Canary Wharf station’s back exit.
This year it has moved to Columbus Courtyard (Westferry, E14, opening times: Monday to Friday 12pm-7pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm-6pm). Although there is no available information on dogs, the course is outdoor on public ground (and there is no carpet/fake grass, but just the pavement), so you should be able to take your dog without any issue. It will be open only until Friday 1st November, so you need to hurry!
Adventure Golf
Getting to more dog-friendly venues, Adventure Golf has 3 (actually 4 counting one in Dartford, Kent) crazy-golf courses that welcome dogs in London: Jurassic Falls in Chingford, Dinosaur Escape in Norholt, and Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf in Barnet. The theme, as you may have guessed, is dinosaurs! All of them have a green fake grass carpet on the course.
Jurassic Falls
18-holes adventure golf course Jurassic Falls welcomes dogs on leads also on the course. This crazy-golf course is just off the North Circular road, so you will hear the noise of the cars, just over the fence. The course features near life-size dinosaur sculptures (some of which move), speakers broadcasting dinosaur-like calls, a waterfall, water courses (with weird blue-coloured water), bridges and more. There are also educational signs next to the various dinosaurs telling more about their history.
Well behaved dogs can join you on the course but must be kept on a lead at all times; they ask you bring your poop scoop and disposable bag to clear up any mess. I visited last week inviting over Gustavito and Glitch the Spanish rescue dogs and will tell you more about it later on the blog. We found some dog water bowls at the start and end of the course and they gave Gustavito and Glitch some dog treats when we arrived too.
Where: Waltham Forest, Southend Road, E4 8TA, Chingford
Prices: £9.25 Explorers (12 years and over), various prices for children, £34 group up to 4 people (full prices here). You can get a 10% discount by booking online, so book in advance.
Opening times: Vary month to month. Find the full timetable here.
Directions: Get the Victoria Line or the Overground to Walthamstow Central, then the bus no. 34 from there, getting off at Trinity Park: Jurassic Falls is just a couple of minutes walk from the stop. If you travel by car, there is free parking on site.
Dinosaur Escape
Also Dinosaur Escape in Norholt has an 18-holes crazy golf course. The formula is alike the Jurassic Falls one, with the same features, and also here well behaved dogs can join you on the course but must be kept on a lead at all times, plus you are asked to bring your poop scoop and disposable bag to clear up any mess.
Where: West London Golf Centre, Ruislip Road, Norholt, UB5 6QZ Middlesex
Price: £9.25 Explorers (12 years and over), various prices for children, £34 group up to 4 people (full prices here). You can get a 10% discount by booking online, so book in advance.
Directions: Central Line to Ruislip Gardens, then bus E7 to Henson Place
Opening times: Vary month to month. Find the full timetable here.
Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf
Technically in Hertfordshire, Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf, in Barnet, adopts the same policy of allowing well-behaved dogs on the course provided they are kept on a lead at all times and you bring your poop scoop and disposable bag to clear up any mess.
Where: A1 Golf Driving Range, Rowley Lane, Barnet EN5 3HW Hertfordshire
Price: £9.25 Explorers (12 years and over), various prices for children, £34 group up to 4 people (full prices here). You can get a 10% discount by booking online, so book in advance.
Opening times: Vary month to month. Find the full timetable here.
Directions: You can get the train to Elstree & Borehamwood and then the 107 bus to Kenilworth Drive. The easiest way is probably by car, and there is free parking on site.
Pirate Cove Adventure Park
If you don’t mind travelling a bit more far (but it may be the closest if you live in South East London), there is also the Pirate Cove Adventure Park, another adventure golf course of the same group, in Datford, Kent (External Winter garden Bluewater shopping centre, DA9 9SF), which allows dogs on leads like the other venues. As the name suggests, the theme is pirates, for a change!
Updated: Lost Jungle London is not dog-friendly
Important update: after publishing this guide, Oliver Mahoney, business owner of Lost Jungle London, wrote us apologising and telling us that the manager had been on holidays and unfortunately the staff had wrongly confirmed that the venue is dog-friendly, while they only allow assistance dogs. We hope will be considering some at least partial opening to dogs in the future, but for now, unfortunately no pet dogs.
Lost Jungle London is said to be the largest crazy golf course in Europe, with two 18-holes courses, and is right on the doorstep in Edgware, at the Northern end of the Northern Line. Argo, my husband and I had recently visited after confirming with the staff that is was dog-friendly (which unfortunately was a mistake from their end) and had the best mini golf experience ever. Much larger than the Dinosaur Falls (although there are some similarities such as the green fake grass carpet and rocks), it has some surprising features, especially if it’s the first one you visit. They gave Argo a water bowl when we arrived.
I hope they will consider becoming dog-friendly at least to some extent in the future, because the venue is really great.
Where: Watford By-Pass, Edgware HA8 8DD
Prices: 18 holes: £9.50 adult, Schoolie (5-17) £8, Family £29 | 36 holes: £14 adult, £11.75 schoolie, £43 family (more prices on their website here)
Directions:
By public transport you can get the Northern Line to Edgware and then the 107 bus to Edgware Way, or alternatively get off at Stanmore on the Jubilee Line and walk for 10-15 minutes.
By car take the A41 Watford By-Pass/Edgware Way. Lost Jungle London Adventure Golf is 5 minutes from the M1 Jct 4 and just 15 minutes from Wembley Stadium.
Opening times: Hours depend on the season, here you can find the full timetable – no booking required.
Tips for bringing your dog to a mini golf course
#1. Joining on a mini golf course is definitely not an experience for all dogs, and you will need to assess whether this would be fine with yours. In particular, if your dog is ball obsessed it may be a challenging one.
#2. Also remember that especially in the good season, it may be pretty crowded and there may be many children, so your dog should be comfortable with this and friendly.
#3. To avoid bad surprises, make sure that your dog goes to the toilet before starting on the mini golf course. Even if you were to clean up, you don’t want to risk to leave a poo stain on the fake grass course!
#4. Keep your dog on a leash. This is a requirement in all crazy golf courses we found and makes sense for everyone’s safety.
#5. Also be careful they don’t make a jump for the pond in case there is one.
If you like the “real golf”, did you know that you can take your (well-behaved) dog on some golf courses in London? Check out the dog-friendly golf courses guide to find out more.
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