Sunshine, good company and bacon butties – bowled over by bowls in Bramley

By Noelle Williamson

Ever thought of trying crown green bowling? I hadn’t until last Saturday morning, when I saw a chalked sign on the path outside Bramley Crown Green Bowling Club.

“COME IN AND HAVE A FREE TRIAL,” it said. “ALL WELCOME”.

The sign also offered a bacon sandwich or a hot dog for £1 and tea or coffee for 60p, and I hadn’t had any breakfast. Some decisions make themselves. This turned out to be a good one. 

The clubhouse and green are next to the cenotaph and the walled garden, near the bottom of Bramley Park.

I walked through the gate and into a picture postcard scene of village life: an immaculate green lawn and a neatly painted clubhouse; clusters of players on the green; and chairs lined up against the clubhouse wall for half a dozen onlookers who were sitting in the sun with tea and butties, as advertised. 

Some looked up: did I fancy a go? Yes? Right… and Malcolm came over and took me under his wing. 

Malcolm first tried crown green bowling in 2020, when he’d decided to put away his golf clubs, but still wanted the challenge, camaraderie and fresh air he’d enjoyed for so many years.

Five years on, he reckons it’s one of the best decisions he’s ever made. His quiet enthusiasm is infectious and I imagine that he’s a good player, too, because he was a perceptive and patient teacher. 

I like playing pool, and I’ve been bowling before, so I thought crown green bowling would be fairly straightforward, and all you do is step forward, sight and throw, right?

Er, not exactly, because a crown green isn’t flat like a pool table, and a bowl isn’t circular and evenly weighted like a bowling ball, and I have to say that my brain got in the way of the that easy-peasy step-and-swing thing.

But I really enjoyed this meditative, balletic, outdoor brainteaser – in good company, and followed by a cup of tea and a bacon butty in the sun. What more could you ask?

What was really lovely was seeing families playing together. Some were newbies, like me. Then there was Peter’s great-granddaughter giving him some real competition. There was even a toddler grandson doing a green inspection!

Meanwhile, Malcolm and other members were introducing other curious visitors to this curious game.

I can’t quite explain why I liked my first taste of crown green bowling so much – it feels kind of solitary but companionable, and as much a puzzle as a game, and it’s out of doors, and someone else mows the lawn, and – if I become a member – I can go any time.

Anyway, I fully intend to go again, and this time I shall stay longer. And have a late breakfast again.

Free crown green bowling taster sessions run 9.30am-11am during Saturdays in April at Bramley Crown Green Bowling. Everyone is welcome, families, individuals, all ages.

Well-behaved dogs on their leads are also welcome. Refreshments are available. Details of membership – and WLD community reporter Jean Hollings’ recent visit – here.

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