Kaskada Bowling Alley was commonly referred to as 'the bowling alley' and used to be the ultimate hot-spot for college students such as myself. I only actually bowled there a handful of times, but I frequented the place several times a week for many a year. My friends and I would meet there, although looking back, there was little to do. There was twenty lanes for bowling - these are the same as they are everywhere, around £5 a game per player, and up to 4 players playing on one lane. You bowl ten rounds after inputting your name into the computer, and the computer takes great delight in laughing at you when you fail to knock down any pins, or when you manage to aim the bowling ball directly into the centre of the pins, but only knocking down a single one from the back row. It also cheers on the odd occasion you get a strike or a half-strike.
The bowling alley is rarely very busy, with maybe 4 lanes being used at any one time, unless it's around the Christmas period where work parties take over the entire row of lanes.
In front of the actual bowling lanes there's a games area with shuttle hockey and pool tables, fruit machines and a few ride-on motorbike racing machines. I have frequent memories of the 'Day-ton-ah' tune from a few of the machines from hanging around there so much.
Also towards the front of the lanes, against the back wall, there's a small burger bar, and a shop for the purchase of bowling balls, shoes and other little souvenirs. At one end of the bowling alley there's a bar with some comfy leather chairs and the kind of dark-wood decoration popular in many bars today. There's also a terrace in this area.
I often wonder what made this place so popular with the teenagers - we weren't allowed in the bar or near the bowling lanes (unless bowling) so were left to hang around the games area, playing pool when we could afford it. I guess it was because it was warm inside - there was nowhere else in Durham city like it. read more