Things to Do in Brandermill
Recommended Things to Do by Groupon Customers
Shockoe Bottom, one of Richmond’s oldest neighborhoods, is also home to some of Richmond’s scariest ghosts and classiest haunting scenes. During the Capital Creepers Eerie Nights tour, which is guided by ghastly ghouls dressed in historical duds and painted with Hollywood-quality makeup that would fool even the deadest ghost, fright fanatics will discover all the dark and gory details about the haunts of Richmond’s past, present, and future, which are much more thrilling than the commonly known tales of the still-warm ketchup on Colonel William Mayo’s 1737 city plan and the guy on the corner who screams “I’m a ghost” every 15 minutes.
Two distinct nine-hole golf courses encircle a go-kart track, batting cages, 36 holes of miniature golf, and a 65-stall driving range at Windy Hill Sports Complex's mini metropolis of family fun. Pin-hunting posses can launch tee shots around dogleg fairways and carry approaches over water hazards at the Lake Course—which features two par 5s—or catch an abridged nine at the par 3 layout, which is lighted to facilitate late-night play without unveiling incendiary prototypes of plutonium golf balls. Set on the edge of the highest point in Chesterfield County, the driving range helps players to hone their swings with 250 yards of target-peppered terrain, and the mini-golf course affords guests pressure-free practice on their putting stroke. Honda go-karts zip around the complex's quarter-mile go-kart track, where junior- and adult-size conveyances run in separate heats, and two-seater vehicles accommodate adult-child or child-gnome tandems. Across the grounds, sharp line drives resonate from the batting cages, where batsmen swing at orbs slung from mechanical hurlers at anywhere from 25 mph to 85 mph.
For more than 50 years, Putt-Putt Fun Center has delighted visitors with a triad of entertainment: miniature golf, bumper boats, and go-karts. Its three 18-hole putt-putt courses test putting skills with challenges akin to those on regulation greens, and a 6,400-square-foot pool dubbed the Wet Zone hosts 14 electric bumper boats where customers are guaranteed to get wet. Each vessel can seat one adult and one child and comes equipped with a spray nozzle that riders can use to mist their opponents as their boats playfully bump together. Go-kart drivers speed in the Race Zone toward the finish line, and visitors prove their thumb dexterity at the arcade’s 50 video and skill games, where players can earn tickets to use toward prizes. Group and party packages ensure that visiting sports teams or birthday revelers stay nourished and entertained.
The streets and buildings of Richmond breathe with history. Patrick Henry’s famous words, “Give me liberty or give me death,” echo in St. John’s Church, where the statesman gave his infamous speech; the ghost of Poe wanders the streets of the Church Hill district, where he lived and wrote; and the bones of presidents James Monroe and John Tyler lie peacefully under the lush grass of the Hollywood Cemetery, a National Historic Landmark. These are just a few of the locations that segway riders glide through during educational tours organized by Segway of Richmond.
The company’s most popular jaunt, the two-hour Landmark Tour, takes groups to nearly 20 historic buildings, churches, and museums, whereas other ventures focus on specific aspects of the city’s past, such as the Black History Tour or the Edgar Allan Poe Tour. In addition to learning about the men and women who shaped the culture of Richmond and practicing their preferred mode of transportation, tour-goers can explore the architecture of Victorian and Edwardian homes during a Fan District Tour or think about murals, mosaics, and sculptures during a Public Art Tour.
Bahamas native David M. Hay spent his youth exploring the world of underwater wrecks while on dives with his father. Laura Schild Hay became enamored with sea creatures at an early age. David fervently kept up with diving, racking up nearly 6,000 logged dives working as a dive instructor and assisting West Virginia State police with underwater criminal investigations. Laura, on the other hand, cultivated her love for biology by breathing regularly and earning a doctoral degree in biochemistry and molecular biology. She rekindled her passion for marine life in 2000 when she learned to scuba dive in northern California. Two years later she wandered into a Maryland dive shop seeking diving opportunities, where dive instructor Dave escorted her into the seas and, eventually, down the aisle.
Along with David W. Hay, the diving duo founded Atlantis Divers in 2005, where their certified team coaches beginners, fallen dolphins, and advanced ocean explorers alike. In addition to public safety training by Public Safety Diving instructors, who currently serve on police- and rescue-dive teams, Atlantis Divers educates pupils with 10 scuba classes. There, instructors abet apprentices with courses focused on managing dive emergencies and learning how to prepare wreck dive equipment.
Swaders Sports Park fuels friendly competition between friends and family members with an endless series of sports and gaming opportunities. Guests jump into one of four different go-karts and zip around two tracks or guide golf balls past challenging obstacles and serene water features—such as waterfalls, streams, and nymphs holding water guns—on two 18-hole mini-golf courses. Golfers can also head to the driving range or smack a different kind of ball in the batting cages.
Inside the facility, a whirring collection of lights and sirens ricochet off the walls from more than 70 arcade games. A multilevel laser-tag arena conceals players behind towering glow-in-the-dark obstacles, and the Route 66 bowling alley allows guests to bowl on highway-themed lanes without the risk of potholes that comes from playing on regular highways.
