Arrival times
Please arrive approximately 10 minutes before your start time and come bowling ready with appropriate footwear.
Please have your booking confirmation ready when arriving at DC Bowl reception which is located in the Bistro on the first floor.
Please arrive on time as late arrivals may not be able to bowl and could lose the total amount paid. Please leave plenty of time for your journey.
Equipment
Footwear
Flat shoes are required for bowling participants. You can wear your own shoes providing they are flat and are not sandals, open toes, wedges or heels.
Bowling shoes are available if you don't have suitable footwear.
Bowling balls
We have a wide variety of weights and sizes so everyone can enjoy a game. Balls range from 6lbs to 15lbs. The light weight balls have smaller finger holes for children.
Ramps and lane bumpers
Young children and can use the ramps and lane bumpers to make bowling easier for them. The ramps are also suitable for wheelchair users as their chair can usually fit underneath.
Bowling Hints and Tips
For some useful tips on brushing up your bowling skills you can visit the tenpin website [external link]
Gift Vouchers
Dolphin Centre gift cards area available to purchase, please email [email protected] for full details.
Special Effects
Flashing lights and special effects are in use during play, this may affect individuals with photosensitive epilepsy.
FAQ's
We’re open every day from 10am until 9pm Monday-Friday, Saturday-Sunday 10am until 7pm.
We ask all customers to book online. If you are unable to book on line please contact us on 01325 406000.
We have an extensive menu available to enjoy before or after your game as well as lighter snacks available to order to the lanes.
See our menu [pdf document]
You can have a maximum of 6 people to a lane. We would recommend that all customers book their bowling online to avoid disappointment of being unable to have a lane. For larger bookings please contact 01325 406000.
Just give us a call on 01325 406000 and we’ll sort it out for you.
You can also email [email protected]
Anyone aged under 16 is classed as a junior. Anyone over 60 is classed as a senior.
We suggest that given the weight of bowling balls, the minimum age for a child to bowl is four but this is at the discretion of the parent/guardian.
Please note that children under 11 must be accompanied by an adult whilst in the bowling alley.
Please note if you are unable to attend a booking we do not issue refunds. We can hold your booking and re-book for another date that is more suitable.
The bowling software we use requires anyone making a booking to have an account.
We've decided to use My Darlington+ as the account system as it is already widely used across our website.
It also means you'll not need to remember an additional password to log into a different part of our website.