JUDI Holmes gives a lot of the credit for her bowls journey around Australia to the Travelling Bowler, a magazine produced on the Southern Downs by Deborah Wheeler.

Holmes and partner Keith Barnett, a keen golfer, were on the road around Australia for two years with Travelling Bowler, originally called Australian Bowls Directory, constantly at their side.

"I won one day at Geraldton in Western Australia but it was part of an eight-week competition and we had to move on," she said.

"We tended to play more on grass greens than artificial turf which can be harder on your bowls. We would read about the next club in the directory as we travelled around, I just wish more clubs would advertise their specials in Travelling Bowler.

"Keith is more a golfer but played bowls where there wasn't any golf ... we played at about 50 clubs.

"If we turned up and there were no spots left in the competition, some home club players would always step aside so we could play."

They travelled the country in their Red Alert van with two sets of bowls and one set of clubs.

Wheeler started Travelling Bowler as an annual publication in 2007 and it has now expanded from 60 to 184 pages and now has more than 1900 clubs listed.

"We have added a live website with current and more up-to-date information on events," she said.

Travelling Bowler is available by going to travellingbowler.com or at Grafton Rose Bed and Breakfast which Wheeler operates, the Southern Cross Bowls Club or the Warwick Tourist Information Centre. "Bowlers can come to Grafton Rose Bed and Breakfast for a free cuppa," she said.