A cool mist rolls down the stunning countryside where we receive our enthusiastic safety training on the art of safe axe wielding. A month or so ago I’d never heard of axe throwing, but recently everyone’s been talking about it, so I was really looking forward to trying it out.
I felt extremely lucky to be able to attend, since the heavy rain predicted for Saturday had meant we were in negotiation as to whether to reschedule. Apparently, flinging axes around in torrential downpour isn’t a fun activity. So the organiser and instructor, Harry Househam, had emailed me earlier in the week suggesting we keep an eye on the forecast and perhaps choose another date. Thankfully, the heavens had mercifully emptied fully before midday, meaning my boyfriend, myself, and another couple could happily squelch the short distance from the car to the target range in cool dry air by our appointment at 2.30pm.
Now, I’m a scaredy cat by nature. If there’s any chance I could damage myself or others through sheer incompetence, the possibilities weigh heavily on my mind. The fact we had to fill in a safety form before arrival painted my imagination with terrifying scenarios. I was delighted to discover, however, that my concerns were misplaced. Much like how an arrow will pierce easily at high speed but you’re perfectly safe at an archery range, after the safety briefing I felt totally comfortable lobbing two tomahawk axes at the custom-built targets. There was a time to lob and a time to collect (I feel the same is true in life), and this was clearly announced by our instructor so the risk of being hit by a stray axe was really minimal.
You could tell that our instructor Harry Househam knows his stuff and his passion for the discipline was infectious. Undeterred by our wildly inaccurate hurls, Harry patiently guided us to improve with every throw - apparently I put too much effort in, a complaint I’ve also heard from my therapist. By the end of the session we were all consistently hitting the target. We learnt a variety of throwing styles and trick shots - my favourite being a two-handed axe throw. If you ever want to feel like a Celtic hero, try catapulting two axes at once. I understand how Boudicca so happily overthrew the Romans.
We had a competition at the end amongst our teams and played a game with playing cards. I scored a total of zero points in the two competitions but I hit the target at least fifty percent of the time and was truly delighted by my own sportsmanship.
I cannot recommend axe throwing with Ridgeway View and Axe Throwing highly enough. Whether you’re looking for a cute date idea or a fun new sport, it was a fun active afternoon in nature picking up a badass new hobby.