On Sunday 11th of October I visited a site totally new to me that was ran by Skirmish Airsoft: Wentworth CQB and I enjoyed my day so much, I thought a little review was in order!
The site is located in Rotherham in West Yorkshire which is around a 60 mile drive from my home near Derby and it took me about an hour and twenty minutes to arrive to the site via the A38 and the M1, so not too far! Getting to the site was easy as the sat nav lead me straight to the gates, Wentworth CQB is a block of former student accommodation enclosed within the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse and when I got to the gate I was directed by a Marshal to the parking area inside the stables, which has ample space for visitors (I did however get a tad lost and end up in the estate grounds surrounded by cows and pheasants haha but I digress) - once parked up I walked up the track with all my kit to the safe zone.
Booking on for the event was really easy and was completed via www.eventbrite.co.uk (I used the iPhone app which is even simpler). I paid a £10 deposit and the job was a good'un. The first thing I did was sign in and pay the remainder of the game fee which was £20, the walk on fee was in line with other sites around the country.Food wasn't included in the fee but there is a sandwich bar nearby that the site orders food in from, including hot and cold sandwiches for a very reasonable price. The safe zone was quirky - it was set up in the house closest to the office and it was a house, with a kitchen and a bathroom which was quite amusing! We took up residence in one of the upstairs bedrooms and we were well away. I'm told that the site usually has a portaloo on site during game days but on the day I went, the stable toilets were open which was even better. Chrono was completed outside by one of the Marshals - the site has an FPS limit of 368, which I personally think is a little high for the type of CQB site it is but the players on site seemed happy with this.
The site itself is a group of 6, 2 story buildings within the grounds of a listed building. As I've previously said they were student accommodation so their top floors are tight corridors with bedrooms with built in wardrobes to take cover behind and in, and wash rooms lining them. The lower floors are full of large communal spaces and toilets connected by a stairwell. From what I saw all the buildings were the same so it made getting to know the site very easy, and I personally loved how close the combat was inside the buildings - it was intense! We played a fair few different games which were well ran, the first being a pistol Team Death Match to get everyone in the mood and to get an idea of the site! My favourites were the attack/defend game and the objective capture games as these really intensified the firefights.
One of the key elements of a day that really stand out for me are the site staff, and I'm pleased to say that the staff at Skirmish were very friendly and welcoming on the day. They gave a comprehensive safety brief at the start of the day that explained everything the players needed to know, the site doesn't operate a bang rule which is great and allows the use of pyrotechnics. Their games were well marshaled but what really struck me was how honest the players themselves were, I saw a lot of incidences where players were marshaling their own teams which is great and exactly what our industry needs. The other players on the day were mostly fantastic - happy to speak to people they had never met and made us feel welcome, there was an issue with a couple of players but they were swiftly dealt with by the Marshal staff.
If you love CQB the site is definitely one you should give a go! From the site itself, to the staff and the overall experience of the day it is a great days airsofting! Photo credits to Graham Thompson from Airsoft Addict, check out their website - http://www.airsoft-addict.com/
Site details:
Skirmish CQB
0
The site is located in Rotherham in West Yorkshire which is around a 60 mile drive from my home near Derby and it took me about an hour and twenty minutes to arrive to the site via the A38 and the M1, so not too far! Getting to the site was easy as the sat nav lead me straight to the gates, Wentworth CQB is a block of former student accommodation enclosed within the grounds of Wentworth Woodhouse and when I got to the gate I was directed by a Marshal to the parking area inside the stables, which has ample space for visitors (I did however get a tad lost and end up in the estate grounds surrounded by cows and pheasants haha but I digress) - once parked up I walked up the track with all my kit to the safe zone.
Booking on for the event was really easy and was completed via www.eventbrite.co.uk (I used the iPhone app which is even simpler). I paid a £10 deposit and the job was a good'un. The first thing I did was sign in and pay the remainder of the game fee which was £20, the walk on fee was in line with other sites around the country.Food wasn't included in the fee but there is a sandwich bar nearby that the site orders food in from, including hot and cold sandwiches for a very reasonable price. The safe zone was quirky - it was set up in the house closest to the office and it was a house, with a kitchen and a bathroom which was quite amusing! We took up residence in one of the upstairs bedrooms and we were well away. I'm told that the site usually has a portaloo on site during game days but on the day I went, the stable toilets were open which was even better. Chrono was completed outside by one of the Marshals - the site has an FPS limit of 368, which I personally think is a little high for the type of CQB site it is but the players on site seemed happy with this.
The site itself is a group of 6, 2 story buildings within the grounds of a listed building. As I've previously said they were student accommodation so their top floors are tight corridors with bedrooms with built in wardrobes to take cover behind and in, and wash rooms lining them. The lower floors are full of large communal spaces and toilets connected by a stairwell. From what I saw all the buildings were the same so it made getting to know the site very easy, and I personally loved how close the combat was inside the buildings - it was intense! We played a fair few different games which were well ran, the first being a pistol Team Death Match to get everyone in the mood and to get an idea of the site! My favourites were the attack/defend game and the objective capture games as these really intensified the firefights.
One of the key elements of a day that really stand out for me are the site staff, and I'm pleased to say that the staff at Skirmish were very friendly and welcoming on the day. They gave a comprehensive safety brief at the start of the day that explained everything the players needed to know, the site doesn't operate a bang rule which is great and allows the use of pyrotechnics. Their games were well marshaled but what really struck me was how honest the players themselves were, I saw a lot of incidences where players were marshaling their own teams which is great and exactly what our industry needs. The other players on the day were mostly fantastic - happy to speak to people they had never met and made us feel welcome, there was an issue with a couple of players but they were swiftly dealt with by the Marshal staff.
If you love CQB the site is definitely one you should give a go! From the site itself, to the staff and the overall experience of the day it is a great days airsofting! Photo credits to Graham Thompson from Airsoft Addict, check out their website - http://www.airsoft-addict.com/
Site details:
Skirmish CQB
S62 7TQ Rotherham
United Kingdom
United Kingdom