Europes largest man-made bridge, trenches, villages, crashed aircraft, and much more to battle over during a constant 6-hour game!

Run on the first Sunday of each month, the biggest and best woodland experience going in Yorkshire.

On 5th June 2022, I had booked to play at Halo Mill - Proving Grounds for UKAL (UK Airsoft Ladies) first meet which I will cover in a separate blog. I'd heard great things about this site so had no worries about how the skirmish was going to play out.

Upon arrival on the Saturday, we were shown where to set up for our tents overnight and informed what time we could expect players to arrive on site. The evening was a great laugh and we were looking forward to the Sunday for pew pew. 

Players began arriving fairly smartish at 7am and so we got set up in the indoor safe-zone which was well kitted out with a canteen and plenty of benches. Portaloos were available just outside the safe-zone and there was a small shop selling some gear which players may need on the day. We were asked to chrono before the safety brief at 10am. Chrono consisted of a marshal standing at the chrono checking guns were under and just giving a thumbs up. This made me feel a bit weary about not everyone chronoing their RIFs especially with a few players arriving a little later. The safety brief was quite thorough and we got given a map and objectives that needed to be completed throughout the day and at what time. This meant it was continuous play with no break. Unfortunately, there were a few players talking throughout some of the brief so not all of it was heard. 

The site itself was all woodland which consisted of some trench systems and a very large manmade bridge which was their main attraction. It did look amazing! The site wasn't the largest so it was expected to be in a firefight most the time, however with the gameplay being continuous, it meant that there were a few occasions where it would be very small numbers actually fighting for an objective as players would be in the safe-zone. Unfortunately, there was some poor hit calling and a number of times I saw at least 4 marshals standing in one area having a chat and not keeping an eye on the gameplay. Dead players were also asked to click the counter at respawn which was managed by marshals to start with but were soon left unattended. With the rolling objectives, I felt it started well at the beginning of the day, but players soon lost interest and went elsewhere on the map or in the safe-zone which left the playing field feeling empty at times. 

Overall, I feel the site has a lot of potential and could be run amazingly but it felt quite lazily run on the day and marshals could get more involved to ensure players are having a good day and maybe come up with a lunch break so players aren't left on the field with little to pew at. I did come away feeling a bit let down with the good things I'd heard about the site but with it being a fair drive for me to attend, I won't be heading back just yet...