UK Shout with Griffin Archers at Rockingham Forest Park

UK Shout with Griffin Archers at Rockingham Forest Park

By Chris Elliott…

After moving back to Peterborough, UK, from Northern Cyprus, I rekindled my interest in archery with the Griffin Archers. They invited me to try a free taster session at their range and clubhouse in Rockingham Forest Park near Wansford. The park itself is notable for its history as part of William the Conqueror’s hunting ground, and is the former site of WW2, Kings Cliff Airfield, now marked by a Glenn Miller memorial.

Upon arriving at the security gate, I was connected with the Griffin Archers and granted access. I then drove through the amazing park, seeing some of the holiday lodges and beautiful features, and parked near their clubhouse at the Command Post, Bistro car park.

Command Post Bistro

Griffin Archers Club House and indoor range

Archery Taster course

I arrived at Griffin Archers Club and was greeted by Secretary Dianne Searle. After a short chat, I was shown to the range, where I met fellow archers and saw their impressive collection of straw targets and equipment. Club Chairman, John Searle, welcomed us, then his daughter, Robyn, explained club etiquette and essential safety procedures when we were invited to select a recurve bare bow and taken to the firing line by several club members who guided us through shooting our first arrows.

After shooting our first arrows, we all returned to the safety zone and, on the safety signal, accompanied by a club member, went to the target and were guided through the withdrawal of arrows and the safe method of handling them and returning to the safety zone.

This procedure was repeated a number of times, with individual new archers being given help and advice by a club member so they could develop safe and accurate shooting.

At the end of the session, we all gathered and then helped with the dismantling of targets, ready for them to be taken away for storage.

Archery Beginner Course/ Refresher Course

This intensive 3-day course, held on a Saturday and Sunday, and the following Sunday, followed the same pattern, with participants selecting their reserved recurve bare bows and being guided through setting them up with a string, and then after several shooting ends, they were then shown and asked to set up their bows with sights as a more advanced method of shooting.

Having my own recurve bow with sight, clicker, and stabiliser, I was fortunate to be able to proceed with using this. I was given a great deal of help and advice on the firing by several members, which soon enabled my sight to be re-tuned. After shooting many arrows, my grouping shots improved, and I started to recover my forgotten shooting technique.

Testing and reaching maximum personal performance

So, the third and final day arrived, and our group now stood in twos in front of 20-yard targets and shot 6 ends of 6 arrows and individually received advice on how to improve and stabilize our technique for maximum accuracy.

We were then introduced to competition standards by having the opportunity to shoot 6 ends with 6 arrows and having our scores recorded, which was good, and helped us start to better understand our individual techniques and performances.

Then it was time to relax and shoot some more, with some of our group removing their bow sights and trying bare bow shooting again, and, of course, both methods take some getting used to. It had been a very enjoyable 3 days of excellent persional coaching, and we were all presented with certificates verifying that we could shoot independently and safely to recognised standards with clubs, so this is where the archery journey starts when becoming a club member and continuing to shoot. and aim for perfection and what better place than with the Griffin Archers Family.

Rockingham Forest Park in years gone by

Remembering the areas WW2 activities, between the Command Post Bistro and the Griffinn Archers Club house, lies the small King’s Cliffe Airfield Museum, which is very interesting, and trying to imagine the area of 650 acres of parkland as it is today, with its many features and facilities compared to its WW2 usage, it is hard to understand but I took a final stroll through the holiday lodges and came to the original concrete base of the main hanger where Glen Miller played his final USAF airfield concert before his sad disappearance on a trip to the continent.

For those people who visit the park, they have the opportunity of making use of the many facilities, plus just enjoying what nature brings, in the 650 acres with nature trails, dog walks, and lakes.

Please follow the links below for more information on the Griffin Archers and Rockingham Forest Park.

Griffin Archers click here for Facebook and Website

Rockingham Forest Park click here