The 5 best UK paintballing locations

Paintball has upped its game in recent years – long gone are the days of lying in muddy fields and using only trees for cover. Today’s paintball locations go above and beyond to provide the most immersive and spectacular experiences. We’ve chosen the UK’s 5 best paintballing locations.

 

GO Paintball London

Address: GO Paintball London, Salmons Lane, Whyteleafe, CR3 0HB.

GO Paintball London offers 50 acres of themed battlefields designed by the former #1 UK paintball player, Tommy ‘Gun’ Pemberton. There are 5 maps to choose from, varying from open woodlands to close-quarter compounds, each of which has its own objectives.

There’s no expense spared in the production. This venue features barrels, trenches and trees for cover, as well as camouflage-donned bunkers and battlements.

Tommy has crafted the GO Paintball London experience from top to bottom. You even have an arsenal of paintball weapons to choose from, including an assault rifle, sniper rifle and smoke grenades.

Located just a 25-minute train journey from central London, GO Paintball London is the closest paintball location to the capital – and the best. It has been featured on the BBC, Channel 4 and Comedy Central. It was even awarded the prestigious Traveller’s Choice Award 2020 from TripAdvisor. This indicates that the venues have being consistently reviewed highly and rank in the top 10% of all TripAdvisor experiences.

The experience is reasonably priced, too. It costs £14.99 per person for equipment hire, then you buy your paintballs on top. These packages range from £20 to £75, for anywhere between 500 and 1500 paintballs. If this isn’t enough, GO Paintball even throws in a free Pizza Hut pizza with every paintball package.

 

Bawtry Paintball Fields

Address: Bawtry Paintball & Laser Fields, Bawtry Forest, Great North Road, Bawtry, Doncaster, DN10 6DG.

Another Traveller’s Choice Award 2020 winner, Bawtry Paintball Fields in Doncaster brings the production quality of a movie set to its 16 paintball maps – literally.

Bawtry Paintball Fields bought practically all of the vehicular props from the Tom Cruise movie Edge of Tomorrow. These include 5 helicopters, 2 tanks (plus 1 APC), 2 armoured rocket launchers and dozens of armoured vehicles. These can be found strewn around the battlefields along with 13 armoured Jeeps from Apocalypse Now. There’s even a Predator game-mode if you fancy being hunted by the famous dreadlocked alien.

Hollywood history aside, Bawtry Paintball Fields’ award-winning maps are all carefully crafted to present unique challenges that reward clever combat strategy and teamwork. At over 365 acres, it’s the largest paintball hub in Europe. It also contains the most expensive paintball map in Europe – the Ewok-themed map, which cost £42,000 to construct.

While Bawtry’s maps spare no expense, the price of entry remains reasonable. There are several ways to pay and play – pay as you go, half-day and full-day. The most popular option is the Steady Eddy full-day option, which costs £40 and comes with full equipment, 12 paintball games, a hot lunch and 600 paintballs. You can even add on some of Bawtry’s other activities for just £10 extra, including axe throwing, archery and rifle shooting.

If you’re after an unrivalled paintball experience, Bawtry Paintball Fields is it.

 

Manchester Paintball Arena

Address: Manchester Paintball Arena, Lower Ground Floor, Nile Mill B, Fields New Road, Chadderton, Oldham, Manchester, OL9 8NH.

Manchester Paintball Arena is an entirely indoor paintballing location. The company has harnessed the close-quarter combat scenario to present a faster-paced game. Half of the game modes are respawn games, meaning nobody is eliminated from the match after being shot – they simply return to the starting point and get back out there.

This encourages combatants to fight more aggressively and means the game becomes more tactical. Victory is measured in points per kill rather than by the last man standing. This mechanic means you’ll spend more time playing and less time watching.

This style of play has resonated with paintballers, as Manchester Paintball Arena is yet another Traveller’s Choice Award 2020 winner.

An added benefit of indoor paintball is that there’s no chance of your session turning into a mud bath as you battle the elements. Manchester Paintball Arena’s maps take place in an old mill, complete with tyre stacks, support struts and burnt out cars to create an industrial aesthetic.

Many of the game modes offered are modelled after the Call of Duty video game modes, including Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and Domination. There’s also Jail Break, which is objective-focused, and Medal of Honour, which is stealth focused.

For 3 hours of indoor paintball, you get all the protective equipment you need, your paintball gun and 500 paintballs for £35, or 800 paintballs for £50.

 

Delta Force Paintball

Address: 39 locations nationwide (search for your nearest one here).

Unlike the other entries, this venue isn’t consigned to one specific location. Delta Force Paintball boasts 39 locations around the UK, each as impressive as the next.

Delta Force brings quality standardisation to paintball and has developed a trusted brand within the paintball community. It’s even a 5-star accredited member of the UK Paintball Association and has an impeccable safety record.

There’s a total of 32 scenarios across all of the Delta Force sites, with many of the more popular ones duplicated across several. These maps boast impressive props and structures, including a double-decker bus, an actual helicopter and replicas of the pyramids and Big Ben. There’s even a replica Imperial Shuttle, for any Star Wars fans.

Some of the map names might sound familiar as well – Tomb Raider, Raptor Park, Black Hawk Down, Counter Strike and Stargate. Besides movie-themed arenas, there are historical-themed maps harking back to Vietnam, D-Day and the Battle of Stalingrad as well.

Wherever you live in the UK, you’re no more than a 45-minute drive from one of Delta Force’s paintballing sites. Each of these sites succeeds in holding a high-calibre offering, making Delta Force one of the best – and most accessible – paintball experiences in the UK.

Prices begin at £9.99 for equipment rental and increase by £9.99 for every 100 paintballs thereafter.

 

Outpost Paintball

Address: Outpost Paintball, Moor Lane, Lower Kinnerton, Chester, Cheshire, CH4 9AQ.

Outpost Paintball is an independent paintball location based in a Cold War-era anti-aircraft artillery base. In fact, this base was built to protect Chester, Wrexham and Merseyside from nuclear attack. Knowing that going in is enough to amp you up for some high-octane paintball.

Outpost Paintball is run by paintball fanatics who have devised sophisticated game scenarios. These cater to everyone from under-11s to professional paintball players.

There are 19 unique game zones on the Outpost site, with more to come. These include futuristic, historical or dystopian infiltration missions, objective-focused scenarios, assault modes and capture games. Each demands different skills and strategies to win.

There’s even an event spanning 3 days based on the Borderlands video game franchise, plus regular tournaments.

As with multiple entries on this list, Outpost Paintball is a Traveller’s Choice 2020 award-winning paintball location.

Packages start from £20 per player for an entire day’s paintball, your equipment and 200 paintballs. The packages then range from £32 to £90 per player for 400 to 1600 paintballs.

 

Specialist paintball insurance through Ripe Shooting

Paintballing is generally safe, but it’s a combat sport, so accidents do happen. That’s why you might choose to protect yourself in a way that goes beyond pads and a mask.

At Ripe, we arrange specialist paintball insurance that protects you from costs arising from accidentally injuring yourself or somebody else. You'll also be covered for your paintballing equipment in the UK, Europe, or worldwide.

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