On a blustery Thursday evening, the sound of deep thuds and high shrieks can be heard along the canal in east London’s Hackney Wick. They emanate from axe-throwing venue Skeeters, named after the famous native American axe and knife thrower. It might sound unnerving, but head inside and the fairy lights – plus colleagues enjoying a work social – soon put you at ease.
“It’s been a stressful year at work so it seemed like a good work social,” says Gemma Sutton, a 27-year-old product designer who tonight tried axe throwing for the first time. “It was fun. Most things you do as work socials involve going to a bar – it was nice to do something a bit different.”
Skeeters is just one of several axe-throwing venues open, or set to open, across the UK this year, with many predicting that going out for a night of throwing axes at a target will become the new bowling.
Much like bowling, axe throwing involves lanes. Punters are given axes, though some ranges do let you bring your own, and are taught to throw them at wooden targets painted with concentric circles and dots….
