Guest PT247 Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Robbed from their website: "The Battle Lakes is a woodland Airsoft site like no other in the UK. With its sixteen lakes and set in 200 acres of extremely varied woodland, Battle Lakes will challenge even the most hardened Airsoft veteran. The site has the perfect mix of man made as well as natural features, which includes; defensive structures, 4×4 tracks, sneaky trails, hilltop positions and lots of water features. The games themselves are scenario based and last all day, which are designed to take full advantage of the awesome surroundings. We also regularly use vehicles, airsoft mortars and a lot of cool toys in game to enhance each event. The facilities on site are excellent with large indoors and outdoors safe areas. Included are; working power sockets, Men & Women’s toilets, kitchen, onsite battery charging, changing areas and dedicated customer car parking. The onsite shop sells; BB’s, Pyrotechnics, gas and a range of Airsoft equipment at competitive prices." Went over there today with a couple of mates, this was my second visit and also felt completely different to my first time there. The site is huge and the gameplay is across the whole site freeroam so you can do some real sneaky flanking moves without being contained in a small skirmish box, this to me is the major selling point of Battle Lakes, sneaking up on a sniper that thinks he/she has a nice lil spot and shooting them in the bum! The safezone is large enough for the amount of attendees that were there with everyone being able to use a bench and be under cover, they have real toilets with dry toilet roll that hasn't been kicked around a soggy portaloo!!!! there is a very good shop and the win of all wins..... home cooked food for lunch, lunch is an actual treat there, not only do you get a hot meal that is actually tasty, you also get a can of pop and a chocolate bar. Tea and coffee is free all day but they do sell cans of pop/bottles of water too and don't charge the earth for them either! The day costs £27. At the start of the day all guns are chronoed, including pistols. They use their own 0.2g BBs and fire the guns themselves. Signing in is easy and quick, you do however need to book with them either via their facebook page or email. I think this is mainly due to the food provided but am guessing it also allows them to plan how many marshals would be required. The safety brief is comprehensive and well presented, game briefs were also well presented and a large map is utilised to show objectives etc. The first time I went they even had videos and individual mission briefs for each team in a nice briefing room with a big screen to get you in the spirit of things! Today's first game lasted until lunchtime so roughly 2hrs I think and team A getting some items then taking them to another location while team B had to stop them, this meant due to the freeroam nature of the site that naturally each teams were both attacking and defending throughout. Respawn could potentially be a treck but they ran a medic rule so you could be medic'd back into the game once then if shot again you had to go back to respawn where you reset. Did I mention lunch was really good? After lunch we went out for a 90min game involving flags which was really good fun and very tactical. There was another game after this but we had to get back so didn't play it unfortunately. They also had an onsite photographer, I think I only ever saw her when I was on my way to respawn though so doubt I'll feature in any this time lol. My high points were being told several of our team were being held up by a sniper dug in in a machine gun nest so i rushed the nest and took him out with my pistol, another was utterly flanking the whole of the opposing team near the start of the game after lunch, sneaking into the area they had control of and were there in large numbers, swapping their flag for ours and then holding them off for as long as I could after! I very much recommend the site, all the marshals were very fair, all the players were very honest, sporting and IMO represented airsofters better than a lot of other sites I have played at. So a pat on the back for them. Did I mention that the lunch was awesome and they have proper toilets? http://www.zedadventures.co.uk/locations/battle-lakes/ https://www.facebook.com/battlelakesairsoft/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hef Legend Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I'm thinking about a skirmish in a few weeks and someone suggested this place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentonboy Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Yep, want to try this site soon; but I had such a great time at RIFT The Defilade yesterday, that it will be hard to drag myself away from a good site on my front door to get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacarathe Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Good review. Want to try this now, and I just discovered Frant railway station as easy to reach as Reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lafta Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Also interested in venturing down here soon. Can we come up with a date for a mini forum meet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hef Legend Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 I'm up for one at the end of this month with my group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wongo Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 Thank you very much for such a detailed review. I will definitely be visits once I'm up and running. Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PT247 Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 4 hours ago, Wongo said: Thank you very much for such a detailed review. I will definitely be visits once I'm up and running. Thanks again Battle Lakes is probably my favorite skirmish site.... now if Serial 40 or Rype Village became open to us as a regular site then that would change. I love Dogtag at Holmbush as it is 5min from home, but Battle Lakes offers a far more airsofty type gameplay over the paintbally gameplay at Holmbush Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wongo Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 I've played paintball at holmbush a few years ago. Had a Good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albiscuit Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 heading there this week. Sounds great, will update thread next week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PT247 Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 I can't get there this weekend, but let me know if you are going again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clumpyedge Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 On 5/22/2017 at 9:01 PM, PT247 said: Battle Lakes is probably my favorite skirmish site.... now if Serial 40 or Rype Village became open to us as a regular site then that would change. I love Dogtag at Holmbush as it is 5min from home, but Battle Lakes offers a far more airsofty type gameplay over the paintbally gameplay at Holmbush Doubt Rype will ever be used for airsoft again while serving soldiers on on site. Legion did a game there and it appeared after the game while they were given permission lower down the ranks higher level staff had completely forbidden it while its a working base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporters Esoterick Posted October 22, 2017 Supporters Share Posted October 22, 2017 Battle Lakes is a really good site, only been once but the atmosphere, standard of play and marshaling were all excellent. The terrain is nicely varied too from open wooded areas where you need to work from tree to tree to move up through to areas packed with dense foliage that's ideal for players to ambush you from. My only criticism was I hid in a spot that blocked a big chunk of the enemy team moving up and a photographer then stood in a spot which meant the other team could use them as cover whilst they pushed up. However I very much doubt they knew I was there as I kept hearing players on the other team saying there's someone there but he's too well camouflaged to spot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albiscuit Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 So I went yesterday for the first time. I am very impressed!! The safe zone was a mixture of covered or tented tables, tables in the open and for latecomers like us "stick your gear on top of a log" slightly annoying, and in the rain would have been an issue but fair weather didnt pose a problem in this case. Amenities were fab! Toilets indoors and clean is a godsend (played a few sites where you had to use a tree) signing in was easy and for £26 the included lunch (with seconds) was lovely!! The onsite shop was stocked well, with the biggest selection I have seen on any site. So happy it was there as I forgot my belt and spent the whole of the first game reattaching my gear as I had to thread my thigh rig onto my crappy battle belt which kept unclicking the catch and flapping about whilst pulling my trousers down Shop for drinks and chocolate etc was reasonable too. As it was a Halloween special the games had a different theme to them, personally I want not into the games at all. I felt they didnt fit the site of style of day. I am all for tactical games with a few different objectives but larger team skirmishes tend (in my experience) to work best with the standard defend the sites dropping back, capture the flag/domination type games. Keep the tactical/spec ops stuff for milsims where everyone expects to play as a team and go for objectives. Sunday skirmishes I find tend to turn into team deathmatches despite site owners best attempts as most players just turn up to hurl bbs around not try to find passwords/laptops and secret spys. However!!! I had a blast, the site was great, the woodland had a big mix of ridges, hills, bushes, trees and ditches meaning no super long line of sights which suites me as im not typically a woodland player. But this did mean our snipers formed a "front line" really close to our spawn which limited our first game as we could hardly break out or outflank and had been pushed right back. I did miss the obligatory crudely built village with a watch/church tower and pallet built barricades but found enough cover to zig zag along to go sniper hunting (my fave pastime in the woods) Marshaling was great and in my opinion fair. There were a few grumbles and people moaning and cheat calling, but there always is usually. Someone overheard a complaint the briefing was too long, so the head marshal called us out about it which made me laugh but was not longer than it needed to be IMO. Marshals were friendly, always asking if you are having/had a good day and were good at giving me tips for the site, routes to flank and places to defend etc. I would certainly go back, but it is right at the limit of where I would travel too, being the driver this is an issue for me as I have closer sites I enjoy just as much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PT247 Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 I think once you know the layout of the site (which is pretty darn huge) playing the objectives becomes easier and can really add to the game experience. It is hard when you don't know where anything is though. They do give out plasticised maps when you sign on which help a bucket load for finding stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P13 Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 20 hours ago, Albiscuit said: So I went yesterday for the first time. I am very impressed!! The safe zone was a mixture of covered or tented tables, tables in the open and for latecomers like us "stick your gear on top of a log" slightly annoying, and in the rain would have been an issue but fair weather didnt pose a problem in this case. Amenities were fab! Toilets indoors and clean is a godsend (played a few sites where you had to use a tree) signing in was easy and for £26 the included lunch (with seconds) was lovely!! The onsite shop was stocked well, with the biggest selection I have seen on any site. So happy it was there as I forgot my belt and spent the whole of the first game reattaching my gear as I had to thread my thigh rig onto my crappy battle belt which kept unclicking the catch and flapping about whilst pulling my trousers down Shop for drinks and chocolate etc was reasonable too. As it was a Halloween special the games had a different theme to them, personally I want not into the games at all. I felt they didnt fit the site of style of day. I am all for tactical games with a few different objectives but larger team skirmishes tend (in my experience) to work best with the standard defend the sites dropping back, capture the flag/domination type games. Keep the tactical/spec ops stuff for milsims where everyone expects to play as a team and go for objectives. Sunday skirmishes I find tend to turn into team deathmatches despite site owners best attempts as most players just turn up to hurl bbs around not try to find passwords/laptops and secret spys. However!!! I had a blast, the site was great, the woodland had a big mix of ridges, hills, bushes, trees and ditches meaning no super long line of sights which suites me as im not typically a woodland player. But this did mean our snipers formed a "front line" really close to our spawn which limited our first game as we could hardly break out or outflank and had been pushed right back. I did miss the obligatory crudely built village with a watch/church tower and pallet built barricades but found enough cover to zig zag along to go sniper hunting (my fave pastime in the woods) Marshaling was great and in my opinion fair. There were a few grumbles and people moaning and cheat calling, but there always is usually. Someone overheard a complaint the briefing was too long, so the head marshal called us out about it which made me laugh but was not longer than it needed to be IMO. Marshals were friendly, always asking if you are having/had a good day and were good at giving me tips for the site, routes to flank and places to defend etc. I would certainly go back, but it is right at the limit of where I would travel too, being the driver this is an issue for me as I have closer sites I enjoy just as much! I played there 2 Sunday and agree with all that you said, it’s a great venue. Facilities and staff were excellent. Cant fault the place and would go back again, even managed a great action shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKempyy Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Morning all, Just a bit of my feedback for Battlelakes if anyone does wish to go there. Me and three friends went yesterday, first time we have been there. Great overall experience. Having been use to short small games at TWA Croydon, it was a nice change to be playing in a small number of larger duration games. Marshalls were on point, the gear up area is enough to fit 80-100 people (I believe that's how many were there yesterday), facilities are good with 3-4 large desks full of equipment they are looking to sell, and the game area is huge in comparison to TWA Croydon. We played an equipment retrieving game which started around 9:30 and ran until 12 (Lunch). Equipment was hidden by various of the land marks with the enemy team having to retrieve them and bring them back to their base, and my team having to defend. The game area is huge and you can easily lose yourself walking through the woodland if you do not have a map or comms (If you go with others). Teams were very even and both teams controlled an even half of the area until the end with many of our team chilling by the spawn area. There were a lot of snipers yesterday (Even saw Kicking Mustang, luckily we were on the same team), so you have to be careful (If you're not already) running out in the open. Just after lunch we played a domination game with different land marks holding lights, enemy team had to turn the lights on, we had to turn them off (Half the landmarks started with lights on and off to make it fair). This was the game I enjoyed the most, with both teams securing their halves of the game area. A couple of my mates were shot by a sniper mid game within the minimum engagement, Warden gave him a warning so we decided to go hunting for him. Was relatively hard as he had on a good leaf suit with his RIF also covered well. We had an idea where his previous location was, so slowly flanked him, 2 of us opened up on supporting fire, flashes and smokes to create the distraction, whilst the other two headed around to the position we believed he was. Was a great maneuver with our guys locating him due to the sniper adjusting himself to shoot at us two giving supporting fire. 'Sniper Hunters'. Soon after we needed to start assaulting the enemy's secured half of the map, and teamed up with another 4-5 players. Similar scenario with 4-5 players giving supporting fire with smokes, and another 4 assaulting the position. We managed to secure that landmark as well as the match. We had 30 minutes left until the end of the game day, so played a quick capture the flag. I'm use to small game areas, and due to Battlelakes being fairly large you can easily flank enemy positions if there is one fixed location for the objective. Overall a great game day to experience, and not too far for those located in the south or south London area. Anyone wanting to experience Milsim (Which I am hoping to do in the summer) should go to one of the Battlelake's game days. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tackle Posted February 19, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 19, 2018 Thanks for review Bill, I'd hoped to get up there & meet up with you guys, gutted as it sounds like a great day was had by all present. hopefully next time Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentonboy Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 It was a cracking day and it was good that we had the weather too. There was a sniper on the blue team though that felt like he was shooting with marbles though...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKempyy Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 1 hour ago, Dentonboy said: It was a cracking day and it was good that we had the weather too. There was a sniper on the blue team though that felt like he was shooting with marbles though...! Might have been the same guy. My two friends were shot by a sniper within the minimum engagement and said it felt like a stone was shot at them. Weather was great, first time I had to change to tinted lenses! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PT247 Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 was an awesome day :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dentonboy Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 I genuinely felt like I had been punched in the face. Had blood and everything. Still swollen now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshOnSnow Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Sounds like he could have been firing hot too. Did they chrono at the start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PT247 Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 they chrono all guns including pistols at Battle Lakes. I've had bleeders from sub 350fps guns, all depends where they hit as to how hard it hurts! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Tackle Posted February 20, 2018 Moderators Share Posted February 20, 2018 Doesn't hurt to have occasional random chronoing during skirmishes, as well as reminders to players regarding minimum engagement distances. ive been playing a long time, & used to player marshall for cage/invicta, & the truth is there are unfortunately players (& even teams) out there who will do whatever they can to run hot guns, I've seen people mod guns after the chrono, arrive late after gameplay has started therefore avoiding chrono, & even have multiple gats, one or two that are chrono legal & the rest hidden away for later dubious use. In the end they're just another kind of Cheat, & need to be weeded out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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