R.I.F.T Airsoft: The Bomb Dump
http://www.riftairsoft.com/content.php Near Army Aviation Centre SO20 8DY Middle Wallop 07751 586781 Arrival Luckily as we had visited the site previously, we knew how to get to the site, but its best to check before you visit. The postcode takes you to the Army Aviation Centre the other side of the site. If you’re heading South on the A343 (as we did) it’s the first right after you enter the 30 zone. When we arrived on site, we were instantly greeted by incredibly welcoming, informative and organised team of marshals. The Marshal ‘Tank’ kindly directed us to the carpark and made sure we knew where to get signed in. To sign in we were greeted by Hazel, RIFT’s Secretary Manager. Much like the marshal team, Hazel was happy and enthusiastic and made it easy for us to part with our £25 for a walk on (£45 for a full hire package). Jumbo hot dogs can be ordered for lunch for an additional £2. The BBs hadn’t even started flying yet and we were in a fantastic mood. We could tell this was going to be a phenomenal day! Safe Zone The carpark at The Bomb Dump also doubles as its safe zone. This was no bad thing! We found it very manageable to work out of the boot of my car and provided us with more than enough space. This also means that the more players on site the bigger the safe zone gets, so you will never get confined to a tiny fragment of a bench for your rifle cases. In addition to signing everyone in, Hazel (the site owners wife) has plenty of sweets, treats and the usual goodies on sale for those who need a sugar boost. All at a very reasonable 50p each too! There is a lovely little shop run by Matt Horwood called M4Mass (you can find his Facebook page here). He’s got a variety of pouches, masks and holsters etc. Matt is also the on-site ‘techie’. If you have any tech issues during the day, he’ll be on hand to help any way he can! Safety brief was no different to any other site we’ve been to, usual stuff covered, you should all know it all by now. One thing was made very apparent, Tony; RIFT’s Director is clearly very passionate for the sport. He’s all about making sure players have the best experience possible at his site rather than focusing on grabbing their money. He wants the new and younger players to experience the best possible airsoft games to keep them coming back and continue the sport, and the makes the seasoned veterans feel at home. Game Day Now for actual reason you should go to the site, what was the gameplay like? Well, we’re happy to tell you that it was brilliant! The bomb Dump incorporates long range combat, to close up engagements. The main bulk of the site is made up of large number of 10ft mounds to climb up and fight around. Surrounding which are many buildings, and cover to hide behind. Be prepared for lots of scrapes from bushes! Players were split into Red and Blue Teams for the day and competed against each other. Games were organised and well structured. Each marshal was given clear instructions on how games should be run throughout the day and it made the day run very smoothly. Incidents were dealt with by the marshals swiftly and effectively. It’s very rare to see so many marshals willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for their customers. For this we were genuinely very impressed by the RIFT Team. And highly recommend RIFT The Bomb Dump We noticed as the day went on that the marshalling team were brandishing digital cameras and were taking photos of gameplay and players as the day went on. we were also very pleasantly surprised that these photos were uploaded with haste once the day had finished. We always think it's fantastic when you can get in-game photographs without having to hire your own photographer to follow you around (however great that may be too). We have have returned to the Bomb Dump on a few occasions, in some cases with mixed opinions. However, it was never due to the site itself or it's marshalling team. We would recommend The Bomb Dump if you have a hunger for long range combat, without wanting to venture into the woods. By Alex Meade UKAC Admin Team. |