'Amazing' start for new Wellingborough airsoft

The business opened its doors in Wellingborough on April 6, and in the time since has enjoyed a positive start to life in the town, being the only place locally for those looking to experience the thrill of the up-and-coming activity.

Amanda Abrams and her husband, Richie, were the owners of Atomic Armament in Rushden’s Glassbrook Road before it closed earlier this year, a shop that stocked all things airsoft. Now that they have moved to a unit at the Finedon Road Industrial Estate in Wellingborough, they have the space to host airsoft events and sessions, filling a gap in the local business landscape.

Amanda said: “It’s been good, we’ve been really busy with getting a nice community and regular customers coming back.

“It has been fantastic, the response we have had from people and the feedback we’ve had in regards to staff and the site has been amazing.

“It’s always been a hobby of ours and we thought why not do an indoor site, there’s no sites locally here, so decided to progress from the shop.

"We want to get everyone involved in the cool space that we’ve created.”

Airsoft is a combat-centric game, and while it shares similarities with paintball and laser tag, instead of using sensors or paint, participants shoot plastic pellets using guns that are powered by gas, batteries, or high pressure air (HPA).

While airsoft can be painful due to the high pressure pellets, Urban Ops also hosts regular Nerf nights for younger combatants, as well as stag and hen parties, corporate events, and birthday parties.

Amanda and Richie chose Wellingborough in large part due to the links it has with Northampton, the M1, and other key places in the midlands.

Urban Ops has the space and means to host a range of game types, and inside, the unit has been dressed to include elaborate mazes and obstacles designed to facilitate tactical, close-quarters combat encounters.

Bookings can be taken online here.