There really aren't many venues across the UK where you can say you enter and are immediately handed an axe. Bring alcohol and pizza into the mix, and a chance to throw said axe, and it's really the best way to blow off steam you could ask for.
Whistlepunks is the home of axe throwing - the place you can get together with friends to sling some axes at a target. A small chain with venues in London, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol, our local venue is tucked away down a side street near St. Nicholas Market in Bristol's Old City.
Imagine lifting the axe over your head, letting it fly through the air and smash the target's bullseye... whilst sinking some craft drinks and gorging on pizza. When we say it's an alternative therapy session, we mean it.
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And now, starting from the Bank Holiday weekend this weekend, Bristol's Whistlepunks will be offering a bottomless brunch experience that includes an axe throwing session alongside bottomless drinks and pizza. We headed to the Bristol venue to try out the offering for ourselves - here are five things we took from the experience:
Axes + alcohol sounds like a recipe for a nasty disaster, but it was all very safe
The idea of slinging axes at a target in a relatively intimate venue whilst inebriated is enough to bring out a health and safety official in a heavy sweat, but we promise it's all very safe. Your entire axe throwing session happens under the careful eye of an instructor, who tells you exactly how to sling the axes safely.
We got to preview the deal before launch, but Bristol's new axe-throwing bottomless brunch launches on Sunday (28 August) in time for Bank Holiday axe slinging fun. 'Sunday Sessions' is the new offering from Whistlepunks Bristol, with a 70-minute axe-throwing competition, followed by 50 minutes of bottomless pizza - and you can get unlimited drinks for the full two hours which can be ordered directly to your lane.
Even if you're shockingly bad at axe throwing, you'll still have fun
There were a couple of Bristol Live stars among us who could clearly make dangerous killers, who hit the bullseye each time. You scored based on where you hit on the axe-throwing target so, naturally, there's competition to crown a winner.
However, most of us were shockingly bad at slinging axes, and a couple never hit the target once. But even if you're shockingly bad at the task in hand, you learn various tricks of the trade on how best to throw the axe, and the act of seeing it fly through the air is very fun.
It's the perfect high-energy activity to create some healthy competition between friends. And, hopefully, you'll all come out of it still very much bonded after one of you brags for half an hour about being crowned champion.
The instructors bring performance to the evening, which pumps you up
For your axe throwing session, you're led by an experienced instructor who teaches you multiple ways to sling axes, gives you their tricks and tips on improving your shot, as well as picking you off, pitting you against your competition and generally riling up your fellow players so there's some healthy banter throughout the session. The instructor offers a masterclass at the beginning of the session, and then coaches each player on each turn, so you're getting the best chance at slinging your axe with confidence.
Practice throws are offered, and then ensues a full tournament to crown the ultimate axe throwing champion. Our instructor in Bristol, Ben, was quite the performer, and managed to set off a few healthy arguments amongst the competition before we crowned our Bristol Live axe throwing winner.
Sundays can often be boring, and the Sunday scaries are very much a real thing, so booking a lane at Whistlepunks is a unique way to make the-day-before-Monday less dull. Competition, a bicker and a laugh is very much encouraged in your axe throwing session.
In Bristol, we love a venue that champions local independents. Whistlepunks Bristol offers some of the city's best craft beverages.
There are drinks on offer from Wiper and True, a craft brewery and taproom in St Werburghs. Also to be found at the bar are Bloody Marys, Aperol Spritzes and prosecco, as well as a range of soft drinks.
The pizza menu looked hugely promising. There were a range of toppings you wouldn't expect from a venue where food is not their speciality.
Upmarket and labelled as sourdough pizzas, there were toppings such as prosciutto ham, ventricina salami and Italian sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes. Veggie, vegan and meat options were on offer.
However, we ordered some classic margheritas and a vegan option with veggies, but neither tasted as good as they look in the PR shots. The pizzas felt as if they'd been cooked from frozen, and were a little undercooked - but we still have hope that maybe it was an off-night for the kitchen, as the PR shots and varied menu offers promise for the foodie offering at Whistlepunks.
You can book a usual lane at Whistlepunks Bristol for the Bank Holiday and beyond, or you can book a slot for the new bottomless brunch. From Sunday (August 28) there will be four bottomless brunch sessions at 11.20am, 12.40pm, 2pm and 3.20pm every single Sunday.
Bottomless drinks are available for the full two hours and beers and cocktails can be ordered direct to the lane you're playing at. Each session costs £30 per person, with 70 minutes of axe throwing followed by 50 minutes of bottomless pizza, and you can book either your usual lane or bottomless brunch here.
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