Welcome to the Longbow Coaching and Shooting page. This section is for anyone interested in learning how to shoot the longbow, would like longbow coaching or would like to arrange a longbow have-a-go session. Read on…

Background

The longbow has been a part of English history since before the 100 Years War where it was made famous in battles against the French; think Azincourt here. The longbow itself is over 5,000 years old as evidenced by Otzi who was found with one in the Austrian Alps when he preserved remains and equipment was excavated. There are alleged archaeological “finds” of the use of bows and arrows from 50,000 years ago but no evidence to suggest a bow was ever used – points were found and archaeologists assume they were from arrows!

The longbow is essentially a stick with a string that shoots another stick a great distance. It is a lovely bow to shoot and most archers who first try them fall in love with it.

Longbow Have-A-Go Session

Shooting the longbow is slightly different to other bow types although then general principles of alignment, stance etc. remain the same. In this 2-hour have-a-go session, we’ll start by covering range and personal safety and then we’ll go through the mechanics of the bow, talk a little bit about the arrows and will shoot using the generalist style of the modern longbow archer. The session is generally restricted to no more than 2 participants however you may bring family/friends to watch. Once you have had a few ends (shot a number of arrows), we’ll go through scoring and you can use this to compete against other participants if you wish – just to add to that air of excitement.

Cost of the session including the provision of all equipment is £50 and there is an additional fee of £5 per person payable to Southampton Archery Club for non-members – this is called a target fee and covers ground insurance, use of facilities etc. You can pay this directly to the club or to us and we’ll pass it on.

Full details of what to wear/bring will be sent to you upon booking confirmation.

To make a booking, initially send a request through our calendar system and we’ll be in touch.