Battling through a woodland arena with your mates might seem like a pipe dream when you’re surrounded by the urban jungle of London. But the combat sport of paintball is closer than you think! There are numerous countryside venues just outside the capital where you can get a breath of fresh air and blow off some steam. What’s more, London also boasts paintball experiences in the city centre! Indoor modality is just as fun as the traditional activity and doesn’t require acres of open landscape. So put on your safety mask, fill your hopper with paintballs and get ready for some colourful carnage!

Where are the best paintball venues in London?

• Central/city: Greenwich is home to the capital’s indoor paintball venue. One of a small number in the whole country, it hosts games like no other. Swap the wide open spaces of outdoor arenas for enclosed areas where the sound of shooting ricochets and echoes off the walls. Exchange large-scale strategy for close-quarter combat. And forget about checking the weather forecast because there’s no chance of rain stopping play! The venue in Greenwich has a Cold War bunker theme, with a loading bay battle zone and a missile silo area for immersive action.

• Southeast: As the boroughs of Bromley and Bexley transition from urban to suburban and rural, the opportunities for a game of paintball increase. There are a couple of venues in this area. The first is in Orpington and has some of the most fully-realised paintball installations in England. There’s a two-storey castle, a Vietcong village, a recreation of the D-Day Landings on the Normandy Beaches and more. The other is in the Sidcup area. This is a 15-acre site in dense woodland where you can enjoy classic shoot ‘em up action as well as old favourites like capture the flag.

• Southwest: The Surrey Hills lie on the southwestern fringes of the metropolis, inviting Londoners to escape the city and have an adventure! Several paintball venues are waiting to welcome them. One is in Whyteleafe, on the edge of Croydon. You can be sure of enjoying a superlative experience here because the site is run by the former UK number one professional player. Great equipment, innovative design and on-site pizza are added extras! The other is just outside the M25 near Cobham, Surrey. The team here has welcomed such famous names as Lewis Hamilton, Kate Middleton and the Chelsea FC squad to get in on the action. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for us!

• Northwest: You won’t find any sites within the city limits if you’re leaving the city centre and heading northwest, but push on a little further and you can arrive at a number of fantastic venues. Slough, Berkshire, is served by a centre that has woodland game zones and fields for speedball games. In Hertfordshire, you can choose from several excellent venues including sites near Watford, Hertford and Hemel Hempstead. There’s nothing to choose between them in terms of journey time from the capital, so look at the offers and activities and decide which one you’d like to try - first!

• Northeast: Romford is one of the major population centres of the Greater London region and is home to all kinds of leisure activity operators. Some of them are paintball venues. There’s one in Upminster (accessible via London Underground services) which boasts doubledecker buses, aeroplane fuselages and armoured vehicle shells among its installations. Meanwhile, the Abridge site - just over the border in Essex - hosts year round paintball games and the biggest annual paintball festival in the UK.

Options for organising a game

- As you can imagine from the number of providers in and around London, there are many ways to organise your experience. One of the most common options is a half-day session, taking place in the morning or the afternoon and lasting around three hours. In that time you can play 4 games or more! Some venues put on evening sessions for those people who need a change of pace after a long day at work. And for committed paintball fans, there’s always the option to combine two half-day sessions and spend a full day in the arena.

- It’s also possible to find shorter, more flexible sessions. The indoor venue in Greenwich, for example, has experiences of just one or two hours which allow you to get your fix of this sport without giving up too much of your time. There are other venues with similar offers.

- When it comes to organising this activity, one of the most important things to bear in mind is ammunition. Most packages come with a specific number of paintballs included, which will be waiting for you along with the paintball marker and safety equipment when you arrive at the venue. Try to get a healthy stock in advance because buying extra ammo on site can distract from the fun - you know how prices are in the capital city!

Information & activity requirements

The whole family can enjoy this game! Most of the fields on our list have full-size markers which are used by teens and adults in standard games. Alongside that, there’s junior paintball. Sometimes known as Splatmaster, low-velocity or mini paintball, this version uses less powerful markers and allows kids to play separately from adults. In general, this is specifically for children aged between 8 and 12. Whether you’re young or not so young, you’ll be given protective equipment (as well as offensive equipment) on arrival at your site of choice, including full-face masks with goggles.

This is an option for lone wolves making bookings as an individual or perhaps with one or two companions because venues run open sessions. Groups are also welcome. It’s a perennial favourite choice for stag parties and teenagers’ birthdays, but more and more hen party organisers are opting for a game before the big day, and it’s a popular option for corporate team building events too.

Are you ready to rumble?