After about 10 minutes of trying and failing to chuck an axe into a wooden target, with the red light of the photographer’s video camera just within my field of vision, I nailed it. Bullseye. And I yelled.
It was a guttural, primal noise, and it reverberated around the arched walls of Hatchet Harry’s Axe Throwing, the newest such venue in Scotland, located under the railway bridge on Aberdeen’s South College Street.
It took a second or two for me to realise I was not a Viking or a caveman, I was a journalist wearing a flannel shirt, but it did help me to realise the appeal of the place.
Both Martin Scrafton, the area manager for Harry’s, and Brogan, who is running the Aberdeen venue, said there was something deep in human history that means tossing an axe across a room gives the brain a hit of satisfaction.
Mr Scrafton said: “You’ve got what is essentially a Stone Age weapon in your hand, that’s been used by cavemen to crack rocks open. It’s a tool that’s been used throughout the ages.”
I got that hit.
Earning your chops
A lot of other people are getting it too, it seems – places like Hatchet Harry’s have been springing up all over the UK in the past few years, offering an alternative to more traditional nights out such as ten-pin bowling or laser tag.
This isn’t even the furthest north axe-throwing spot in the country: there’s another venue further up the coast in Peterhead (Jac’s), and yet another on the Black Isle (Wildwoodz).
It is, however, the first to appear in Aberdeen, and so people in the city might be unfamiliar with the set-up.
The room itself is not a million miles away from a bowling alley. It is split into five “lanes”, each of which has two boards with a spray-painted target – one for you, one for your date/mate.
After a member of staff has shown you how to stand and wield the axe for best results, you will take turns chucking it towards the boards and – if you’re anything like me – you will be thrilled once they start getting embedded in the wood, even if they’re not very close to the centre.
Keeping a handle on things
The main safety measure in the place seems to be distance: you stand well back from the board and wait until the other person has thrown their axe before you collect yours.
Even so, the hatchet did bounce back a few times and come quite close to my feet. A staff member assured me that the board would absorb enough force that it would not be dangerous on its way back.
Unlike the axe-throwing bar planned for the Boardwalk on the Esplanade, Hatchet Harry’s will not be serving alcohol, and the website reads: “Anyone we think is under the influence of drink or drugs will not be allowed to throw and no refund will be given.”
In addition, every lane is supervised by a member of staff who will make sure you are not putting yourself or anyone else in harm’s way – as well as occasionally stepping up to demonstrate a tossing technique you might not have thought about.
For the real keen beans, Monday is designated exclusively as a “club night”, where experienced people who just want to hone their skills and compete against each other can have the venue entirely to themselves.
As much as I enjoyed my first experience of axe-throwing, I do not think I will be among them.
For the safety of the staff at Harry’s and the rest of Aberdeen, I am planning to save the hatchets for date night and stick to throwing teabags into mugs from across the kitchen the rest of the time.