END OF DAYS AT DRAKELOW

THE TUNNELS GO DARK...

FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE PLAYED FOR MANY YEARS IN THE UK, ONE SITE BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH ADRENALINISED AIRSOFT… “DRAKELOW”. BUT NOW, AFTER A LONG STRUGGLE, THE TUNNELS HAVE FINALLY GONE DARK. IOAN “IGGY” ROBERTS REMEMBERS HIS FIRST EXPERIENCE “UNDER THE HILL”.

It’s with a heavy heart I have to say that the First and Only airsoft site known as “The Outpost” or “Drakelow Tunnels” is now closed. I have been there many times over the years and would just like to share some of my memories of this place as a tribute to how good it was.

For those of you that don’t know Drakelow, the tunnels were a former underground complex built during the Second World War to manufacture aeroplane engines and then upgraded in the 1980’s to become a Regional Government HQ. The Tunnels were decommissioned in 1993 and sold into Private ownership and, although they were not sealed for a while and were subject to a measure of vandalism, the result was an atmosphere of cold, quiet, dark desolation. My first time there was 20 years ago. I had recently passed my driving test and I was able to drive my team to the site from North Wales. Anxious and excited we eventually found the location hidden away in the hills near Kidderminster, England. Following a short roadway, you walk into the site through a cut out in the rock and pass through a thick blast door into a corridor taking you deep under the hill. The safe zone is an allocated room just off the main corridor. We soon felt ready once we geared up, sporting our cheap tactical gear and TM G36s and P90s.

I distinctively remember being in awe at the size of the site. Four parallel tunnels made up the main playing area, separated by a series of inter-connecting cross-tunnels and rooms. Some of these rooms still contained equipment used by the former incumbents, such as the kitchens, an old manual telephone exchange and a complete BBC Broadcast Studio. Transcripts pinned to the Studio wall made chilling reading, with details of the required broadcasts in the event of War. To further enhance the experience rat-runs and “mouse holes” had been knocked through some of the internal brick walls, making them ideal for “sneakybeaky” stuff.

It was in these pitchblack tunnels where our team was trying to flank

the enemy (we were green and the enemy was red, indicated by tape on our arm) and were cautiously walking through the darkness. You literally struggled to see your hand in front of you but every now and then you would make out a shape of something …or someone. Trying to be as quiet as we could, I walked straight into someone, saying, “Sorry mate!” Then pausing to think… “Hang on, I was point man so there should be no one in front of me???”

I said “What colour are you mate? We are green.” ….. Silence… Followed by the sound of awkward footsteps trying to separate some ground between us then a shouted response… “RED!” Followed by a burst of fire from one, two, three… too many positions to count. We all responded firing in the direction we thought the fire came from. Some of the enemy had tracer BBs. This was my first time seeing them. It was similar to a scene in Star Wars. I was so impressed. Obviously, I was hit fairly early on in the engagement.

I returned from respawn to the same tunnel, again in deathly silence. You could hear people trying to walk, crawl or move around any way they could. I had to find my team, my friends, somewhere amongst all these people on edge with twitchy trigger fingers! Luckily the first person I came across was one of my teammates. We decided to return to the office section of the tunnels (which were lit) and eventually managed to regroup with the rest of our team.

On later visits our kit got better, along with our tactics. Armed with weapons which had torches, mainly MP5s or shotguns and my friend still had his trusty P90, we also had BFGs (blank firing grenades) and MK5s. Room clearing got easier and lighting up those dark corners were a huge bonus. Our radios worked but there were issues between tunnels if we split up.

On one occasion our entire side, not just my team, was stuck at a doorway with a double door that opened in both directions. Anytime someone opened the door they were dropped instantly. Eventually we managed to sneak a couple of grenades through. This cleared the guys who had the doorway locked down but a guy ran to just behind the door, tucking himself into the corner in a position where he would be able to hit anyone of us coming through the door.

I asked my friend for his P90 and handed him my MP5. Then I rolled through the doors in some kind of un-graceful forward roll which startled the guy enough for me to shoot him mid roll… only I had the P90 accidently on auto, not semi as I intended and got the poor chap from his groin up in a matter of seconds. I was followed by countless guys from our side that pushed through as I apologised to the guy, I still don’t think he believed me it was accidently on auto as he was holding his crotch!!

Lastly, this place introduced me to mouseholes and skirmishing in public bathrooms(!), however, both usually end up painfully.

I remember our team doing a “rock, paper, scissors” to see who was going through the mouse hole first… Having to crawl on all fours through a hole in a brick wall into a room with heaps of cover expecting the enemy to be waiting, pointing their guns at the hole…. Or on one occasion with a pistol, waiting right up against the wall shooting you just as you stick your head through. They also act as a great shortcut and sneaky entrance, allowing you to get behind the enemy if they are not expecting it. Always a gamble, just do not lose the rock paper scissors!!!

The bathrooms in Drakelow were always a bloodbath for both sides. Limited cover and literally one way through. The only way to break ground was grenades and throwing people at it. Oh the pain and the sacrifice… but if you ease up you lose!

Drakelow will always be in my memory as one of our go to urban/CQB sites. I hope many of you share such great memories of the place and look forward to more unique sites opening soon.

Iggy out. AA