Courses

Before the beginners’ course, I had zero experience with archery. I got interested after watching the Olympics and thought I’d give it a try to see if I’d enjoy it. The course ran over a few weekly sessions with a good-sized group, and it was very hands-on, which made it really engaging.
The instructors are very experienced, they explained things clearly, and made sure we got the basics right while keeping it fun. The range itself is fantastic—an open, dedicated space right in the middle of London—and the club has all the equipment needed.
I quickly realised there’s a lot more to archery than just pulling a string and letting go, but by the end I felt confident with the basics. For me, archery has become a bit of a ‘zen’ activity—very relaxing, you just focus on the shooting, on one arrow at a time. I’d recommend this course to anyone, it’s a great way to to begin your archery journey, while having a lot of fun.

I was looking for something new to try after getting a bit bored with bouldering, and since I’d always been curious about archery, I signed up for the beginner’s course. We had four lessons overall, once a week. In the first three, I got to try different bows and styles, and in the last one I chose my favourite to spend more time with (I chose barebow).
I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but the lessons were great and the instructors were really nice, down-to-earth people. During the week, I was always counting the days to the next lesson.
Whether you’re considering it long-term or just as an experience, I really recommend it. Some people from my class ended up joining the club, while others were there just for a short experience, but everyone absolutely loved it.

A wonderful welcoming environment from both the coaches and the wider set of volunteers, which made the group overall very friendly and fun. Introduction to a variety of styles really informative but early enough to choose your preferred style for the course itself. A good ratio of coaches to attendees allowed for plenty of 1:1 coaching on the line, especially at the start of the course. All abilities were very welcome and accounted for individually. Introduction to how to record scores, the progression system and the club in general was also great and served as a good stepping stone for joining later.

The beginners course was phenomenal. From the very first session I was thinking “I can’t wait to shoot again!!”. Instructors were so helpful, and getting to try multiple bowstyles was exciting. I knew I had to become a member and come back.

I did my beginners’ course at Aquarius in October 2021, just after things opened up again post-pandemic, and I convinced my husband to come too. We had a lovely experience – the volunteer coaches were helpful, encouraging and friendly, and we got to try three styles of shooting (barebow, recurve and longbow, which I now know is unusual for beginners). The atmosphere was really neat in the later weeks, as sessions were in the evening and the clocks had gone back, so we were shooting after dark using floodlights from the clubhouse. I have since moved out of London, but nearly four years later, am still a very keen archer (started with recurve, now an enthusiastic longbow-wielder), and my husband, who was slightly reluctant to start archery at first, is now even more into it than I am; we are now both coaches at our club near Huddersfield. Thank you to all the Aquarians for inspiring us in the first place!

I did my course back in 2008. Steve was one of the coaches back then along with Maggie Woolf (AAC President) and her husband Alan Lake. All brilliant coaches who took me from a beginner to Grand Master Bowman in the space of 4 years. I couldn’t recommend a better club to start ones archery journey.

The course was run very smoothly. All the coaches were very professional and approachable. As well as learning to shoot safely and competently it was good fun. Doing the course outside in the summer evening weather was a big bonus.

I joined the club immediately after the course and have been shooting there ever since. In 2024 I qualified as an archery coach and now enjoy teaching beginners and helping archers improve.