The Wonky Archery Company CIC

Archery is never just archery.

Mental Health Awareness Week feels like a good time to say this out loud.

Behind every arrow, score sheet, club night and tea break, there are people quietly holding themselves together the best they can.

These are just a few written quotes from people in our community. There are hundreds more conversations that never make it onto paper. Stories about grief, burnout, anxiety, loneliness, neurodivergence, illness, overwhelm… and how having a place to belong made a difference.

For some people, archery is competition and achievement. For others, it’s peace or connection. And for many, it's a lifeline.

That’s why spaces like this matter. Community matters. Being welcomed matters.

We’re building more than somewhere to shoot arrows. We’re trying to build somewhere people feel safe to keep showing up exactly as they are 🎯❤️

Do you have an empty barn or agricultural building you’d like to generate income from? 🎯

The Wonky Archery Company CIC is currently looking for suitable land or space to develop a community-focused indoor archery and wellbeing facility in North West Kent.

With recent permitted development changes, there may now be opportunities to sensitively bring older or underused agricultural buildings back into active use — creating a new income stream for landowners through lease or rental arrangements, while supporting a genuine grassroots community project.

🎯 We’re particularly interested in:

🎯 Barns or agricultural buildings

🎯 Redundant or underused farm buildings

🎯 Buildings with parking or outdoor space nearby

🎯 Locations within roughly 20 minutes of Gravesend/Istead Rise/Meopham

Our vision is not just a shooting range, but a welcoming community hub focused on accessible sport, wellbeing, workshops, and local engagement.

We’re open-minded about spaces in need of improvement and happy to explore creative, phased approaches together.

If you think you may have a suitable space — or know somebody who might — we’d love to hear from you.

With Archery GB – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

It feels very fitting that today — during Start Archery Week — we’re helping welcome a brand new group of archers onto the line at .of.darenteford archery club🏹✨

The first arrows. The nervous laughs. The “ohhh I actually hit it!” moments. The start of new friendships, confidence, hobbies and communities.

Grassroots archery runs on people giving their time, knowledge and energy to help others discover the sport — and we’re incredibly proud to be part of that.

Projects like Wonky grow from years of being part of clubs and communities like this, understanding what archers need, and wanting to help more people find a place in the sport we love 🎯

Good luck to all our beginners today — you’ve got this 💪🏹

A properly Wonky weekend.

From scrubbing the outdoor club loo (because glamour ✨) to bow tweaks, setup chats and all the little things that keep this community going.

A new baby on the farm 🐑 and a lovely wander over to Medway Archers for their Bootfair raising funds for The Access Archery Fund — where we promptly lost our 4 year old to the archers (as usual)… last seen helping build bows 😅 (built-in babysitters at their finest)

So many conversations. So much excitement.

The idea of a permanent indoor home isn’t just an idea anymore… it’s something people are really starting to believe in. 🏹

What would you love to see in our future archery home when we get it? Whether you’re an archer, curious about archery, or just fancy a fun day out pinging sticks with the family 😍👇


Archery GB Medway Archers Bowmen of Darenteford Archery Club

"Yes yes, dear… indoor facility, sensible space, business plans…
BUT ALSO…
how many targets do we think we could get on here?!" 😍🏹

He suffers from a very common condition among Archers, Club Officers and Tournament Organisers: FFD — Flat Field Syndrome.
Symptoms include being unable to walk past a flat field without complusively sizing it up for a range 😂

Jeskyns Community Woodland - Forestry England

The Wonky Archery Company CIC is developing its projects for the near future, and we’re looking to connect with the brilliant instructors, makers, and all-round creative and community minded people that Kent has to offer.

We’d love to hear from people involved in:

-Archery coaching or instruction (including scouts)
-Bushcraft / foraging / rural skills
-Crafts and making
-Movement, strength, and wellbeing
-Children’s or family activities
-Or anyone delivering hands-on or people-focused sessions

If you teach, create, or have a skill you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Register your interest: https://forms.gle/QhHT7Cg7j9sYYRDX6

Any questions, please feel free to drop me a line:
📧 [email protected]

Bringing archery into schools and creating more accessible local space for it would be a massive step forward — not just as an alternative activity, but as something that supports focus, discipline, and confidence, particularly for young people who don’t connect with traditional team sports, and gives them a pathway into a community and sport they can carry with them for life 🎯

MPs call for PE commitment and removal of 'no ball games' signs to get nation moving more Making PE a core subject in schools and removing 'no ball games' signs are among recommendations in a new report on barriers to sport and physical activity in England.

With Jeskyns Community Woodland - Forestry England – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉