Reviews
I just wanted to say big thank you to Phil for our great time the other weekend. We all really enjoyed shooting and Phil truly inspired everyone with his love for what he does and great teaching!
Everyone made few great shots and I’m pretty sure we will return sooner or later to do it again 🙂
– Oksana and family
I just wanted to say a big thank you for the great tuition you both provided to us on Sunday. Everyone really enjoyed it, and had nothing but great things to say!
– Stuart Terry
The boys and I thoroughly enjoyed our lesson with you today. I was a little apprehensive having never even touched a gun before but your thorough, patient tuition put us all at ease and we really enjoyed the experience. Definitely something I’d love to do again!
– Dr Julie Morgan
Fantastic day. We had a shooting lesson at Higham Lake today with Phil. He took time with each of us not only during shooting but also before and after. The pre-lesson safety and gun matching were personal and informative.
During the shooting, Phil was supportive and encouraging. It made the experience outstanding and I can’t wait to go back! After the lesson, he took time with us for just simply a chat and feedback. We have booked further lessons for the kids, ourselves and for a hen party. Couldn’t recommend it any higher, brilliant experience.
– Helga Hansen
Thank you very much everyone for such a lovely day! Will definitely come back! And just a tip girls, I think it’s really important to know how to shoot before you get married!!!
– Roxy Gheorghe
Thanks Phil for a great lesson with Sam yesterday. As you can see, his face sums up what a brilliant time he had.
– Louise
Firstly , I would like to thank Phil for my initial lesson yesterday. The whole experience was absolutely brilliant. As suspected I want to do some more…
– Matthew
Firstly, can I say thank you on behalf of Andrew, Jonny and I for a fabulous day out clay pigeon shooting. You promised us a fun family day and that’s exactly what you delivered. We had a great time, created some wonderful memories and can’t wait to do it again.
– Alison
Just wanted to say a big thank you for providing a wonderful clay pigeon shooting experience this morning. Your knowledge, tutoring and patience with both the lads and dads was much appreciated. It certainly helped us all get so much more out of the day. We’re all pretty proud of our shooting and how we improved throughout the morning.
Thanks again for a great day.– Steven
Just wanted to say another thank you for today. I really enjoyed the day and feel I came away safer, more confident and more comfortable with the gun. Hope you enjoy the wine, it was well deserved.
– Christopher
We really enjoyed our lesson Saturday and the wife is 100% looking to take the sport up. Obviously at the moment with being pregnant it’s a bit awkward, so after she has the baby she’s going to get booked in for lessons again and get a gun.
– Chris B.
Thank you so much for a lovely morning.
– Sarah
Just like to say thank you for a fabulous clay shoot yesterday at Donkin Rigg Farm. A truly stunning location. Your patience and guidance was excellent. Coupled with the mixture of traps (apart from the Rabbit 🙂 ) my son, father in law and myself had a great experience.
“If Carlsberg did Granddads , it would be you”.
Take care and hope to see you next time we visit Northumberland.
– Andy
As an ancient pensioner I am writing to thank Phil Fairless for the special morning I spent learning how to shoot (and hit) clay pigeons.
Each aspect seemed special from the preparation and safety which was explained with patience and humour while enjoying a hot drink, to being shown different sized cartridges, clays and rifles. The perfect setting by lakeside was a bonus also amazingly hitting the second clay. I loved the smaller, lighter rifle you chose for me.
The whole event was unexpectedly interesting, rewarding, exciting and of the highest quality. This life experience activity suits all ages and abilities and is a perfect birthday or Christmas present for a single person or choosing to book as a group of friends.
– Margaret Hobb
I just wanted to drop you an email to say thanks again for the class yesterday. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for both myself and Helen and I will be recommending yourself to anyone who might be interested in giving shooting a try. You were an excellent tutor and I feel I learnt so much in the time we had, not to mention just getting out into the countryside for a few hours was very refreshing.
Thanks again,
– Jake
Just wanted to say thank you for a great day yesterday introducing the Hutchings’ to clay pigeon shooting. A good time was had by all involved.
As and when we do partake again I think we will do it in the summer months, either that or invest in some thermal underwear.– David Hutchings
Just wanted to say thank you for your time and it was great to meet you on Saturday.
Max drove all the way home with a huge smile on his face and I couldn’t stop him from talking!!He said that it was the best lesson that he’s had (even in those conditions!) which is a huge credit to you! So thank you for that, it means a lot!
He was so happy that you had the perfect gun for him and after a year of lessons (with various instructors) he felt like he had achieved something by shooting on his own and thought you were great!! – Praise indeed!!
He desperately wants another lesson with you, so here are the dates that we have available in February. If you’re free, we’d love to get booked up.– Barry
Thank you for another fabulous lesson for Max yesterday. I would like to confirm that all three of us would like to take part in a family lesson.
– Nicola
We had a wonderful time at the farm with Phil (Northumberland Sporting Clays). We were possibly a little intimidated: I had shot clays once before about a decade ago with a friend, but had never really had any instruction; we’ve both enjoyed plinking with my old break barrel air rifle in the back garden; and we did have a go at an American-style shooting range in Poland, but all of that is a different kettle of fish. Clay pigeon shooting – along with the etiquette surrounding it – was new to us, but Phil put us completely at ease. Safety was paramount and we spent a good 30 minutes learning about how shotguns work, the different types of cartridges, and working out the best fit for us both. As Phil said, ‘nobody cares if you miss, they only care that you’re safe’ and we learned how to safely handle the guns before the shooting began.
I have to say that Phil is an excellent instructor, he knew exactly what was going wrong in the event of a miss (frequent in my case) and gave superb advice on how to rectify for the next shot. I have always considered myself a poor shot, but with just a few handy pointers, I managed to hit quite a few (although my wife absolutely wiped the floor with me, I have to say!). We both had a huge amount of fun and we’re now very keen to pursue it further.
Thanks Phil for making my wife’s 30th one to remember!
– Rob and Jess
Myself, my son and daughter, 9 and 12, spent a fantastic couple hours with Phil from Northumberland clays this weekend, which I had booked as a birthday gift for my Son. Phil talked us through the basics of shooting and the gun as well as some aspects on the countryside and conservation which was very interesting and left a good impression for the children. We then each took turns shooting clays with one on one coaching. Phil was very patient with us as we all hit some and missed some clays. We all really enjoyed it from start to finish. Thanks Phil.
– Alistair
A quick note to say thanks again for a fantastic session on Saturday morning. You’re right, I was shooting clay pigeons in my sleep over the weekend. And I think I may have bored the family to tears with my shooting chat.
– David
Superb instruction, an excellent blend of practical & theoretical advice, delivered with humour and wit.
– Andy L
Thank you so much for the most wonderful of Northumbrian afternoons – great tuition, great location, great fun. The Clay Pigeon Shooting was super amazing.
– Fiona
Thank you so much for today. Amber, Nathan and I all enjoyed it, especially Nathan.
He is normally very reserved and keeps to himself but he said he really enjoyed being shown the sport by you, that is rare from Nathan believe me! He even enjoyed the magazine and mentioned some jackets like yours! See you again soon.
– Alastair
Now we are home, Alastair and I would like to say a huge thank you. We really enjoyed our clay pigeon shooting session it’s fair to say Alastair hasn’t stopped talking about it since!
He’s keen to do some more, so I’m tasked with searching out some local opportunities – though they might not be as patient as you!
Thanks again, you made Alastair’s holiday.
– Phil H.
Just a quick line to say thank you for the afternoon on Saturday.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to have you coaching us and I think we all learned from your tuition, I know I did.
We all had a great time.
– Phil S.
Just to let you know how much Adam and I enjoyed our shooting lesson with you last Friday morning. Great tuition and good craic too. I am sure that we will be back when we can.
– Patrick Sheridan
Hi Phil, a big thanks for the clay shooting, great morning, David was dreaminga about clays in his sleep as you anticipated.
– Dave Martell & David
Just wanted to say a big thank you for providing a wonderful clay pigeon shooting experience this morning. Your knowledge, tutoring and patience with both the lads and dads was much appreciated. It certainly helped us all get so much more out of the day. We’re all pretty proud of our shooting and how we improved throughout the morning.
Thanks again for a great day.– Steven
Thanks for this morning’s lesson Glynnis really enjoyed herself. Perfect choice of targets, she love’ d the doubles. She also liked the fact that you took your time to explain everything to her before she shot. It give her loads of confidence, enough to finish off all 50 cartridges without any sore bits.
She hasn’t said no to getting her own gun. Fingers crossed.
We went to the Dyke Neuk and the food was lovely thanks for the recommendation, we will be going back.
– Steve
Just wanted to extend the thanks from myself and everyone who attended on Saturday. We had a brilliant day.
– Jordan
I just wanted to drop you a message to sincerely thank you for the fantastic session you laid on for us on Wednesday. Both my mum and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and really appreciated your knowledge, tuition and enthusiasm! As you predicted, we were absolutely buzzing after the session and got so much out of the day. Thanks too for your pub recommendation, we went straight to the Dyke Neuk to celebrate hitting our first clays and had a great lunch!
– Sarah
Thank you for your time yesterday, it really was a great activity! It is a lovely venue to go shooting and your personalised, relaxed delivery makes for a more enjoyable experience.
– James
On a separate note, I just wanted to say a massive thank you for the excellent tuition over the course of the three days. We had a fabulous time and are looking forward to taking the next steps in the hobby. We really appreciated your instruction style and it really answered a lot of the questions we had as well as improving our shooting.
– Anonymous by request
Thanks for your email! Just to let you know that I got my licence at the end of April and am now the proud owner of a Beretta 682 Gold E. I’m delighted with it and am out practicing most weeks at my local shooting ground. Your tuition definitely paid dividends as I’m really strong on the teal bird (my rabbit still needs a lot of work though!)
– Thomas
Fantastic day yesterday Phil. The Aussies loved it! So did I.
Thanks again.– David
Many thanks for a very enjoyable day shooting with you on Saturday. Jaime and the group had a brilliant time, such a memorable experience for everyone!
– Jess
Given the excellent tuition you provided earlier in the year, I was hoping you could provide an intro lesson for my friend (a complete beginner) and provide me with some further advice on improving my shooting too.
– Thomas
Huge huge thanks to you and Alan yesterday. The girls had an amazing time and yes we were still buzzing and talking about it last night. Everyone is up for another day so will be in touch. Again Phil thank you so much, we had a blast.
– Kirsty
Thanks again for an incredible day yesterday. What an amazing experience. Carl and I learned loads… both absolutely knackered.
Spoke to Maria and the boys and they are desperate to up the ante!
Thanks again for an amazing day. Already looking forward to a few more!
– David
Thank you so much for making Sam’s day. He is still buzzing and has been reading through the magazines and checking online for what is available near us. I think he has definitely got the bug. He’s trying to remember all that you told him as well and I think you will definitely hear from us in the summer.
You provided an amazing experience for Sam which he will always remember. He’s been doing a bit of research and is going to contact a shooting ground which is close to us at Kibworth to discuss what they offer.
– Nigel
Thank you so much for this morning! We have thoroughly enjoyed it and excited to do it again! The time you took was amazing – not rushed at all, amazing value for money, can’t thank you enough – and of course our dog Polly for booking it – and Izzy for picking up all my clays 🙂 thanks again!
– Rebecca
What a great reunion and shoot the lads had at Clennell Hall last weekend – thank you.
– Andy