Cotswold Falconry Centre — Attraction in Cotswold District

The birds are magnificent! This is a special place as it helps endangered species, by conserving & if they can breed them. There taken out and your told all about them, while there flying around & coming back for morsels to eat, from the people who take care of them. When we were there a vulture flew off up to the trees & wouldn't come back, apparently they all do that from time to time, they let them stay there, as when there hungry they soon cone back! You walk round & see all the birds & on there cages there is a plague telling you all about them, there names & the names the keepers have given them, if there endangered & to what extent, where they come from. And of course you cant have any contact with them as you would normally be able to do, because of the virus. But You can get up close as then the birds that the very knowledgeable keepers have brought out & flown, put them out in a space with no wires or a cage between you. There on tethered post, there is a low rope & that's all. You can't actually touch them but it's the closest I've been to a bold eagle there really big!! You can sit outside & look at the birds for as long as you like, it's set in peaceful countryside really lovely. They also have a tea shop but it was shut when we went. There are toilets. Also a quaint little gift shop, with varied & lovely things inside. It's a very good day or a long afternoon out. Easy to walk round as it's not massive, so great for small children & kids of all ages. I would say its wheelchair friendly too. Would definitely...

If you've not been before then you should put it on your bucket list! An excellent day out with (at the time of our visit at the weekend) 3 shows per day, lasting in excess of an hour per show. Lots of familiar and unusual birds of prey (Vultures, Eagles, Falcons, Owls, Secretary Birds etc...), all carefully looked after and a different selection of birds flown at each of the shows. There is an opportunity to really get up close to the birds while they are being flown and take lots of photographs. My top tip... If you have a reasonably decent DSLR then maybe note that I used Shutter Priority Mode (shutter speed was set to a fast 1/2000) Auto ISO and Continuous Single Point AF and also Continuous (Burst) mode. I took around 700 photos, but still managed to get most of my shots out of focus because these birds are quick and somehow they know just when to blow a raspberry and change direction! However a reasonable number of shots came out well and left me with some pictures to remember the day by. I doubt you will have time to do the Arboretum if your primary reason is to visit the Falconry Centre, but it all adds up to a fantastic day out and well worth the £12 entrance fee. Note: I am not sure that this fee includes access to the Arboretum - do check! You must book in advance though - I nearly...

The best displays of birds of prey flying that I have ever seen. Great value for the money. Display times are advertised, we made it for the first one and we were pleasantly surprised. Although the weather wasn't perfect the birds did fly, it was interesting to see them on the ground too, walking and some almost running! The food they are given is all monitored and bred for the purpose, birds have to eat, especially when rewarded for flying away and coming back . First impressions were of birds tied to perches or in large cages and display times which could be explained more in literature as well worth it. The 3pm was the best as several types of birds were flying at once, it was brilliant. The staff were in control at all times , an owl even skimmed my head! At the last display we were all able to wear a glove in turn and the tiny owl flew to each of us, what a lovely experience, for children and adults alike. Between displays hot and cold drinks and snacks were available, it would have been good to be able to buy sandwiches too, but you can go to the Garden centre next door but if that's busy you may miss a display and we were not going to miss any. By far the displays were the best part of the day, thoroughly enjoyed all of it and would...