Description
Are you tired of watching your children pour over Minecraft or their game station? Bored of sitting in front of the TV or standing around in shopping centres? Want to spend some quality family time together experiencing the wonder of British wildlife such as the simply perfect Barn Owl or the magnificent Peregrine Falcon, if the answer is yes then our Family Falconry Experience is the one for you.
Whats involved ?
Our meeting point is our centre within Moss End Garden Village. Here you meet the falconers and have a quick safety talk and shown how to call and hold the birds correctly you are also given a falconry glove to use for the duration of the session.
The Family Falconry Experience is a private 1-hour session based on a family of 6 people ( the cost is per session not per person), with plenty of hands-on experience. You will get to fly a range of birds all flown to the fist including the Barn Owl, Kestrel and Harris Hawk, all the while learning about their unique characters, how they hunt, their wild habitat and how they have adapted to humans. The conversation is aimed at each age group so whether your 6 or 86 years the sessions are relaxed and informative. Please note our minimum handling age is 6 years old however younger children can attend the session to watch. We do not charge for under 6 year olds.
Family Falconry Experiences take place 6 days a week, however, these sessions are extremely popular and Feathers and Fur recommends booking several months in advance if you would like a weekend or a school holiday slot. Additional members can be added for an additional charge of £20 per person.
An alternative for young owl lovers would be the Educational Owl Hours which are for those aged between 6 and 10years, with activities such as pellet dissection and seeing the owls up close along with learning about their feathers and wild cousins.
How to book a Family Falconry Experience
1 – Gift Voucher or E-Voucher
The Family Falconry Experience is available as an E-Voucher or a physical Gift Voucher, both with a 1 year validity, making them an ideal present for family and friends. Both voucher are personalised to the recipient of the voucher so don’t forget to add their name to the ‘recipient’ box on the payment page.
The E-Voucher is sent via email within 24 hour of your purchase (they are personalised so not automatically created), which you can then print off yourself. The option for this is above when selecting the drop down ‘voucher options’ please select the E-Voucher option.
The Gift Voucher are a physical voucher that we hand write and post out, so you have something lovely to wrap up and gift. There is an additional £3 charge for this voucher. The option for the Gift Voucher is in the drop down ‘voucher options’ please select the Gift Voucher option.
2 – Specific Date
If you are looking for a specific date to do your Family Falconry Experience on, please call or email so that we can check the diary for you.
Please do not purchase this experience without checking the availability if you are looking for a specific date, as our sessions and encounters can fill up months in advance. Once you are confirmed in the diary we will then ask you to return here to make payment.
Payment is always taken in advance for the Family Falconry Experience.
Looking for something for just the grown-ups? Try our Half Day Hands-on Experience or our Owl Handling Experience.
Redeeming your voucher
If you have been lucky enough to receive a gift voucher then redeeming it couldn’t be easier, simply drop us an email using the Contact Us form or via info@feathersandfur.co.uk with an idea of days or dates that you can make, i.e. let us know if you can only make weekends or if you can do weekdays and we will let you know all the spaces we have available. Weekend and school holidays fill up months in advance so please don’t leave it until the last minute!
Please also include the name on the gift voucher, your voucher number and a contact phone number.
Things to know
Weather – sessions may be weather dependant, if we plan to cancel we will contact you early in the morning to rearrange your session.
What to wear – all our sessions and experiences take place out doors so we recommend suitable clothing and foot wear as it is often colder than you would think when you are flying birds. Long sleeve tops are required for handling the birds. This can be as a removable layer such as a jacket.
Covid-19 – we are currently working in smaller groups, adhering to social distancing, using a one way system around the centre and asking everyone to use hand gel at the entrance to the site and once you have finished with the falconry gloves.
Cameras – Dont forget to bring your camera with you as our birds are very photogenic ( we can’t say the same for the falconers though!!)
Handling Age – some of our sessions are adult only, including spectators, this is made clear in the Experience description above and on your gift voucher cover letter. Our minimum age for handling is 6 years old.
Where sessions take place and what is available there – all our sessions take place at Moss End Garden Village, Maidenhead Road, Bracknell RG42 6EJ. Moss End Garden Village has parking facilities, toilets, cafe and many other shops on site.
Julia –
We should just like to thank you so much for our morning with you. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and hope we shall be able to repeat the experience. Thank you for spending time with Isaac and being so patient. He will remember the experience and be able to tell his Daddy all about it.
Amy and Vanessa –
I just felt the need to say thanks again for having Vanessa and I to your pad yesterday to meet your amazing feathered family! We had a ball, and was a bit of a dream come true for both of us! Will definitely be passing in your details to absolutely everyone! Hopefully see you again soon, and get well soon Mouse!
Debbie –
Had an awesome time yesterday with my family. Sadie loves her birds as her children and her knowledge was unbelievable. Such a lovely time – thank you
Lucy –
Thank you Sadie for giving us a fantastic experience yesterday with your beautiful birds!! We all thoroughly enjoyed our feathery encounters with Bert, Bourneville, Echo and Charlie! My two daughters (10 & 8) were a little apprehensive, especially with Charlie the big Indian Eagle Owl, but Sadie made them feel totally relaxed! She was fun and extremely informative and has a true passion for her birds! We shall definitely be coming back and recommending you to our friends!!