vale royal falconry centre

Got my girlfriend the birds of prey experience as a a surprise gift - and it was a great success! I was a fascinated spectator, while she flew a Harris Hawk, a Barn Owl and held a Eagle Owl. Had the place to ourselves and trainer Nanette was patient with our numerous questions, while highly knowledgeable and a great host. A nice touch writing Happy Birthday with my girlfriend's name on the chalkboard for when we arrived. Recommended.

My girlfriend and I thoroughly enjoyed our owl experience. It was great to be able to get so close and fly the owls between us. Nanette and Phil were great fun and very knowledgable. Will definitely be returning to visit the meerkats :)

My husband and I were given a voucher for a meerkat experience and didn't know what to expect. It was fantastic, we were greeted by a very friendly lady, given overalls and wellies and then had the amazing experience of sitting and cuddling the gorgeous meerkats. They were very friendly and we loved it. Once the experience finished we were shown all the owls and were even allowed to hold a couple. All the birds and meerkats looked in tip top condition, happy and very well looked after. We'll definitely be visiting again :)

We had a fantastic time at the falconry centre. Nanette and Phil were really friendly and knowledgeable about the birds. The day was fun and interactive. Would recommend to all. Thanks for a great day :)

We visited Vale Royal Falconry Centre today and what a wonderful experience it was. Nanette was an extremely knowledgeable and friendly host. We booked the VIP Meerkat Experience and I feel it was worth every penny. We thoroughly enjoyed sitting with all the friendly Meerkats, gently climbing on us and perching on our shoulders on lookout.. After a very full half hour of being with the Meerkats, Nanette very kindly gave us a tour of all the owls and birds also giving us the opportunity to hold their oldest owl and others. All in all a truly wonderful experience and we will be going again

We visited Vale Royal Falconry Centre today and what a wonderful experience it was. Nanette was an extremely knowledgeable and friendly host to is. We booked the VIP Meerkat Experience and I feel worth every penny. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed sitting with all the friendly Meerkats, gently climbing on her and touchingly clinging to her arm and nestling on her knee. After a very full half hour of being with the Meerkats, Nanette very kindly gave us a tour of all the owls and birds also giving my daughter the opportunity to hold lovely Dennis, their oldest owl and then their baby owls. I would highly recommend visiting here and also had a wonderful afternoon tea nearby at the Davenport Tea Rooms.

What do you buy a 91 year old! a family ticket to the Falconry Centre., one of the best Christmas presents he has ever had (his words not mine) I booked with Nanette and as the day approached the weather didn't look great so we rearranged for Christmas eve. Nanette was so accomodating and helpful. All six of us set off on a clear and bright morning. The wheel chair was hrad work over the grass but again Nanette helped and was always keen that Grandpa got involved. We were shown the owls and Nanette has so much knowledge that all 3 sons, 2 adults and a teenager were thouroughly engaged. Flying the owls and the hawk and getting up close was very special. Phil then joined us with the golden Eagle!Overall a great way to spend an hour and a half as a family. We took the camcorder but didn't use it we were so involed but took lots of photos that we will view today whilst the goose is cooking. Merry Christmas!Tip: The postcode on the website doesn't get you to the centre, it is on the main A49 betrwwen Acton and Weaverham don't turn off as the satnav will tell you to.

I first came across the centre by seeing a board and enquiring about taking my Beaver Colony. Nannette kept the whole colony interested and they all got a go at handling and flying some of the amazing birds. The session ended with everyone including parents being treated to the most amazing display of 2 peregrine falcons flying together.Having seen the mearcats, I then booked a wedding anniversary gift to ourselves of the 30 minute experience. Wow! It was a horrible day but we got kitted up in old and warm clothes and had a fantastic time. It was so much more hands on than we expected with the gang eating from our hands, climbing on us and snuggling up whilst Nannette told us all about them.This time round we went with family as I bought us all the bird of prey experience for a Christmas present. Both adults and children had a marvellous time as we handled and flew a number of different birds. Nannette and Phil are both very knowledgeable and give you chance to ask lots of questions and the opportunity to take lots of photos. Being able to do the experience as your own group makes such a difference, we were all buzzing afterwards.Mearcats encounter requested as the kids next present and another Beaver trip due so I will be back!

After having a 1:1 lesson with Nanette and enjoying this so much my boyfriend wanted to do the Hawk Walk for two experience. I am so glad we did this, we were able to fly the Hawk to the glove while learning a lot of new fascinating things about birds of prey. We both thoroughly enjoyed It. It is clear that Nanette and Phil always go the extra mile with all their visitors, tailoring the visit to everyone's individual interests, and we both felt we got more than our money's worth. We would highly recommend and will definitely be returning. A lovely gift idea for any bird lover. My boyfriend now seems to have a new passion for the birds! Jasmine and Jamie

I was given the bird of prey experience as a gift and enjoyed it a great deal. The owners were extremely knowledgeable, and delivered the show with good fun and humour. Being in a very small group was extremely advantageous as you were given ample time with the birds and all had many turns at flying them. The large number of species at the centre made for a very interesting and varied experience. We would definitely consider going back in the future.

I had the Meerkat experience day bought for me last Christmas and finally got round to doing it today. Absolutely fantastic not only did I get to sit amongst the meerkat but me and my family were also given a talk on the birds of prey and also got given the chance to hold 2 owls and watch a falcon fly at great speed. You book an appointment and get to spend half hour with the meerkats which is plenty of time. You can ask as many questions, take as many photos and even get to feed them. I cannot recommend this experience day enough it was great fun and would love to do it all over again.

we bought the meerkat and a falconry experience and loved every minute of the day nanette and phil realy go out of there way to make you have an enjoyable day and the lengh of there knowladge is 2nd to non thank you again, will be booking again.thanksjay & sophie

We had been bought the Meerkat Experience as a present. We got to sit in with the Meerkats while they played & climbed all over us & then fed them. Visits are by appointment only which really made the experience as we got to spend over half an hour with the Meerkats & ask as many questions as we liked. We also got to look at & hear about the birds of prey & hold 2 of the owls, Dennis was a 27 year old softie who I couldn't resist holding despite always being terrified of birds.This is definitely a very worthwhile & unique experience & we can't recommend it enough.

We booked our sons 6th Birthday party with 10 of his friends and they all loved it aswell as all the parents. All the children got hands on experience handling and flying the different types of birds and also learning a lot about how the birds would live in the wild. Phil and Nannette where really friendly and enthusiastic with a massive amount of experience and knowledge. We would recommend Vale Royal Falconry to anyone of any age.

We spent two hours this morning with the lovely Nanette and a wonderful collection of birds. We learned so much about all of the birds and falconry. The hands on experience was brilliant starting with holding the little owl up to flying a hawk! We were also treated to a demonstration by Phil of the speed of a falcon which was awesome and a peek at the meerkat family. We will definitely be booking a visit again in the future.