Surrey Hills Falconry

What it’s like

Fly hawks, owls, falcons and even a vulture on your own arm, guided by trained falconers at Gatton Manor.

This is a hands-on falconry session rather than a walk-round-and-look zoo trip. You get birds on your glove, actually flying them across the arena while a falconer talks you through how they hunt and why they're built the way they are. Owls, hawks, falcons and vultures are all mentioned, which is a proper spread for one session.

The age limit is 7, and it's a hard one, not a suggestion. That's down to the size and weight of some of the birds rather than anything about attention spans, so don't try to sneak a six-year-old in on the grounds that they're tall for their age. One spectator can come along free with a booking, and extra spectators are welcome too but cost £10 a head, which is worth knowing if grandparents want to watch as well.

There's a café on site at Gatton Manor for hot drinks and light snacks, and parking is on site too. The one genuine faff is toilets: there aren't any in the flying arena itself, so you have to head over to the county club building if anyone needs to go, which is easy enough to forget until it's suddenly urgent with a seven-year-old.

Weekends and school holidays get booked up, so this isn't one to leave until the morning of if you've got a date in mind.

Facilities

Need to know

Best for

Age 7 and up, given the strict minimum age for handling birds

• The 7-year age limit is strict, it's about bird weight not behaviour
• Extra spectators beyond the first are £10 each
• Toilets are a walk away in the county club, not in the arena
• Book ahead if you want a weekend or school holiday slot

Plan your visit

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