Your enquiry is very important to us. We are open 6 days a week and you are able to contact us on info@thehawkingcentre.co.uk. 07544696199. or, via facebook, instagram or you can use the various contact forms throughout our website. To avoid any frustration, please note our phone lines are extremely busy and we are not always available in the office as each member of our team also work very closely with the birds. If you drop us a message or an email will be get back to you! We do advise that if you have a particular date in mind for the near future, please get in touch before  purchasing an experience as slots go very fast. As such, we do advise booking at least 4-6 weeks in advance of your chosen date to avoid any disappointment.

We do suggest getting in touch before purchasing your voucher if you have a very particular date in mind, to avoid any disappointment. Otherwise, we’d suggest getting in touch 4-6 weeks in advance of your chosen date as our availability goes very quickly! If you are the lucky holder of a VIP Experience, we’d suggest getting in touch even further in advance.

When getting in touch, be sure to have your voucher number to hand!

Dress comfortably for the great outdoors! We suggest wearing weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy, waterproof footwear. Long sleeves are recommended for added protection during your falconry experience.

Absolutely! Our experiences are perfect for sharing. Spectators are welcome to join and capture the magic of the day with photographs. Your spectators are just as much a part of the session and spend the duration with you taking photographs and enjoying the scenery. On the Full Day, Falconer for the Day, and Talons & Targets Experience, spectators also enjoy lunch as part of the experience.

We do charge spectators fees for all experiences, the fees will vary.

We aim to fly in most weather conditions. However, if the weather is unsuitable, we will notify you by 8:30 am and offer alternative dates for your experience. 

We book to a maximum of 10 people, made up of any number of participants and spectators. There could be 5 participants and 5 spectators or 8 participants and 2 spectators etc.

For our VIP experiences, it is just your voucher booked for that slot. If you’ve got a VIP half day for 1 person, it’s just you and your falconer, if you’ve got a VIP Half Day for 6 people it’s 6 people and their falconer, we would not book any other members of the public on your session.

The voucher can be downloaded for immediate use via your confirmation email. Vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. To book, please contact us on 07544696199 or info@thehawkingcentre.co.uk. We do suggest a lead time of at least 4-6 weeks when booking your voucher and 4-8 weeks for the VIP Full Day and the Talons & Targets Experience.gs.

All of our experiences are run seven days a week all year through. Wednesdays, we have an ongoing booking that occurs everyweek and so, we do not take bookings for Wednesdays. 

We don’t have an age limit in place. However, we do have a height limit of 1200mm tall. Any persons under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult participant or spectator at all times throughout the experience.

We currently have 3 eagles with us. Xavier, Moët, and Azul. You will certainly have the opportunity to fly one on the full day experience and hold one on the half day experience.

Yes! Eastwell Manor is accessible and there are various routes that your falconer can take you to begin your experience. if you have any specific concerns or questions regarding accessability, please get in touch with our team prior to booking.

Please check your junk/spam folder and allow a couple of hours for this to come through. If you still have not received your voucher, please get in touch with us at info@thehawkingcentre.co.uk with your details.

Whilst we are huge fans of all creatures great and small, are birds aren’t and so, to protect our animals and your own, dogs and visiting pets are not permitted at The Hawking Centre including Guide Dogs.

Please note this is only in relation to our experience days and where we are based on site at Eastwell Manor. Eastwell Manor, is dog friendly and you can even book a mews cottage and bring your pooch along for a stay at Champney’s. 

The Hawking Centre is permanently based at 1 location on the private estates of Eastwell Manor Hotel in Kent. Our Full Address is:
The Hawking Centre,
Eastwell Manor,
Boughton Aluph.
Ashford, Kent,
TN25 4HR

Understandably, there is a bit of a misconception around falconry and keeping birds of prey so we thought we’d put your mind to rest and answer a few of the more common questions!

Do you starve the birds to make them fly?

Absolutely not! We weigh every bird every day to ensure it is at a healthy weight to fly to our guests. Birds of Prey are extremely food motivated and we use Positive Reinforcement when training our birds. When a bird of prey reaches a weight where it is starving, they are physically unable to put the weight back on, regardless of how much they are fed. So we can promise that all of our birds are happy, fit, healthy and noisy!

What are the birds fed?

We feed our birds a mixture of food! Our birds get a delightful mixture of Day Old Cockeral Chicks, Mice, Rats, Quail, Pigeon, Rabbit and more.

What are the straps on their legs?

You will find every one of our birds wear anklets and Jesses. These are handmade by us at the centre and these are made from kangaroo leather. The jesses, are a thin strap of leather that comes off of each anklet and this will provide the falconer control over the bird whilst they are on the fist. For instance, if a dog were to approach and startle the bird, the falconer can ‘lock’ these off and prevent the bird from flying away and hurting themselves in the panic and can also prevent the bird from harming the dog! We use kangeroo leather as it is much more supple and maleable than cow leather.

Do you ever release the birds into the wild?

No. The majority of the birds of prey that can be found at our centre are not native to the UK and so releasing them into the wild could have a detrimental effect to the local wildlife and ecosystem.