A Day Out at The Hawk Conservancy Trust
Disclosure: We were invited on this day out for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.
At the weekend we were invited to visit The Hawk Conservancy Trust, somewhere we had been meaning to go for such a long time but had never made the trip! Anyone that has ever driven along the A303 will have seen the signs to The Hawk Conservancy Trust and, spoiler alert, it’s well worth stopping off!
What is The Hawk Conservancy Trust?
The The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a registered charity. Their mission is the conservation of birds of prey and they aim to share their love of birds of prey with all who visit and encourage all guests to join in their mission to help conserve them. During our visit we learnt that we can all do our bit to help that mission.
At The Hawk Conservancy Trust there is so much to do and appreciate – the thrill of holding a rare bird of prey, watching world-class flying displays and enjoying the vast grounds of woodland and wildflower meadow whilst getting to know their wide range of species of birds of prey from owls to eagles. It’s a really full, exciting day out that also helps to make a difference.
Where is The Hawk Conservancy Trust?
The The Hawk Conservancy Trust is just four miles west of Andover in Hampshire, just off the A303 and 20 minutes from Stonehenge. It couldn’t be any easier to find and there’s plenty of free parking on site too.
A day at The Hawk Conservancy Trust
When we visit animal based attractions, we don’t often go to talks or shows, instead just making our way around the site at our own pace. However, when we arrived at The Hawk Conservancy Trust we were given a map and a list of the displays and activities on during the day and knew that we wanted to see and do as much as possible! So we planned our day around the flying displays.
We started our day getting our bearings at The Hawk Conservancy Trust and found the children’s playground quite quickly! This is a fantastic space, suitable for children up to age 14, with swings, a big climbing structure, slides and more. Despite our children being at the upper end of the age range they still loved playing on the swings a few times during the course of the day.
We also met some gorgeous donkeys who live next to the play area. These were a lovely surprise as I expected the Hawk Conservancy to just be birds of prey – but they had little extra surprises like this along the way too!
Good Morning with the Vultures
Before long it was time for the Good Morning with the Vultures talk which took place right outside the vulture enclosure. This was a great introduction to The Hawk Conservancy Trust and taught us a lot about vultures – how they were nearly driven to extinction thirty years ago and the work the Trust have done to help vultures both in the wild and at The Hawk Conservancy Trust. It was eye opening and definitely made us love vultures more than we had before!
Wings of Africa
Soon after it was time for our first flying display of the day – Wings of Africa. The Wings of Africa display takes place in the Savannah – a fantastic arena made to look just like the African Savannah.
This display introduced us to a great mix of white storks, vultures and kites along with Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, an African Fish-Eagle and the quirky and fun Secretary Bird. None of the birds were on display for very long, playing their part and then going home to rest. This made the show not just great for us visitors – seeing many birds throughout the show – but also great for the birds too, doing what they do best for an amount of time that they were happy with.
One of our favourite parts of the show was seeing the hunting skills of the Secretary Bird – a bird we had never seen previously. It has the most fantastic walk and stamps on snakes to kill them before they get killed themselves. It was fascinating to watch – with the help of a rubber snake!
The show included some fantastic effects – including smoke and rain – which the birds really engaged with. We saw some awesome flying displays, with birds who had no awareness of personal space, meaning we were all ducking throughout! It was such a fun show and we all really enjoyed it.
Masters of the Sky
In the afternoon, the Masters of the Sky flying display takes place in Reg’s Wildflower Meadow, a beautiful space where you can see for miles – and where wild birds happily spend time too.
During this display we were treated to seeing some of the biggest and fastest birds of prey – vultures, eagles, falcons and kites – soaring high above us – and also just above our heads again! There were so many birds featured in the display and it was so lovely to see them all flying happily together, side by side.
Woodland Wonders
The last flying display that we saw was Woodland Wonders where owls flew accompanied by music and special effects. The woodland was such a lovely setting, and the owls blended in so well, showing off the camouflage skills that they use so well in the wild.
We were introduced to a Tawny Owl, Barn Owl and a Little Owl plus a kestrel and more. They were all such beautiful birds and it was lovely to learn more about them whilst seeing them happily explore the woodland.
Trails at The Hawk Conservancy Trust
When we arrived at The Hawk Conservancy Trust we were given trails to complete with the children. Despite the kids getting older we always love a trail as they often teach you more about a place and help keep everyone engaged. We were excited to work our way around the trails during our day out.
Vulture Voyage Adventure Trail
The Vulture Voyage Adventure Trail is a fun trail for all the family where you get to spot lots of different birds, learn new facts and ultimately follow in the wingbeats of Egyptian Vultures on their epic migration! We all really liked completing this trail together.
Tree Trail
The Hawk Conservancy Trust are all about conserving birds of prey and their habitats so the Tree Trail helped to teach us about how trees are vital habitats for many birds of prey and the food they eat. We all really enjoyed spotting the different tree types around the Trust and finding out more about which birds the trees were a habitat for.
The trails helped us to explore The Hawk Conservancy Trust and we loved spending times with the vast number of birds in between the flying displays and talks. There were so many birds to see – owls, eagles, vultures – with a different feathered friend around each corner.
Afternoon tea at The Hawk Conservancy Trust
Instead of lunch we enjoyed afternoon tea at The Hawk Conservancy Trust’s Feathers Restaurant. This was such a lovely treat, and a great addition to a great day out. A table was reserved for us, complete with tablecloth and gorgeous china, ready for our arrival.
The afternoon tea was freshly prepared and beautifully presented. It included light and fluffy finger sandwiches with a variety of fillings – ham and tomato, cheese and chutney, smoked salmon and cucumber and egg mayonnaise. They were a fantastic start to the afternoon tea.
We then had a scone each, served with clotted cream and strawberry jam. The scones were plain, rather than fruit, and were served warm. They could not have been nicer.
The last part of our afternoon tea spread was a selection of homemade cakes and desserts. We were treated to a generous slice of Bakewell cake, Victoria sponge cupcakes and a light and refreshing lemon posset. Plus, if we couldn’t quite manage it all, they were happy to give us boxes to take leftovers away in.
The afternoon tea was served with a choice of tea and coffee and we were able to order the children hot chocolates at an extra charge. The service was fantastic throughout and it was a lovely way to break up our day at The Hawk Conservancy Trust.
At just £18.95 each or £31.95 including admission to the Hawk Conservancy Trust, the afternoon tea is great value and a lovely way to mark a special occasion or simply have a nice treat. Plus, they have a Premium Afternoon Tea option too which also includes a glass of Prosecco and a selection of savoury nibbles, with things like scotch eggs, quiche or sausage rolls. You can find out more about the afternoon tea options here.
The National Bird of Prey Hospital
Whilst at The Hawk Conservancy Trust we got to see inside the National Bird of Prey Hospital which really helps to showcase some of the work that the Trust do. There are windows into treatment and examination rooms and the hospital allows the Trust to treat up to 200 sick, injured or orphaned birds of prey each year.
There were a few things at The Hawk Conservancy Trust that we didn’t get a chance to do during our visit. The Nifty Nest Builders talk teaches visitors all about nests and gives you a chance to build one yourself. And the Brilliant Bird Brains talk introduces you to one of the brilliant birds at The Hawk Conservancy Trust and gives them a chance to show off some of their skills with a different bird being showcased each day.
There were also tractor rides around Reg’s Meadow which sadly clashed with our afternoon tea booking, and there’s also a Meet the Burrowers VIP Encounter that you can book for just £20 per person. Did you know that there are Burrowing Owls? No, we didn’t until we saw them at the Hawk Conservancy Trust – and they were some of our favourites of the day too. So cute and small! You can see all the Hawk Conservancy Trust experiences and courses here.
We had such a great day at The Hawk Conservancy Trust and did so much. We were there all day and loved the flying displays, seeing so many birds we hadn’t heard of or come up close to before. It was eye opening, educational and just a lovely day of quality family time doing something different.
The Hawk Conservancy Trust put on special events throughout the year, vary the birds that you see in the flying displays, and have a winter and summer timetable of activities meaning that no two visits to The Hawk Conservancy Trust are the same. Plus, every visit to The Hawk Conservancy Trust helps them to continue their work supporting birds of prey at the centre and in the wild. We will definitely be visiting again soon.
The Hawk Conservancy Trust currently have a half price offer on if you book tickets before 21st October to use before March 2026. Find out more here.
You can find out more about The Hawk Conservancy Trust over on their website and for reference the address is: Sarson Lane, Andover SP11 8DY
I’ve shared a little Reel of our visit over on Instagram here:
