Home->About Us->About the Park (read what people who have been have said about it)

Did you know that The Hawk Conservancy Trust is a charity? As from 6th April 2006 the government changed the law on Gift Aid and we can only claim Gift Aid if you make a donation that is 10% more than the entry fee. If you are a UK taxpayer and you make a donation that is 10% more than the entry fee the government will give us an extra 28% on top of your donation. It makes a massive difference to attractions like The Hawk Conservancy Trust.

The Park is open to the public every day 10.30am - 5.30pm from the middle of February until the end of October (February 17 to November 9, 2008). Flying demonstrations take place at noon, 2pm and 3.30pm and are all different. We shall be open during the winter on Saturdays and Sundays. Flying display times will vary during the winter opening season - please call the main office (01264 773850) for details.

Charity Gift Aid prices (2008) - £9.75 for adults, £6.25 for children (3-15), £8.75 for Students (16-18) and £9.00 for Seniors. A family ticket, covering 2 adults and 2 children costs £31.00 (if there are more than two children, each additional child will be charged at £6.00). Special group rates are available, and tickets may be pre-purchased. (allow 14 days for UK delivery, 28 days elsewhere). These prices include a voluntary 10% donation to support the work of our Bird of Prey Hospital. If you would prefer not to support the project the following admission prices will apply: Adults £8.86 Child £5.68 Students £7.95 Seniors £8.18 Family Ticket: £28.18, extra child £5.45.

Visitors arriving after 4pm will be entitled to a discounted rate of (non gift aid rates bracketted): Adults, Seniors and Students £6.50 (£5.91) Children £4.00 (£3.64).

We have easy access toilets and tarmac paths through most of the grounds. Disabled visitors have a special toilet and viewing points in the flying demonstration areas for wheelchairs. Free-of-charge wheelchairs are available from the Gift Shop for visitors.
Dogs are not permitted inside the Park, but there are shaded areas of the car park set aside for vehicles containing dogs, and you are a liberty to move between the Park and the car park as often as you wish, in order to keep an eye on your animal(s).
Click here for a map of directions, which will open in a new window.
If you need accommodation in the vicinity of the Trust, there is a list of nearby hotels here courtesy of ActiveReservations.com.

A typical day at The Hawk Conservancy Trust runs like this:

Displays start with the Vulture Restaurant at 11.30. The Noon and 3.30 flying displays are held in the Lower Flying Grounds while the 2.00 Valley of the Eagles display takes place in Reg's Meadow (subject to change due to weather conditions). At the end of the day, there's a wild Red Kite and Heron feed at the hides. Additional activities include duck races and Raptor Safari tractor & trailer rides. Please check our information board near the entrance for details of all our daily events.

Parent and Baby Room is located near the Gift Shop and Toilets and has baby wipes and nappy disposal sacks.

Duffy's Coffee Shop is open all season and offers a range of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and filled baguettes, snacks, and ice creams. Light lunches are also available.

Picnic areas are located around the Park - please dispose of your rubbish in the bins provided.

The Gift Shop sells a wide variety of quality gifts and souvenirs as well as country clothing. There is something to suit all budgets. We also stock films, batteries, disposable cameras, and, to cope with the British weather, both sun cream and poncho rain capes. We accept all major credit and debit cards in the shops but not American Express.

Pass Out. You do not need to carry everything with you. Keep your admission ticket to return to your car and re-enter the Conservancy during your visit.

First Aid. There are several First Aid points around the grounds and there are trained first aiders on the staff. If you need assistance, please contact the Gift Shop or any member of staff, who will summon help by radio.

Lost children will be escorted to the Gift Shop while a search is made for their responsible adult. If you lose your child, contact any member of staff immediately.

Smoking is not permitted in any building within The Hawk Conservancy Trust or at flying grounds during displays, although you may smoke around the grounds - please take care to dispose of cigarettes properly.

Facilities for children: Raptor Passport Trail and Nature Trail (sheets for these are available in the Gift Shop); adventure play area; toddlers' play area; education centre with information boards and interactive computer quizzes; hold a British bird of prey after flying demonstrations. During weekends and school holidays there are runner duck and Raptor Safari tractor and trailer rides (weather permitting). Please do not allow children to climb over any barriers or on trees or garden areas. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times on the play areas.

Key school dates for 2008 (Hampshire Test Valley - source Hantsweb) are:

· Half term	week commencing 18th February
· Easter holiday	7th - 18th April
· Half term	week commencing 26th May
· Summer holiday	24th July to 2nd September
· Half term	week commencing 27th October

• 4 MILES WEST OF ANDOVER signposted from A303 (please do not take the Andover turn off on the A303 , stay on until you see our brown tourist board signs)
• More than 200 Birds of Prey
• 15 acres of woodland gardens
• Reg's wild flower downland meadow (7 acres)
• Flying demonstrations
• Afternoon Red Kite and wild heron feed
• Education centre
• Wild bird hide
• Dragonfly pond
• Nature trails
• Hold a bird of prey
• Adults can fly a hawk
• Picnic areas
• Raptor Safaris
• Vulture Restaurant (birds fed and keeper talk)
• Duck racing
• Duffy's Coffee Shop
• Gift shop
• Rehabilitation & Wild Raptor Hospital Appeal
• Themed weekends most Bank Holidays (various activities of countryside interest)
• Historic Weyhill Fair Hampshire Down sheep
• Group photographic days
• Activity days
• Birthday parties
• Owls by Moonlight
• ...etc., etc.

A Member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, The British Trust for Ornithology, International Species Information System, African Bird Club, Vulture Study Group, Raptor Conservation Group, Raptor Research Foundation and the World Working Group on Birds of Prey and Owls, The Hawk Conservancy Trust has, for many years, prided itself on three things - its conservation work, its educational work and its flying demonstrations. We have a scheme for sponsorship of individual birds, and a membership scheme (currently over 1800 members).
We also provide Experience Days, which allow you to experience, in different ways, the fascination and bond which mankind has enjoyed with Birds of Prey for thousands of years. The activity days are becoming popular as Christmas and Birthday presents, are reasonably priced and certainly more fun than a pair of socks!

Tourism

The Hawk Conservancy Trust relies on tourism for its continued existence and, this being the case, we try to make days out here as interesting and rewarding as possible, so that visitors will not only want to return here, but also recommend us to their friends.
We have of a well-stocked Gift Shop which includes a large number of new and antiquarian books on birds of prey and natural history-related subjects, a Coffee Shop and picnic area, as well as a number of seating areas throughout the gardens for picnickers or those just in search of some peace and quiet. There is access for wheelchairs throughout, including in the Gift Shop and Coffee Shop, and the Disabled Car Parking area is situated immediately outside the main entrance. Disabled toilet facilities are also available, as well as a Mother and Baby room. Should any disabled visitor require assistance, please do not hesitate to ask a member of staff.
All front line staff have successfully completed Tourism South East's Welcome Host course.

Exhibitions and film work

As we are one of the few organisations in Britain with such a large number of different birds of prey, we are contacted by an increasing number of television and film companies about film work. Producers and directors either come here to film, or our birds are taken out to their studios or locations, not always in Britain.
Our birds have travelled as far as Turkey and Portugal. A large proportion of our film work is for the BBC Natural History Unit and many hours are spent training various species for quite often difficult tasks.

For more information, comments, suggestions etc., mail me, Keith Channing, at info@hawkconservancy.org

---