Well over a year ago, I bought Ruth a Falconry experience. Due to one thing or another… moving up North, setting up a brewery (those little things!), we hadn’t got round to organising our day out. Determined to make sure we didn’t lose this amazing opportunity we booked ourselves in and set off to Stratford-Upon-Avon on a 2 and a half hour trip.

Our hosts for the day were Tony and Helen, who were both very knowledgeable, friendly and entertaining; but the stars of the show were clearly the birds. Tony introduced us to a series of owls, hawks and falcons, each of which had their own individual characters – including Tobias (Harris Hawk) with a penchant for hanging upside down like a bat, and Jesse (Tawny Owl) who is sadly something of a slow learner.

After an interesting display, we all got a chance to fly Harris hawks Arthur and Tobias, which was an absolute privilege. It wouldn’t be a day out without someone throwing the gauntlet down at my feet and accusing me of being a poacher, which led to me running away with a rabbit (don’t worry, it was a soft toy), hoping for Arthur to take the bait. He did, and it was a little unnerving to know a bird of prey with his talons out is just over your shoulder.

Spending the afternoon with these wonderful birds brought to mind the story of “The Poor Gentleman and His Hawk”, which I heard from Dave Tonge. It is a very poignant tale, and the ending is all the more heart wrenching after getting close to these majestic birds. Maybe we will do a collaboration beer with Raptorcare Falconry in the future and then I can tell you the story properly.