Mark Hogan from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Moreton-in-Marsh
Cotswold Falconry Centre
About 150 birds of prey of more than 60 species beside Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh, with three flying displays a day from mid-February to mid-November.
Family-friendly
Best for the flying displays, so time your arrival for 11.30am or 1.30pm and stay for two. Dogs cannot come in, which matters at Batsford, where the arboretum next door welcomes them.
- Good: Three different flying displays a day, included in the ticket
- Good: Tickets valid all day; come and go
- Good: Almost all accessible by wheelchair and pushchair
- Worth knowing: No dogs (contact the centre about assistance dogs)
- Worth knowing: Closed for winter from mid-November to mid-February; last day of 2026 is Sunday 15 November
- Worth knowing: No outside food inside; snacks only, café 200m away
About
The Cotswold Falconry Centre sits beside Batsford Arboretum, 1.5 miles west of Moreton-in-Marsh. Geoff and Naomi Dalton set it up in 1988 (it was officially opened in March 1989), and it now keeps about 150 birds of prey of more than 60 species, from pygmy falcons to vultures and eagles.
The flying displays are the reason to come. There are three a day, at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm, each with different birds, and a day ticket covers all three. Tickets are valid all day, so you can watch one, walk the arboretum and come back. Doors open at 10.30am and the last admission is 3pm.
Adults pay £15 and children £8 (2026). Booking online helps the centre but is not essential, and you can pay at the gate. The displays are outdoors and can be postponed in bad weather.
For a closer look, the centre runs private Flying Start and Owl experiences in which you fly a bird to your gloved hand, and book these ahead. On some days it also runs Inside: Owls and Inside: Raptors, indoor displays in its Cotswold stone building at £30 a head, day admission included. Dogs are not allowed in the centre, and you cannot bring in outside food, though there are picnic spots by the car park and the Garden Terrace Café is under 200m away.
The centre closes for winter from mid-November to mid-February; in 2026 the last day is Sunday 15 November. Our walk from Moreton to Batsford is the way to arrive without a car.
Opening hours and season
| Monday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
| Wednesday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
| Thursday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
| Friday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
| Saturday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
| Sunday | 10:30 to 16:00 |
Mid-February to mid-November: doors 10.30am, last admission 3pm, closes shortly after 4pm. Displays 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3pm. Closed for winter from 16 November 2026.
Facilities
- Car parkFree, shared with Batsford Arboretum, with disabled bays
- SnacksIce cream and cold drinks; Garden Terrace Café under 200m away
- DogsNot allowed in the centre; the arboretum next door welcomes them
The details
- Time to allow
- Two to three hours, to see two displays
- Features
- Parking · Picnic area · Guided tours
- History
- Founded by Geoff and Naomi Dalton in 1988; officially opened in March 1989
- Parking
- Free parking at the top of the Batsford drive, with disabled bays. Leave the A44 at the signed entrance: there is no access through Batsford village.
- Without a car
- From Moreton station, the Monarch's Way: 1.75 miles, 30 to 40 minutes. Stagecoach 1 and 2 stop at Batsford Arboretum, at the far end of the mile-long drive, about six times a day, Sundays included.
Photos
A secretary bird Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A vulture in flight Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A golden eagle Photo: Mark Hogan from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
A hooded vulture Photo: Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Moreton-in-Marsh Club Campsite
Camping · Moreton-in-Marsh
The Caravan and Motorhome Club's site on Bourton Road, Moreton-in-Marsh, open all year, with 184 touring pitches, ten pods and a dog walk.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Old Farm, Dorn
Self-catering · Moreton-in-Marsh
A working regenerative farm at Dorn, about a mile from Moreton-in-Marsh, with a holiday let in its shearing shed, a studio and a ten-pitch campsite.
Verified Oct 2026
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The Swan Inn, Moreton
Inn · Moreton-in-Marsh
An inn with eight rooms in a Grade II listed nineteenth-century building on Moreton-in-Marsh's High Street, with pub food five days a week.
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Batsford Arboretum
- Bourton House Garden 1.1 km away
- The Horse and Groom 1.2 km away
- Moreton-in-Marsh Club Campsite 2.0 km away
Sights nearby
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St Mary's Church, Batsford
Sight · Church · Moreton-in-Marsh
St Mary's is the estate church of Batsford, near Moreton-in-Marsh: rebuilt in 1861 and 1862 for the Mitford family in a neo-Norman style, with a spired tower, an apsidal chancel, Kempe glass and monuments to the Freemans and Mitfords. Grade II*.
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St Peter and St Paul, Blockley
Sight · Church · Blockley
St Peter and St Paul is Blockley's church by the square, founded about 800 by its own account: a late twelfth-century chancel, medieval brasses, Childe and Rushout monuments and a tower of 1725 to 1727 attributed to the Woodwards. Grade II*, open daily and Father Brown's church.
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Russell Spring, Blockley
Sight · Monument · Blockley
The Russell Spring is a small gabled niche on Blockley's High Street, inscribed "Water from the Living Rock God's Precious Gift to Man", built in the middle of the nineteenth century by men out of work in winter, in the wall below a raised walkway. Grade II; seen at any time.
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Redesdale Hall, Moreton-in-Marsh
Sight · Historic building · Moreton-in-Marsh
Redesdale Hall is Moreton-in-Marsh's market hall of 1887, standing in the middle of the High Street: designed by Sir Ernest George for Bertie Mitford of Batsford, later Lord Redesdale, with an arched ground floor, a clock turret and a tall chimney. Listed Grade II.