Welsh Hawking Centre & Children's Animal Park, Barry

I visited the Welsh Hawking Centre recently and was appalled at the facilities and condition of the set up. It is extremely run down and could only describe the place as a Health and Safety executives nightmare.

1. Cages are dirty and don't look like they are cleaned on a regular basis

2. Seats on concrete bases are broken, easy to trip over and cause injury.

3. Play area for children. Please avoid at all costs.

Wooden structure is rotten and unsafe

Should be covered / protected from animals and birds as there is excrement on the slide which children had gone through.

Tunnel for children to play in had rabbit droppings and other dirt.

Sand pit, filthy

Tyre swings unsafe. Bolt holding the tyres to the chains unsafe.

Gate to the wooden fencing unsafe and had metal bits sticking out of it which children could rip open their hands on.

4. Toilet facilities are appalling. I saw a man who went nearly went flying whilst stepping out of the facility. Step was extremely unsafe.

5. Café facilities. Don't really know what café this was meant to be but I would definitely not eat in this facility.

6. Car Park. Overflow car park. Do not use if you want the underneath of your car damaged.

My family left after a couple of hours and was extremely disappointed.

If I could give this facility a zero rating, then I would.

The place needs to be completely overhauled and up to adequate H&S standards.

The good:

- The opportunity to see an average (not great) variety of different raptor (birds of prey) species ranging from tiny owls to a couple of large eagles and vultures for a fair price of £5.

The bad:

- Absolutely awful facilities for both the birds and visitors (notes about the 'cafe' and toliets are documented accurately in previous reviews); the place looks like a run-down farm yard with many of the enclosures in desparate need of cleaning and repair (I felt forlorn for the birds).

- Many of the birds are off display to the public for various purposes (i.e. breeding) which is fair enough, but ultimately no good for the paying visitor.

I attended a £450 five-day Lantra course in falconry at this facility with an instructor called Griff Griffiths. Although friendly and mildly informative, the quality of the tutition was poor. Most of the content I learnt was due to textbooks which were dumped on me as a teaching substitute while Griff sloped off to do something more important (like have a cigarette and a cup of coffee or go on 'Facebook') while I was filling out sections of the course workbook. As well as this, I was informed that we would be handling birds from the afternoon of day 2 (i.e. Tuesday).In the end the only meaningful time I actually got with a bird was briefly on the afternoon of day 4 (i.e. Thursday) and for the actual exam on the afternoon of day 5 (i.e. Friday). Griff also frequently lost his patience during the limited practical exercises we did (making no effort to conceal it) which was completely inappropriate - teaching requires patience as no tutee is an expert and if you can't appreciate this you shouldn't be teaching anything. Furthermore, I feel that asking the tutee who is learning about bird of prey husbandry to clean a housing as a teaching exercise is fair and guided. However, to ask them to rake out an entire block of muses every day while claiming it falls under the course parameters because the instructor/owner would rather not do it themselves is taking an insulting liberty - especially when the tutee is paying £450.

Overall the Wales Hawking Centre is a poor quality, poor excuse for a tourist attraction. There are plenty of other bird of prey centers across the UK of which are ten times better in terms of quality, cleanliness, facilities and range of species; but AVOID THIS PLACE AT ALL COSTS!

Good Points: There were none.

Bad Points: First impressions of the Welsh Hawking Centre when we arrived was it looked like a run down farm yard. When we started seeing the birds I was very shocked in the disgusting conditions most of them were kept in. Some birds were tethered inside small and dirty enclosers while others that weren't tethered lived in dirty and dilapidated pens. They were small, dull and cold looking. Most enclosers were covered in poo and smelt. The Owl pens were the worst. The floors were littered in poo and there was dead rotting chicks left to attract flies. One owl I was very concerned about was sitting on a dirty floor with dead chicks around him. He was dirty and had flies on him.

We didn't stay long but took photos as evidence and I have since contacted the RSPCA.

MAIN POINTS

The good:

- The opportunity to see an average (not great) variety of different raptor (birds of prey) species ranging from tiny owls to a couple of large eagles and vultures for a fair price of £5.

The bad:

- Absolutely awful facilities for both the birds and visitors (notes about the 'cafe' and toliets are documented accurately in previous reviews); the place looks like a run-down farm yard with many of the enclosures in desparate need of cleaning and repair (I felt forlorn for the birds).

- Many of the birds are off display to the public for various purposes (i.e. breeding) which is fair enough, but ultimately no good for the paying visitor.

I attended a £450 five-day Lantra course in falconry at this facility with an instructor called Griff. Although friendly and mildly informative, the quality of the tutition was poor. Most of the content I learnt was due to textbooks which were dumped on me as a teaching substitute while Griff went off to do something more important (like slope off and have a cigarette and a cup-of coffee or go on 'Facebook') while I was filling out sections of the course workbook. As well as this, I was informed that we would be handling birds from the afternoon of day 2 (i.e. Tuesday).In the end the only meaningful time I actually got with a bird was briefly on the afternoon of day 3 (i.e. Thursday) and for the actual exam on the afternoon of day 4 (i.e. Friday). Griff also frequently lost his patience during the limited practical exercises we did (making no effort to conceal it) which was completely inappropriate - teaching requires patience as no tutee is an expert and if you can't appreciate this you shouldn't be teaching anything. Furthermore, I feel that asking the tutee who is learning about bird of prey husbandry to clean a housing as a teaching exercise is fair and guided. However, to ask them to rake out an entire block of muses every day while claiming it falls under the course parameters because the instructor/owner (i.e. Griff) can't be bothered to do it themselves is taking an insulting liberty - especially when the tutee is paying £450.

Overall the Wales Hawking Centre is a poor quality, poor excuse for a tourist attraction. There are pleanty of other bird of prey centers across the UK (i.e. The International Centre for Birds of Prey in Gloucestershire and Raptor World in Perthshire) of which are ten times better in terms of quality, cleanliness, facilities and range of species. BUT AVOID THE WELSH HAWKING CENTRE AT ALL COSTS!

Avoid this place like the plague!I'd have given no stars for this review, but you're not allowed.

The birds are kept in dirty, rotting enclosures, full of nettles and half eaten chicks. The droppings look like they have not been cleaned up for a long time and the stink emminating from the cages covers the whole of the park.

The day we were there, no birds were being flown due to someone 'calling

in sick' but I find myself wondering when the last time they were flow was.

There were 3 families wondering round the weed strewn paths, looking bemused, while chickens and turkeys hopped over the rotting fences, to poo in the falling down and rotten playground, that really should have been closed.

I would not allow my son to go on anything there.

If you fancied a cup of tea or something to eat, the cafe was ripped to shreds inside and full of rubbish and old sofas?? It looked like it had not be functional for years, yet it was still open, with no sign on the door explaining the state it was in.

Do not use the loos, use a bush instead, it will be better for your health.

Gutted I didnt read the last review. The facilities here are terrible - especially the toilets - I'd rather go in a bush!. The whole place is run down and rotting away. The "security fences" were rotten and had nasty rusty nails poking out - not good for an 18mth old! The play area was beginning to rot away and I did not even want to venture into the cafe as the rest of the place said it all. Birds were lovely but their cages rotting and nettles everywhere. I really hope someone somewhere gives them some funding to stop this place rotting away so the birds can still be look after.

Terrible attraction. No organisation, messy appearance to the entire place. Awful, uninformative and messy signs for the animals that were poorly written and many enclosures had no signs at all. Geese seemed to be the main attraction and seemed set on attacking all the visitors. Dirty toilets, awfull enclosures. the place needs a jolly good makeover - the paths and fences were messy and there were stinging nettles everywhere. The enclosures were bare and filled with weeds and chick remains. The flying display was ok, they showed us two birds and we could take photos of them. If you go there, then plan somewhere else to go afterwards because it is not the kind of place you can stay all day - we stayed for only an hour and that includes the time spent watching the flying display. Not very good value for money.

Don't go if you or your kids are squeemish about seeing dead day old chicks being fed to the birds and their remains lying about all day afterwards. Having said that good for photographers as the birds are taken out and tethered in the open all day. Flying display always very good and again good photo opportunity. Pity the cafe never seems to be open when we visit anymore. Would attract more visitors and keep them there if it was. Horses and rabbits and guinea pigs add to the attraction. Plenty of free parking right outside gates. Toilets a bit primitive - OK if you don't mine the odd spider or moth!

Birds seem healthy and happy - which is the main thing. Small playpark for younger kids.