An absolutely amazing experience. I'm surprised more people don't know about this place. The birds and animals are all in pristine condition. The staff are so passionate and knowledgeable. It's a great place for all ages. The evening owl experience is superb in the summer. When they fly all the birds of prey together during day visits it is so emotional, I've never seen anything like it. They promote conservation in an interesting and informative way. I'm not one for leaving reviews unless I feel strongly, so you really need to visit.

So glad to have found this place. Absolutely worth to pay for a visit. Heartfelt appreciated to all friendly and knowledgeable staffs for preparing the birds shows as well as to all the lovely birds. All shows are fantastic. Clean environment without stinky smells even there are many birds. What an amazing experience!

We had a morning ferret, owl and meerkat experience. It was the best present I have ever been given. We got let in before the place opened and got to explore. The staff members who did our experience were amazing. They answered all of our questions and had so much knowledge. We got to meet a retired owl called Ernie. He was a lovely first bird because he was very chill and loved a stroke. There was no pressure to do anything, you could do it at your own pace. We then got to fly an owl between the two of us before moving onto the ferrets. The ferret was very sweet but it was out in an open area so we was a little scared of accidentally letting go of the ferret with so many predators on-site. The meerkats was our favourite. It was a one of a kind experience. The meerkats can and sat on our laps whilst we fed them. We timed it perfectly to watch a few flight shows afterwards. I would 100% recommend this place. They are so popular currently that there is about a 3-4 month waiting time for weekend experiences. Definitely ring up about availability before buying this as a gift. Having said that it would be worth the wait.

I cannot recommend this place enough - we decided to spend the day here before visiting the Harry Potter forest, we're not local so wanted to make a day of it. The facility is excellent, there are tons of cool birds to see as well as meerkats and goats. The shows were incredibly entertaining and informative, the staff were super friendly and clearly very passionate and knowledgeable about their birds. The centre is very easy to find just off a main road with tons of parking available. The team also do a great job of raising awareness for more vulnerable birds, with the proceeds of several gift shop items going direct to a vulture charity. If you want a fun and informative day out for the family then give this place a go!

We booked an hour experience for my Dad and ended up taking our family ( 10 in total ) and what a great day out we all had! We saw the 2 flying shows and the vulture talk which was very interesting and changed our minds about the plight of the these vulnerable birds. The flying shows were brilliant and the Birds of Prey experience was amazing and our host Megan was brilliant! All the staff were excellent and informative and the prices are very reasonable. I would highly recommend Gauntlet to anyone, even if you’re not a bird person you will be after a day out here!

This place is amazing! The variety of birds is impressive. The staff are so knowledgeable, able to answer any questions, even the random ones my 9 year old can come up with! 🤣 The vulture feeding and the meet and greets are brilliant but nothing can top the flying display at the end of the day. With fly pasts so close that you can feel the wind on your face from the wings as they fly past!! And the show concluded with almost 30 birds flying free! What an unbelievable sight! Thank you so much for a fantastic day out!

Without a doubt, one of the best birds of prey centres in the UK! Pay a visit and make sure to attend the shows - they're absolutely brilliant. The keepers are so passionate about the care and welfare of the birds and do a lot for conservation. Highly recommend paying them a visit.

I bought the VIP 1hr Owl experience as a present in November and with great accommodating and attentive support managed to arrange a visit in January during the closed period. Despite poor weather the staff were amazing, friendly and informative. They clearly love what they do. The Owls gave us a great display and all shared their own personalities. We were allowed to explore afterwards and were surprised by the size and there are a few other animals too. Sorry to the goats who ran out thinking we were bringing lunch. Great experience and memories and we are looking forward to the full reopening to see some shows and consider some of the other innovative experiences too.

Been here a few times now and my whole family love the place . The staff are super friendly and very knowledgeable about all the birds at the centre. They have flying displays and meet and greet sessions at no extra cost and they also have a seating area where you can eat and drink either your own picnic or buy from the very reasonably priced on site shop. All the birds are well looked after and you can see the love all the staff have for them . They also support important conservation work in Africa and it feels good to be able to in some small way help with this by paying for visits to this genuinely lovely place . I would recommend this place to anyone and look forward to my next visit

Had such a fab time. The staff were brilliant, couldn't have been more enthusiastic. We learnt so much about how precious these birds are to our eco- system. Our six year old fell in love with one of the eagles and will hopefully have a better understanding of the need to protect them. He wants a job there when he's big!

Great day out with the kids. Very knowledgeable and passionate staff. You don't want to miss any of the displays, and especially not the last one. So unique, I've never seen anything like it before.

Absolutely 💞 💯 brilliant. We loved it. Exceeded our expectations by miles. The family team were so knowledgeable and the bonds that they have created with those birds is incredible. The conservation work that also goes on alongside the fact that the premises are in Knutsford is awesome. We joined up as annual members as a result of such a great day out where we learnt loads and hope we can help contribute to saving vultures and all birds of prey.

Went on 25th November for my birthday. Freezing weather but that didn’t matter as the warm welcome of the staff made it a lot better. The lady who was working in the cafe whose family owned the place whose name I didn’t get was very helpful and made you feel like you were very welcome. The falconry talk was very in depth as well as the meet and greet with a few of the animals after. Dillan who was a new member of staff was brilliant. We can’t wait to be back. Food at the cafe was lovely (nicest ham and cheese panini I’ve had)

My mam and I visited for a photography day they were hosting on Saturday 19 March 2022. The park itself is a quiet space with plenty of space away from the main road. There are a ton of different birds of prey there. You can see they are looked after very well. The members of staff are incredibly friendly and informative, and for each bird they gave a rundown of their names and how they behave. Their control of the birds was great, and you can tell the animals have full trust in the staff members. Overall it was a really informative day where we were able to get some amazing photos. Sending a huge thanks to the members of staff who made the experience possible!

The centre has signage reminding people to stay 2m apart - a condition, of course, of being permitted to open. Unfortunately the staff there don't try to enforce this policy. When one customer refused to maintain distancing, telling others they should stay at home if they're concerned, and threatened to punch people, the staff didn't intervene - so I left. My suggestion is: if you're concerned about Covid and/or violence take this customer's advice and stay at home. The signage is for show and the staff won't help.

When I visited, another customer refused to maintain social distancing, loudly telling everyone with earshot that if they felt uncomfortable with his proximity they should stay at home. That other customer also threatened others with violence. No members of staff intervened. I left. The person responding here representing Gauntlet has said - in reply to *someone else* pointing out that social distancing is not enforced - that their remarks don't chime with other reviews. Well they do. Mine. Gauntlet was irresponsible when I visited, others have clearly felt the same about their attitude to social distancing, and these voices are being ignored by the Gauntlet's management. For that reason I have now made a complaint to the local police, whose job it is to investigate and enforce the law when a business decide it's too inconvenient for them to comply with their legal obligations.

Excellent conservation centre for birds of prey. Saw 3 shows and the finale was spectacular. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. Wear your waterproofs in case it rains although there are umbrellas you can borrow. If the weather is really bad they do the shows indoors but we were lucky.

Smaller than some bird of prey centres but a great place to visit. A good play area for kids and the staff are very passionate about caring for these wonderful birds of prey!

We went last Saturday, with our two grand children, aged 9 +11. We all had an absolutely fantastic day. The handlers were so informative about all the birds, and the history, and present day plight of Vultures in the wild was described in a caring manner. If you do go, whatever you do, don't miss the 3pm flying display, it was awesome. The kids fed the goats, and really enjoyed the meerkat's too.

Not a very big set up but a good selection of birds. Staff very well knowledgeable about the birds and attached to certain birds. Seeing most of the birds flying around freely was really nice but if you are there just about lunchtime you have a long wait to see them. There is a play area for children and a small cafe. You can go away and return if you want as long as you keep your tickets. Parking is free.

We visited for the first time to take part in the Ultimate Eagle Experience. What a fantastic day! Sam was our wonderful guide, and we saw so many beautiful birds. Plenty of time to get to know each of them, fly them, and learn about them. A tour of the centre and a chance to ask lots of questions. A good lunch, coffee, and opportunity to take part in one of the days many awesome flying displays. It was a sunny day but also very windy, which some of the birds don't like. However, Sam swapped a few birds around, and this meant we also got to see the indoor flying arena and meet and fly hawks & vultures alongside the eagles. The full day absolutely flew past 😁 We're already thinking about coming back for the owl experience and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Amazing! 10/10 They still fly birds and do talks even when barely anyone is present. Practically got a talk about vultures with just my family and another couple (6 of us) Some places would cancel a show if not enough people show up. But these guys don't which is great! The say they do a big fly with 25 to 30 birds at the 3pm talk but I only counted 12 birds. Fair enough because their was only 15 people present for that show and its probably not worth the effort bringing all the birds out. One of their pelicans went flying off and was missing for like 20 minutes which was funny. He turned up at the beginning of the next show on a bench next to me. If you think it's cruel to keep birds in cages and that they're being mistreated then you're wrong. Most of the birds here were hand reared by the workers. They have multiple chances to fly off but they don't because they get good food. Saw all the birds, met their random ferret. The only bird that is kinda off limits is their stunning Secretary bird who is still in training. Also; ✨️SAVE THE VULTURES AND BUY A WRISTBAND✨️ (they're only a quid each)

My daughter had a private animal encounter, with Oscar the ferret/polecat & with a Tawny Owl & a Long eared Owl & 2 Meerkats Dave & Denise. It was the most amazing experience to hold, stroke, cuddle & play with such beautiful animals, Laura our expert was amazing with the animals & my daughter. We stayed to watch the bird flying display at 3pm, which was breathtaking & emotional. It is an incredible place, that you just have to visit, we will be going many times in the future.

What an absolutely fantastic place this is. We arrived at 10:15 and didn’t leave till 15:30. The staff are so helpful and more importantly knowledgeable and it obvious they love the birds. We had a couple of one to one sessions with a good selection of owls, eagles and even meerkats!! Absolutely loved this place and right on my doorstep!

Superb centre with really friendly and knowledgeable staff. We took our Scout group for a tour and show and we were all riveted for the full hour... and could have spent much longer listening to details of the birds and watching the display. It was pitched perfectly. Highly recommended.

Loved it, we could have spent the whole day there. Shows was great, birds were up close and very knowledgeable. I have already recommended and will vist again. Price was fantastic too. I was really impressed with how many birds were brought out. Oh and the Polecat 😁❤️. Fell in love with Maverick the Brown vulture.

We booked a half day falconry experience for our boys and they (and we) were over the moon with our experience!!! My partner went general admission to watch (and take photos of us!) and even still got a really close experience with the birds. If you book an experience, be prepared that they are really popular and we had to book 6 months in advance, but the wait was well worth it. Highly recommended!

Visited twice now for different experiences and really enjoyed both occasions. Staff are great and give very informative talks and plenty of different birds to get up close to 👍 looking forward to my next visit.

First time visit, and i was gobsmacked. Never expected this place to be like this, beyond my expectations. Always wanted to come here despite living so far away. im glad that i made the trip. All the birds were amazing and well kept, the birds were pristine and very healthy looking, as well loved by all. The displays were magnificent and the final display was out of this world by camera couldnt keep up. The staff were very polite, helpful and welcoming. In addition loved the birds very much and very knowledgeable about every bird in the park. Great group of staff and value to the company. The centre welcomes all ages and families too, plenty to see and there is a small cafe within to purchase a variety of things like food and drink at reasonable prices.

Cannot recommend this place enough! Absolutely fascinating experience and I cannot wait to come back. The shows/talks are amazing and well worth a view.

Amazing place. Highly recommended and would definitely go again. Amazing staff & great variety of birds

This place is amazing lots of interesting birds the shows they put on introducing the birds are amazing and funny, this place is great for going with young ones and needs your support for the good cause there doing. It has a on site cafe which sells sandwiches snacks and hot and cold drinks.

Brilliant experience. Very informative shows and great fun. Fantastic for kids and adults. The bird handlers are all very knowledgeable and fun to watch. Good play area including sand pit and lots of birds to see. However the shows are definitely the best bit.

A nice bird sanctuary to visit with several events from midday onwards. Learnt a lot, got to meet and greet some of the birds too! They do different experience sessions/days also which I'd recommend. As it's a fairly small sanctuary you won't need to be there from opening right up until closing, 4-5 hours at most. It was quiet when we went as it wasn't during school holidays, only about 12-15 people which made it much nicer for viewing the birds and the meet and greet event. They get up to 150 people in season. Recommend getting there around 11.30 before the first two events at 12 and 12.30. Have lunch then before the events at 2 and 3 and wrap up your visit then. If you can, make a donation too! Lot of birds to look after and the upkeep of the venue itself.

Not been here for years. Lovely to return and see old favourites and new feathered faces 😀 the flight displays are amazing and so informative. Great family day put now including the new play area.

Magical and utterly amazing place. Their message is clear, save these wild birds and our world will be better. Highly recommend everyone who loves birds goes to experience this place.

It's a brilliant day out. The staff are knowledgeable, enthusiastic and helpful. They put on a great show too with the birds. Definitely worth a visit or ten😁

Excellent time would highly recommend. The staff were very friendly, the displays are great. The staff are very informative and you could tell they are very passionate about the birds. Especially the owner when he was talking about the birds

Came here for today with a family member who had the owl experience. The staff were fantastic and very knowledgeable. There is an amazing variety of birds of prey. All of which have great little personalities! Special mention to the staff member who did the experience at 10:30 can't remember their name!

Had a really really good time! There were loads of amazing birds and even some other animals like goats (take cash to buy goat food it's cash only for that - everything else you can buy on card), pole cats and a tortoise. Great meet the animals section. Staff very knowledgeable, friendly and obviously passionate about the animals.

We had a fantastic afternoon. It was filled with lots of information and facts about the birds from the staff who absolutely adore each and every one of them (Laura was great, funny and informative) It is a small place but there is lots going on with regular demonstrations and talks, with time in-between to visit all of the fantastic birds. The last demonstration of the day was amazing, WOW! definitely worth a visit.

Brilliant day out, perfect for families. You can get really close to see the birds and the flying displays are impressive. Also love the conservation work Gauntlet staff are involved in. I quite liked vultures before but now I love them and have total respect for them and the role they play in the food chain & balance of nature.

Excellant day out not to expensive bird shows most see especially the 3pm show it was amazing We all need to save the vultures

Absolutely fantastic 🦅

Excellent flying displays well worth visits

Amazing little centre with incredible bird displays

Absolutely brilliant experience

Amazing place, always love my visits here, and love their passion for what they do and their conservation effots!

Brilliant place took my 15 month old, something different. Kids Play area was a bonus and feeding the goats too which we didn't expect. Lovely friendly staff especially the gardener/maintenance man

The birds seem well looked after, the displays where pretty good.

Great little park, amazing experience days.

Best day out !

Brilliant place

It was a lovely day out, great bird displays and a little play area for children, also easy enough to follow the arrows to keep social distancing. I would have given 5 stars but the young lad doing the talk about vultures on the 12:30 display could possibly look at his script. Some of his descriptions were a little inappropriate for children. He was saying things along the lines of; The poachers shoot the birds so we want the police to shoot and kill the poachers etc. Could he just say, bring the poachers to justice? Just a thought anyway. Very clean and stunning birds of prey. I would return.

Great day out for the kids they loved it. Very informative and can tell the staff really love their animals ❤️

Really enjoyed seeing the birds, they had a wide range and the handling experience was amazing. The trainer was very knowledgeable too! Learnt some interesting stuff and had a blast doing it.

Fantastic birds of prey centre, doing a great job with conservation, especially with vultures. The flying displays are the best I've seen in the country! The 3pm show is always spectacular. It's one of those places where you can't help but smile 😁

Don't be put off by the initual appearance of the venue, the centre is all about the conservation and education and the staff are friendly and incredibly knowledgeable about the birds they look after. The shows are a lot of fun and you get chance to be really close to some magnificent creatures. We will certainly visit again in better weather but even in the rain it was good.

I thought the place was really amazing, there was so much stuff to do and see. The birds were fantastic. I though the staff were very knowledgable and entertaining, and clearly enjoyed working with the animals. We also really liked how the staff were raising awareness about animal conservation. Really great for families. And just an all round great place.

Brilliant. The shows are awesome. You can tell they are passionate about helping save these birds in their natural habitat. Would definitely recommend.

This is a great place for an exciting and different experience. A wide variety of Birds lovingly cared for and a great sight in the displays. For added excitement take one of the experience options (available as a gift option) and get up close and personal with owls, vultures and hawks. Highly recommended.

Wonderful places to see birds of pray up close. Make sure you watch all the birds talks /shows. Especially the one at 3pm.

The place is not very big which is sort of good as it is not too commercialised. The entry fee might seem a little high considering the size but it is worth it for the 4 bird talks throughout the day so get there before noon. There are plenty of birds to see quite up close and some meerkats which are cute. There is food that you can buy, a sandwich meal deal is £5 and you can come out of the place back to your car anytime, nice grassy area just outside for a picnic if the weather is good. There is a children's play area which we didn't use but looked fun to burn off some steam.

Fantastic day of bird flights and edutainment

Brilliant for kids, relatively inexpensive, good (albeit small) display of birds and interesting talks by the keeps

Educational and insightful. Fantastic day out.

My son done the 2 day falconers club. He had an amazing experience. Social distancing was good, particularly during the displays. Staff very accommodating and eager to please. Many thanks

Great bird displays, very informative, will definitely visit again.

Great price, very informative and interesting with friendly staff. Brilliant day out and lots of cute items in the gift shop

Friendly, well organised, interesting. Despite awful weather, the staff did everything they could to make sure we saw some flying displays whilst keeping the birds safe.

Amazing educational place doing great things for the birds there it was also great for photos so make sure you take a camera or phone. Would definitely go again and it was reasonably priced.

Excellent day out would recommend.

Fantastic flying show at end of the day, will definitely come again

we had a fantastic day, so many beautiful birds and we learned so much on the way, the flying demos were really enjoyable. prices were very reasonable for tickets and for the cafe, friendly staff and great use of the space for social distancing, benches one per family for the shows and lots of hand sanitising stations, toilets were lovely and clean too. we almost felt like we were having a normal day out ☺️ definitely going back and would highly recommend for a great day out and to support the great work they do

Brilliant day out, fantastic birds of prey and flying. Get away from the tv and get here. Lil area for kids to play and lil cafe for the adults. Amazing highly recommended

Absolutely amazing.

Excellent flying displays

Great variety of birds and informative staff. Lovely day out.

Great experience. The displays are amazing! You can tell all the staff love what they do. Fantastic place and would recommend for anyone to go 👍

Brilliant day... Stay until 3pm to see them release up to 30 birds, it spectacular!

Done the experiences there multiple times. Would recommend to anyone.

No social distancing enforced. Avoid.

Fantastic day out. We did the Meerkat, ferret and owl experience, having 1-2-1 time with the animals was so special.

Fantastic centre with wonderful staff and lovely birds. My friend and I booked the Simply Owls experience. We were warned that the weather was atrocious so we were given the option of having it indoors or rescheduling. We went ahead, and it was a fantastic day. The staff were super friendly and welcoming, and we learned so much. The centre has a huge range of birds, and for our experience we met several different owls and got to fly / hold them while getting great info about them all. The staff all clearly care so much about the animals, which was lovely. We're already looking forward to going back soon.