The Falconers Quest at Warwick Castle

It was a bit of a last minute decision for us to watch The Falconers Quest show at Warwick Castle – none of us are particularly interested in birds, and in all honesty I didn’t have very high expectations of a show about birds. But, I was (mostly!) wrong.

Warwick Castle was pretty busy by the time we got to the Falconers Quest, so we were sat to the side of the main seating, more towards where you watch the Legend of the Trebuchet show. I think this had a bit of an impact, because it meant Bertie couldn’t properly see the intro or understand the story behind the spectacle of birds.

Bertie watched in awe, for a while, as birds swooped overhead, before, alas, became bored. I think Brett enjoyed this show the most out of all of us, he’s the one who took the photos! Sadly, there were some noisy and irritating youths from what I assume was a school trip, who tried to distract the birds from their show. Thankfully, staff intervened and the show could continue, but it was really disheartening to see people act in such a way, especially during a show that relies on naturally unpredictable creatures!

Regardless, Bertie was quite vocal about having had enough, so we headed out towards the Zog show (the next activity on our list!). However, we ran into a slight issue: the pathway to get through to the Zog seating area was cordoned off to create a safe flight path for the birds. It was also one of the busiest areas (presumably because others had attempted to do as we had), so we found ourselves boxed in under the direct flight paths.

It was at this point that Bertie revealed he was scared of the birds – really helpful when you can’t move away! So he and I crouched down while Brett enjoyed the exhilarating experience of eagles, owls, and the falcon flying inches from his head. I was actually really proud of how well Bertie handled the situation – it couldn’t have been an easy one for him to be trapped somewhere he felt anxious.

I’d really quite like to have seen a little more of The Falconers Quest for myself and experience the thrill of the birds flying so close because the parts I saw surpassed my (low) expectations. If we were to go again, Brett and I would probably take it in turns to watch the show on our own whilst the other took the kids to see something they’d enjoy more.

Read more about our trip to Warwick Castle here.