Falconry and Bourton on the Water

The immediate entertainment on return to Cats Abbey was the Australia v England match. (Due to England changing the arrangements we could not buy Australian pool matches as a block as has occurred in earlier RWCs so none us were able to get tickets for the game. We did invite some of the locals into Cats Abbey to encourage banter which worked really well. Anticipation before the match

included a three generation cuddle.

And what a result Australia 33 England 13. With Wales beating England the previous week this meant this was the first time a host country had not get through to the knock out rounds. Sooo sad….

Cats Abbey is in the middle of so many delightful villages. One of the best know is Bourton on the Water. The river through the town is crossed by many simple stone bridges the views of which were enhanced by the Autumnal colours.

Thanks to being later in the year the visitor numbers were at pleasant levels.

One of the attractions was a model village of Bourton on the Water. Started in 1934 it is heritage listed and in contrast to the colourful Leggo land (see September blog) the buildings are all built of local stone suitably scaled. As the model is of the village there is a model village within the model …..etc.

The model church has stained glass windows which I photographed through a larger viewing window. The result was a little unexpected but at least there is proof that I am on this trip!

While the girls did some shopping it was time to burn off some energy with a game of tips. It was a good deal of fun and exhausting but the highlight was when Dad was “in” and went a little too hard close to the river. A quick choice had to be made whether to fall in headlong or try to walk on water. The latter was attempted but resulted in a walk in the water. At least three of us really enjoyed this experience.

Amongst the many nearby attractions was a bird of prey centre. There were more tha 100 birds and many are used in displays. With the fast moving birds I took over 1000 shots so quite a bit of culling was required.

One of the Falcons on display was specifically bred for Falconry and was a cross between a Gyr (large bird) and Saker (good hunter) Falcons.

The red kite is suitably named.

The Peregrine Falcon is a popular breed and this one really put on a great display albeit one of the smaller birds.

Meanwhile moving to one of the larger breeds this Bald Eagle was great to get up and personal with. We were instructed to hold our arm out and when the bird was settled bring your elbow in as they are pretty heavy. The key it to be steady

 Or you end up wearing an eagle hat. 

Against a green background they are magnificent.

As mentioned I have many shots of the birds that were in the shows but thought this series of Crystal the Snowy Owl captured many of the angles of flight that were on display.

 The range of the wing beat is much larger than I had appreciated.

 But gliding close to the ground at speed is the most spectacular.

Then of course the reward. Perhaps the least elegant aspect.

One of the popular ones with the children, as it is smaller, was the Vermiculated Owl which happily landed on their outstretched arms.

The key was to keep your arm straight and still. Not so easy when your instinct is to duck.

When it is done right the owl happily fed on the arm.

Close up they are quite striking.

One of the Peregrines had a wonderful time swooping in and out of the audience. My time to duck! 

Most of the birds have names. This is Guy who is a Bateleur Eagle from Africa in the Middle East (well he was actually born at the centre).

We enjoyed the afternoon dispay so much we stayed on for the last display of the day.

One of the targets of the larger birds (and us humans) are pheasant. The Cottswolds has a plentiful supply and we saw hundreds in a field on the way to visit the nearby Roman ruins. They are colourful and look inviting.

We eventually bought pheasant stuffed with venison and red current jelly from a butcher in Stow for our evening meal. A new but really enjoyed experience for us all.

 

Meanwhile the ruins were also colourful thanks to some large mosaics. They are housed in a new building that has been built over the top of them and viewing is from a suspended floor. The mosaics, and layout such as the latrines were a smaller version of what we had seen in Ephesus.

The children were supplied with a back pack of activities and equipment including magnifiers and containers for bugs. We also had our personal guide.