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Falconry at Lyrath Estate?
Is a group falconry experience or Hawk Walk included in the Tauck itinerary at Lyrath Estate during the Best of Ireland, Small Groups tour? We will be on this tour summer 2020 and did not see it on the advertised itinerary. I am aware that a more detailed version of the itinerary will be provided nearer to our departure date but don't want to miss the opportunity.
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We took this tour last month. At Lyrath Estate on day 13 we had an included activity; your choice of archery, falconry, or spa treatment. Maximum group size for falconry at Lyrath is 10. On day 8 falconry was also available at Ashford Castle with a maximum group size of 4 but this was not included. Cost at Ashford was 55 euros per person for a group of 4, more for a smaller group. All of us who did falconry had a great experience, regardless of venue.
Thank you, Wayside, that was exactly what I needed to know. We've booked the Hawk Walk at Ashford Castle at 3:00 pm on our second day there. The itinerary shows free time that afternoon. Do you recall whether you were back at Ashford by 3:00 pm?
My recollection is that the lake cruise got back around 3:30. Unless you want to skip the lake cruise a later time would be better. A few days before arrival at Ashford Castle our TD took names for those who wanted to do falconry at Ashford. Almost half our tour signed up. If you are having trouble arranging a later hawk walk it may be because they are reserved for Tauck.
We did that in 2017, it was a highlight of the trip!
During the older 2016 Small Group itinerary we had the opportunity for an included falconry activity at Mt. Juliet and again for a fee at Ashford Castle. It was one of the highlights of the trip. Everyone had a chance to launch and recover several times. We also had the opportunity to hold and pet a pair of beautiful owls- according to our falconer they like their foreheads petted:
Thank you all for your replies and your willingness to help. The Glenlivet treated us to a falconry experience in Scotland a few years ago and we're hooked for life! You've given me exactly the information I need to book our extra falconry time.
We did this trip in July 2019. The Falconry at Ashford Castle is far superior to the Falconry at Lyrath Estates. Hopefully, your trip goes to Ashford Castle. We actually booked it on our own months before the trip. As a result, and working with our TD, immediately after the cruise he had arranged for just the two of us to take an SUV directly to the Falconry School (which is actually a misnomer because all the birds there except one Falcon were Hawks) from the pier. Since we booked it on our own my wife and I got an incredible 90 minutes with the birds alone with the trainer. There were 4 others from the group who came later in the day after us and they raved about it. Many on the trip were hesitant to work with the birds but believe me they are well trained and they missed out on an incredible experience. After our experiences at Ashford Castle many booked the Falconry at Lyrath. My wife had the very large female bird Sonora and I got the smaller male named Sir Beckett. If you research both places on the web and all the write-ups you can certainly make an easy decision.
Thanks, Virginia Travelers. Based upon all the great responses on this thread we booked private falconry experiences at both Ashford and Lyrath. Tauck says we won't arrive back at the pier until nearly 4:00 pm, so had to go with 60 instead of 90 minutes at Ashford due to closing time of the Falconry School. We'll look for Sonora and Sir Beckett!