Northside Falconry

"Dear Tori, I wanted to write to you about my wonderful few days spent in Teesdale, where I had the pleasure of staying in the delightful "Connies Cottage", at North Side Farm Retreat.

I was thrilled to be introduced to you and David and hear about your birds of prey and it was wonderful to sign up for one of your 'Hawk Walks', something that I have always wanted to do. It was such a lovely day that I felt I wanted to write to you by way of thanks and to give you my impressions of our 'walk'.

I was asked to wear waterproof footwear and dark warm clothing in preparation for the walk but nothing could have prepared me for the experience of the 'Hawk Walk' with Frankie the Harris Hawk and Tori. This, for me, was the experience of a lifetime.  I was greeted in the morning by Tori. She was friendly and confident and soon made me feel at ease. She told me lots of interesting facts about the bird and then demonstrated how to hold Frankie on my gloved hand so that she got used to me.

We walked across the fields and as we went Tori explained again how to fly Frankie, how to handle and feed her and what some of her expressions meant. Tori was an excellent teacher and good fun, she allowed me to experience calling Frankie to me for food. We also walked along a tree lined route with Frankie soaring past between us so she could keep one step ahead of us and then sit high up in a tree ready to swoop down again. The bond between Tori and Frankie was amazing and she encouraged me to gently stroke Frankie's chest while she explained how she stored her food and how fast she could fly . Tori made me feel both comfortable and confident  - it was the most wonderful experience which I  thoroughly recommend to anyone.  A five star experience, Thank you Tori I will definitely be back."

Mrs Catherine Edmundson,East Sussex