The Kent Owl Academy

We recently got married at Gosfield Hall and had the pleasure of Lansell the tawny owl being our ring bearer! During the booking process we were in contact with Charlotte, who was very friendly and helpful. About two weeks before the wedding, we visited Kent Owl Academy for a practice session. We were welcomed by head keeper Ed and Jonathan, with whom we first discussed the details of the day, after which we were introduced to Lansell. My now husband then received a detailed explanation of how the process would work and got to try numerous flights with Lansell until he felt confident and familiar with the process. During our visit, you could really tell that the team love what they do, and their knowledge and passion for the birds shone through. Other than the venue, the registrar and our photographer and videographer, no one knew about our owl ring bearer. Lansell was snuck in about an hour before the ceremony, and a short practice session just before the ceremony followed. Lansell was then hidden away. Our ceremony began, and at the point where the registrar started speaking about the rings and announced a special guest, Lansell was brought back out to deliver them. It was magical to hear the wave of surprise and awe from our guests as they watched him fly in with the rings, deliver them, and return to his handler. Afterwards, Lansell stayed for a brief photoshoot, which gave us some of our favourite pictures of the day. Lansell was the talk of the day and probably the most memorable moment for many of our guests. As big animal lovers, having him there really made the day feel like “us” and added a special touch. We can’t thank the Kent Owl Academy team enough for travelling all the way to Essex and for being part of our special day. Truly a highlight of our wedding!

· via Google

Was bought a photography experience here for my birthday and I couldn't recommend it more. Had an absolutely fantastic day. Charlotte and team were amazing throughout, extremely knowledgeable and the birds are obviously very well loved and looked after. Definitely a highlight of my year.

· via Google

Would highly recommend the owl and meerkat experience for a fun and educational day out. The owls are all so beautiful and you can tell how well cared for they are, and the meerkats are so entertaining! Johnny, Erin and Sean were all so friendly and keen to share as much knowledge as possible. We will definitely be making a trip back.

· via Google

An amazing experience for my mums funeral sevice. I thought it would be impossible to fulfill my mums request to have Owls flying at her funeral but after seeing the Kent Owl Academy website I found Charlotte and her team provided just this experience for memorials and funerals. They were amazing at fitting in with our requests. We had a lovley southern white faced owl and a kestrel to greet us all on arriving at the service. We then had a lovely uplifting experience of a barn owl flying demonstration after which gave all our guests time to reflect. The barn owl posed for a photo by guests and the flowers and then a small handling experience for the kids (and adults!) Which brought some smiles back on faces. Thank you so much for giving us all some nice memories. My mum would have loved!

· via Google