National Centre for Birds of Prey

A birds of prey centre is worth the drive for the flying, and this one has organised itself around that better than most. There are three demonstrations a day, at 11.30am, 2pm and 4.15pm, and the centre states plainly that they run every day whatever the weather, because it has three separate flying areas and one of them is indoors.

That last detail is what separates it from the alternatives. Poor weather at an outdoor-only centre can cost you the whole reason for coming. Here a windy day moves the flying to a sheltered woodland area and heavy rain moves it inside to Christmas Tree Cottage.

The setting helps too. The centre sits in the grounds of Duncombe Park on the edge of Helmsley, with the main flying ground looking out over parkland in front of the house, seating, picnic tables and grass. It opened here in March 2013, founded by Charlie Heap, with birds brought up from the International Centre for Birds of Prey in Gloucestershire.

East on the A170 over Sutton Bank and on to Helmsley, about 14 miles and 25 to 30 minutes. The centre is in Duncombe Park, YO62 5EB, two minutes from the middle of Helmsley by car or a ten-minute walk through the parkland if you have parked in the town.

The centre's own sat nav warning is worth repeating: make sure your route brings you via Helmsley, because some systems send drivers down farm tracks, and if you reach a locked gate you have gone the wrong way.

Parking on site is free, though note that Duncombe Park reserves its car park for people actually visiting the terraces or the bird centre.

Time the visit around a display and treat everything else as filling in between. Get to the flying ground fifteen minutes early for a decent spot, since seating is limited and the birds do not wait.

Between flights, walk the aviaries. There are more than 40 of them, holding falcons, hawks, buzzards, eagles and owls, and the staff are around to answer questions. The Owl House Cafe is open 10am to 4pm and is a proper cafe rather than a kiosk, making its food in-house.

If you want to handle a bird, book an experience in advance. The Hawk Hike is the accessible one at 40 per person: about an hour, roughly a mile over uneven ground, walking a Harris hawk in a group of about four, and it runs after the demonstrations rather than clashing with them.

The three-a-day schedule and the indoor option, which together mean this is the birds of prey visit you can commit to in advance without watching the forecast.

The experiences are more substantial than the usual bird-on-a-glove photograph. The owl and raptor experiences run about three hours from 10am to 1pm and include flying trained birds to the glove, handling several, a guided tour of the aviaries and a demonstration. Both have a minimum age of 10, and children have to be with an adult who is also taking part.

In winter, when the main season is over, owl evenings run on selected Friday and Saturday nights: mulled wine, a lantern-lit tour of the aviaries, small owls flying indoors, a two-course meal in the cafe, and large owls flying free in torchlit woodland. They are capped at 40 people, cost 45, and are booked by phone.

Aim for the 11.30am flight and stay for the 2pm, with lunch in the Owl House Cafe between the two. That is the shape of visit the timetable is built for, and it gets you home to Thirsk in good time.

Check the season dates by phone before a February or November trip. The centre advertises 10 February to 3 November but prints no year against those dates, and it is the one piece of information on the site most likely to be carried over from a previous year. Its closing time is not published either, only the 4.30pm last entry.

Leave the dog at home, or plan to hand a guide dog to staff at the door. Dress for standing still outdoors, which is colder than walking about, and if anyone in the party would struggle with the one steep slope up to an aviary block, ask about the off-road wheelchair, which is free to borrow on a first come first served basis.