Open 7 days a week – no need to book.

The National Centre for Birds of Prey in Helmsley is a great day out in Yorkshire

We are open 7 days a week from 10am 10th February 2024.

The National Centre for Birds of Prey (NCBP) is a new visitor attraction situated at the magnificent Duncombe Park estate (click here for a map of the parkland walks) in Helmsley. Set within the world famous North York Moors National Park.

The Owl House Cafe  is set within our grounds and serves a variety of locally sourced snacks, hot and cold meals – as well as fresh coffee and Yorkshire Tea. All the cakes are made on the premises – go on, treat yourself 😀

We are open to visitors 7 days a week (including Sundays and Bank Holidays) from 10am. We’re open every day from 19th February until 31st October. So we are open today, tomorrow, at the weekends and on Bank Holidays too!

Many of the birds take to the skies in our spectacular flying demonstrations or are part of important breeding projects. From the tiny terrestrial Burrowing Owl to the mighty and majestic Steller’s Sea Eagle the National Centre for Birds of Prey houses the largest collection of birds of prey in the north of England.

We have a free ink stamp trail and a free word search/colouring in sheet for children, in addition you can take a stroll in the stunning 300 acres of woodland and parkland of Duncombe Park surrounding the centre.

Allow a good 2-3 hours to see everything, but we stayed all day. On entry you are issued with a wristband, this means you can leave the centre and re-enter as often as you wish. So you can walk in the parkland or pop to Helmsley between demos.

The Owl House Cafe is open every day for home baked cakes, drinks, snacks and meals. Everything is freshly made on the premises using (as far as possible!) locally sourced Yorkshire produce.

We have full disabled access throughout the site and dedicated disabled toilet facilities. Our paths are all compacted fine gravel. There are no steps anywhere on the site, furthermore the only ramps are into the entrance area/shop and into the cafe.

Dogs

We are unable to allow dogs within the centre grounds. However admission to the centre also includes admission into the surrounding parkland of Duncombe Park and that is great for dog walking. Click here for a parkland map.

International Centre for Birds of Prey

Please note that until recently we were known as the “International Centre for Birds of Prey, Duncombe (ICBP)”. The only thing we’ve changed is our name. We’re the same, the staff and directors are the same, and the place is the same!

Connect with the National Centre for Birds of Prey online!

Even in poor weather it was a good visit with the flying display being a real highlight. Knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Really good sign information on each aviary explaining a large amount of interesting information. We’ve been before but brought a group of friends who were first timers and had a great time” Andrew Rogerson 

We had a fantastic day here. The hawk walk is highly recommended, you get close contact with a hawk and it is very educational. The centre is great too, the demonstrations are very good and you get to see the birds in all their glory in a huge arena. Very good.” Sophie Louise 

 

“The best day EVER!”, said my 6yr old son!” A fabulous day out. The flying demonstrations were lovely and the guys who led them seemed really relaxed and happy with their roles and very knowledgeable. They were happy to chat to both my children and answer any questions. The birds were brill!” Alice W

Duncombe Park, home of National Centre for Birds of Prey
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