“Birds of prey are lazy… They fly for forty-five minutes a week.”
We learn this interesting fact while at the Falconry Centre at Robin Hill Country Park, at Newport on the Isle of Wight. Here we watch Dillon, a white eagle, flying majestically above the treetops. Apparently, they just fly to hunt when they’re hungry, so Dillon lives a pretty active life with his daily demonstrations. He was born during COVID and comes from Scotland, where he didn’t do what was required of him; he wasn’t really understood in the way that he is at Robin Hill, where Charlotte, his handler, is sensitive to his needs. He responds by doing what is asked of him. He’s got such massive, muscular, almost human legs, it’s no wonder he prefers to fly reduced hours, because it must take a lot of effort to get airborne!
Dillon is but one of many attractions at Robin Hill. As we’re only visiting for the day, we have to make sure we make the most of our time. Making our way over the 100m Canopy Sky Walk, in a landscape reminiscent of a rainforest, the children climb through the squirrel run. At the Bounce Pillow, we all enjoy a good jump, and the children play a game of tag while Caroline and I lie down for a bit. Running up hill to the Snake Slides allows for more steam to be let off – the little ones are really in their element. Nearby, we spy the toboggan run – having never been on one, we’re a bit apprehensive as to what lies ahead, but it doesn’t look frightening, so we queue and wait our turn. We each get our own toboggan, which is fitted with a lever in the middle – push it forward to go faster, and pull it towards you to slow down (always slow down before a bend, and then go faster through it). What fun! Henry (aged 9) sets off first, and he has the time of his life, wanting to do it again. We all follow behind, and survive!
Time for a quick bite to eat at The Ponds, where there are bees and damselflies hovering around the rhododendrons. “I want to go to Digger School,” announces Henry, “Come on.” So, off we all go to wait our turn. Henry (who gets to do this twice), Harriett (aged 14), and Heidi (aged 12), master operating the controls on these mini diggers. They’re all moving the cabin around, digging sand and having the time of their lives. It’s lovely to see their concentration.
We walk to the Glides indoor ice rink, where we have a go at skating, and as we begin to tire, the tractor ride allows us a chance to rest for a bit. We see a peacock and are introduced to Crocodile Creek. “Can we go on the boats here? Please. Can we?” the little blighters ask. So we do, and they each take a turn at steering. Fortunately, we avoid the delightful little ducklings.
Before we know it, the rides have finished and the park is closing, but not before one last trip to the Bounce Pillow. They do love this. We’ve had a great day, but need to return to visit the rest of the park. Afterwards, we head to the beach at Sandown, where the children lose themselves in yet more play.
Priority return travel with our car on the Red Funnel from Southampton to East Cowes makes life as easy as it can be. Red Funnel are thankfully very forgiving of late arrivals, we find. On our outbound journey, we get stuck in roadworks, which means we arrive at the port twenty minutes before departure rather than the requested thirty to forty minutes, so we fully expect to be turned away, but we’re not! This is really helpful and calms us all down. Then, when it comes to the return journey, we’re relaxing at the seaside and suddenly realise it’s past eight o’clock. We’re over the other side of the island, so get our skates on, but once again arrive with just twenty minutes until departure. And again, regardless of my profuse apologies, we are welcomed onto the nine o’clock crossing back to Southampton. So, once again, we can calm down. Thank you Red Funnel, you’re brilliant! The crossing takes around an hour, and it’s a very relaxing experience. On the outbound journey, Heidi and I visit both outside decks and enjoy the view of Southampton docks, the cruise liner, and the various tugs and tankers that are moored up. On the return journey we sit inside, and Henry and I fall asleep for a little while, which makes the journey go even quicker.
Before we know it, we’re all home, tucked up in our beds!
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