Terms & Conditions

Please read the following information carefully as these terms form the contract between you ( the purchaser / voucher / experience recipient) & Steven Charlton Falconry (Sussex Falconry). It is the responsibility of each customer to ensure they act in a safe manner & follow health & safety instructions at all times. Customers are also to be aware that these birds are wild animals. Our birds do not do "tricks" but merely mimic in captivity, their habits in the wild. Our experiences are very hands on & personal. This enables the customer/s to be in contact with each bird at a very personal level.

Experiences/Courses:
VIP One Day Introductory. One Day Introductory, Birds & Bows Day & Combo Experiences start at 10:00am & can conclude between 2 - 2:30pm. If a period is taken for lunch then the day will conclude later.

Junior Experience Days start at 11:00am & finish at approximately 1:30pm.
Field Day & Owl Experiences start at 11:00am & finish at approximately 2pm. Field Experiences may conclude later. Handling of the large Owls on the Owl Experience is for adults only (17yrs & over). Handling of these Owls requires a degree of physical fitness & strength & will be excluded from the experience if Sussex Falconry thinks there is any risk either to customer or bird.

VIP Bookings are "One to One" I.e. no unrelated persons will be booked on the same day.

Full Courses are usually held from 1st October - 31st March of any year. This is to accommodate the hunting element of the course. If a full course is held outside this period, then the hunting element will need to be completed at a later date. Full courses are not accredited by any educational body, as there is no reliable body that covers falconry.

The lower age limit for coming on a course is 16 years. If younger people wish to take part they can do so, but only if a parent also comes on the course as a paying participant. This is because we consider that younger children should not keep birds of prey or owls without parents being able to assist in the care & training. It is also illegal to sell a bird of prey to a minor.
(Alternative timings for experiences can be arranged I.e. morning or/& afternoon.)

Vouchers are valid for 12 months from date of purchase but have an expiry date for booking in the diary of 6 months. This means the vouchers MUST be booked in the diary within 6 months of purchase or a fee of £50.00 will be charged. If the voucher recipient books the date in the diary within the 6 month period and that booked date falls past the expiry date, there is no extra charge incurred.
Please wear warm comfortable clothing (dark colours) for all experiences & choose clothing that you don't mind becoming soiled. Sturdy shoes/boots are also advised especially during inclement weather. Arms should be covered at all times. Safety equipment will be made available & must be used, as indicated during the course of the day.

Due to the nature of Field Day & Combo Day Experiences, persons suffering from certain physical disabilities may not find this experience practical as it involves a fair amount of walking & navigating through woods & across fields. Customers need to be aware that if quarry is caught by the hawk/s it is NOT released.

Targets & Talons Experiences are governed under the Terms & Conditions of Toy Soldiers.

Personal, Accident & Property Insurance for Experiences:
This is to notify the purchaser that the voucher recipient is covered against personal accident & third party liability for the duration of the experience whilst at Fair Oak Farm. Customers are responsible for their own personal property. Insurance cover does not extend to customers personal vehicles. Insurance cover does not extend to Field Day & Combo Experiences for the part of the experience which is conducted in the countryside/fields/farms. Because of the nature of Field Day & Combo Experiences it will be with the agreed consent of the customer to participate in the field & that they accept they are responsible for their own safety, conduct, limitations & personal property. Steven Charlton/Sussex Falconry will not accept liability for personal injury or damage to personal property as a result of slips, falls, acts of nature (i.e. injuries caused by natural flora or fauna, negotiating barbed wire fences at inappropriate points, stepping into a concealed hole, falling in water, being struck by falling branches or wind swept debris or any other act outside the control of Steven Charlton/Sussex Falconry or their agents) whilst on Field/Combo Experiences.

Steven Charlton/Sussex Falconry is not responsible for the footwear/clothing chosen by the customer for these experiences, should they prove inadequate for the experience. In the event a customer wears totally inadequate clothing/footwear for Field/Combo experiences, the field side of the experience may be cancelled without refund or recourse, at the discretion of Steven Charlton Falconry/Sussex Falconry.    

Age, Height & Health Restrictions:
Minimum age is 12 years. 12 years to 16 are considered as "Junior". 17 years & above are considered as adult. Customers need to be a minimum of 1.2m in height & they must be in good health, reasonably fit & not suffer from any nervous disposition regarding birds. Steven Charlton Falconry/Sussex Falconry does NOT participate in rehabilitation of persons with bird/feather phobias. In the event any form of bird/feather phobia is identified on the day, the experience will be immediately terminated, without any form of refund. 

On Junior Experience Days the junior must be accompanied by an appropriate adult / guardian aged 18+. There is no extra charge for this.
If more than one adult / guardian wishes to attend with a junior, then an extra charge of £40.00 does apply for each extra person in attendance. 

Birds:
Birds are handled & flown depending on availability & prevailing weather conditions on the day & may not include all the species mentioned on the voucher. As these birds are wild animals, there is always a risk when working with them. Customers should be aware of this fact & accept that although every means will be made to reduce this risk to a minimum, that there is always a risk, however small.

Experience Bookings:
Once an experience is purchased, the onus is on the recipient to book their day within the expiry date period. We do NOT send reminders or follow up sold vouchers. It is advised that this is done as soon as is practicable. Once a booking has been made & the day allocated, the voucher/experience recipient is bound by these terms and conditions & is to complete the experience or forfeit / pay a re-booking fee (extension fee of £50.00) to re-book another day. Your day is unique & once a booking is made, we are unable to alter it (the booking should be treated the same as tickets for a sporting event or concert. It has to be realised, on that particular day) Guests are welcome to attend certain experiences with voucher recipients however there is a charge of £40.00 per each extra guest. A maximum of 3 guests are allowed to attend with the main voucher recipient to a maximum of 4 persons in total. If 2 persons have participating vouchers then the guests attending are restricted to 2. If 3 persons have participating vouchers then the guest attending is restricted to 1. In the event that Guests wish to participate in the handling & flying on the day booked by the main voucher recipient, the balance to obtain a full voucher can be settled on the day. Alternative Terms & Conditions apply to unrelated Group Bookings.

Complimentary Vouchers/Days: Days/Voucher/s that are given out as "complimentaries" by Sussex Falconry to charities, raffles or any other persons as a donation or "free" experience must be used on the day booked into the diary. If the recipient is unable to use the voucher on the day penned in the diary, or by the expiry date, for any reason, the voucher/s become void. If the voucher/s is still within its expiry date a fee of £70.00 will be charged to rebook the day. In the event that Sussex Falconry cancels the day, an alternative date will be arranged at no extra charge.

Please bring your voucher/s with you on the day.

Cancellations:
We require 28 days minimum notice from the date booked, for cancellations. In the event a booking is cancelled by the customer, a £50.00 extension fee will be charged to re-book the day, so long as the voucher is still valid. Extensions are NOT available for vouchers that have been allowed to expire. If for any reason we have to cancel your experience, we will inform you as soon as possible & do our very best to offer an alternative date at no extra charge.

Vouchers are not refundable under any circumstances.

Transfer of Vouchers:

Vouchers are transferable. In the event the person named on the voucher wishes to pass the voucher on, Sussex Falconry allows this. The transfer of any voucher must be made to the appropriate catagory i.e. a Junior Experience voucher cannot be transfered to an adult or a Field Day voucher transfered to a Junior etc.

We reserve the right to cancel, alter or amend any experience event, timings or content.
We reserve the right to discontinue the activity should it be deemed necessary.
We reserve the right to alter or change any part of the experience or product on offer without notice.
We reserve the right to cancel at short notice.

Weather Related Cancellations:
In the event of adverse weather or any other reason beyond our control, it may mean that the experience has to be cancelled & re-booked. In this instance the experience provider is unable to refund any travel / hotel expenses

or any other costs that have incurred due to the cancellation of the experience.

Images

Any images/photographs/videos of adults taken by Steven Charlton Falconry or his associates, of experiences persons &/or birds remain the sole property of Steven Charlton Falconry for use & distribution as Steven Charlton Falconry (Sussex Falconry) sees fit. Photographs may be used for future advertising on websites & future advertising materials. Consent will only be requested in the event images of juniors are to be used. 

Statutory Rights & Complaints:
These terms & conditions do not alter your statutory rights as a consumer & are governed by & in accordance with English Law. The purchaser, voucher/experience recipient & Steven Charlton Falconry (Sussex Falconry) agree that any problems fall under the jurisdiction of English courts. All clauses & sub clauses in our terms & conditions are independent of each other. If any one of the said clauses is invalid, this will not effect any other clause or sub clause.

Please make any complaint direct to the experience provider.