Abbotsbury Swannery in Abbotsbury, England Open now

Reviews about Abbotsbury Swannery

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  2017-09-08, by Gordon Knowles
  Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, near Dorchester has become one of the most popular things to do for the family visiting Dorset. Located on the dramatic Dorset Coast, this unique natural wildlife habitat is also popular with film makers and has been used as a location for Harry Potter filming. So if your family is looking for unusual things to do on holiday in Dorset, come to the Swannery and help hand feed 600 swans at 12.00 noon and 4.00 pm daily, or try out giant maze ( the largest willow maze in Dorset ), swing on the swinging nests play area, at the Kennels café or browse our quality gift shop. Parking is free also. The swans at Abbotsbury are all free flying: this is a sanctuary, not a zoo. There are no cages but there are pens for the family swans to keep them all together. On that day Birds of Prey were on display from Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue. A chance to see some beautiful birds of prey. Next to it was Giant Swan Maze. Further on a huge Bouncing Bomb is on display from the Barnes Wallis Dambusters in World War 2. Pedal Go karts for the kids to keep them quiet can be seen here also. One and a half miles ( 2.4 km ) northwest of the village, at the top of Wears Hill, are the earthworks of Abbotsbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort. The earthworks cover a roughly triangular area of about 10 acres , of which about 4.5 acres are inside the ramparts In the 10th century a charter of King Edmund records a granting of land at Abbedesburi, a name which indicates the land may have once belonged to an abbot. In 1086 in the Domesday Book Abbotsbury was recorded as Abedesberie or Abodesberie; it had 62 households, 16 plough lands, 32 acres of meadow and 2 mills. It was in the hundred of Uggescombe and the lords and tenants-in-chief were Abbotsbury Abbey and Hawise, wife of Hugh son of Grip. Abbotsbury Abbey existed for 500 years, but was destroyed in the dissolution, although the abbey barn survived. Stone from the abbey was used in the construction of many buildings in the village, including the house of Abbotsbury's new owner, Sir Giles Strangways.
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  2017-05-26, by Mike Taylor
  If you like swans and have always wanted to see a large number of them up close, then boy, is this the place for you! Also featuring geese and other water birds. It's an interesting little place with a long history. I wouldn't say there's a LOT to do, but what it does it does well. Feeding times were 12pm and 4pm - swans en masse. There's an information area where you can learn about the history as well as information signs dotted around. The swans are basically human friendly, though it was not nesting season at the time of my visit. Your experience may vary.