Inbred to Golden Barcelona of Mark Gilbert.

I purchased this bird from the entire clearance sales of Alwyn Hill who purchased only the very very best of distance birds. This cock has bred some very good birds despite not being heavily bred from. I raced a daughter in the Potteries OLR last year and she finished the final race. I have another grand daughter in that OLR this year and she is flying very well. 


The famous bird The Golden Barcelona is responsible for numerous national winners or high position winners. I timed a yearling cock on the day this year who was carrying those genes to winn 11th open 503 miles being the first bird timed over 500 miles. He flew around 13 hours on the wing. The race was another very very hard race where I timed 3 birds on the day of liberation.

I am Michael John Burden who has been interested in 680 miles the most but will try to compete at the shorter races too. I have only been interested in pigeons that can fly Barcelona uninterested in middle distance to short type racing birds.

I was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and gave most of my main stock birds to a ‘good’ friend in Bakewell. I thought I was dying so I reduced my team because my wife does not understand or take any interest in the birds. David thought he knew best and killed most of my stock birds because he thought their eye sign was not very good despite their breeding being second to none all being sons or daughters or full brothers or sister to two certificate of merit winners for Steve Redfern of Derby, a great friend even to this day.

This set me back once my health improved and I realised I was not going to die. Odd really but the human mind can be complex at times.   So in order to regain my position in the distance races I have over compensated buying quite a number of birds from Alwyn Hill, (Wing Down fame) Eric Higginbottom a great flyer at Tarbes with All Alone Fame. also Andrew Holland Brian Denney bloodlines and a team of birds from Terry Lowndes of Ashbourne, a Tarbes specialist. I have purchased birds to the extreme to try to find the very good birds. The trouble is I have found having too many at stock impedes your ability to find the breeders etc. The following birds are now up for sale not because they are not good but because I can not realise their full potential. In 2026 I was 11th open NFC Saintes with a yearling cock of the Golden Barcelona lines, the 1st bird over 500 miles. These are great lines which should be in every distance fancier loft.

At Tarbes 2026 i had 3 in the section which was a very hard race. These stock birds I am selling are responsible for my successful season this year.  

Don't be put off by the low starting bid I want a good sale but want the gone to reduce my work load and corn bill but mainly to re house the birds.