Bats thriving at Threave as first Bat Reserve opens

Anne Youngman, Scottish Bat Officer shows us round the first bat reserve in the UK


On Thursday 26th August the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) opened the first ever Bat reserve!!! Threave has at least 7 out of the 9 bat species that occur in Scotland and has to be one of the most beautiful places in Scotland to see bats. I was there at the launch and it was brilliantly batty. NTS have a “bat mobile”, a trailer which opens up into a portable bat display, complete with buttons to press, funky bat detector sounds and other night time noises. Everyone, adults and children enjoyed listening to the different sounds for each bat species.


The rangers took us around a “bat trail” showing us by day the best places to see and hear bats at night. In the near future visitors to Threave gardens will be able to borrow a bat detector and walk the routes themselves at dusk. There are two bat trails to explore.


Threave will also be used as a centre for bat studies. So any students who have an idea for a bat project – wing your way to Threave, it’s the place to hang out.