Greater horseshoe use this Devon barn as a roost

Photo: Peter Chapman

Our reserves

In the 1980s the VWT established three reserves for otters on the Somerset Levels and one for greater horseshoe bats in Devon. Today the Trust manages over 40 sites; the majority of which are bat roosts.

Since the mid-1990s the VWT has concentrated much of its resources on bat conservation, including the protection and enhancement of roosts for rare bats. The Trust acquired a number of key breeding roosts for rarer bats such as the horseshoe bats and the Trust's reserves in the south-west of England include one of the largest greater horseshoe bat roosts in Europe. Together the VWT's greater horseshoe bat roosts now support a substantial proportion of the British population. Most of the reserves are old buildings typically selected as summer roosts by horseshoe bats.

Bats are very vulnerable to disturbance and as a result it is not possible to allow public access to VWT roost sites.

For more information on British bats please go to our publications page.