S4E37 Haddon Hall, the private residence of Lord and Lady Edward Manners,  is set in the Peak District in the valley of the River Wye. With nine hundred years of history, it is one of the oldest houses in the country and moreover one of the only houses in England to have remained in one family’s ownership for its entire existence. In the corner of the Hall, a large soprano pipistrelle bat roost resides within the roof of the Chapel. Steve chats with Lord Edward about rewilding of the estate, his conservation work in Africa and the fact that he has to clear bat droppings from his desk each morning! 

Find out more about wilding of the Medieval Parkland as well as it's ecology
Watch a video of the roost on the Derbyshire Bat Group YouTube page
Advice about bats in historic buildings from Historic England, the bats in churches project and from this collaborative guide.

Send a voice message to BatChat! We want you to get in touch with your favourite bat experience. It doesn’t matter whether it was the first time you’ve ever seen a bat, you might have seen a brief shadow flying past as you were leaving your house, perhaps you’ve been checking bat boxes with your local bat group and saw bats up close for the first time or saw a bat species you've never seen before, perhaps you’ve counted a bat roost this summer and something unusual happened, maybe you heard what bats sound like on a detector and thought it was the coolest thing ever! Whether you’re new to bats or a seasoned bat lover, we want to hear all about your favourite bat experience from this year. Record your voice message here. Don't worry, you can hear it back and re-record it if you don't like it.

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Producer: Steve Roe @SteveRoeBatMan

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