Red Chapel Mount

I went on a Bat walk that started at this point. This wonderful building is situated in a local park called The Walks and was built by monks between 1483 and 1485 for those on a Pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham. It lasted until the Dissolution of Monostries in 1530s and has been used for such diverse uses as water storage, a gunpowder store during the Civil War, an observetory and stables.

It fell into a poor repair, until it was restored in 1828. The only things that use the chapel today are wintering Natterer's and brown long-eared bats, both of which failed to show for tonights walk.

It was still a great night, however, and we saw and heard plenty of feeding soprano pipestrelle bats, which was a surprise for me as I always thought a pipistrelle bat was just one species. It turns out there are at least 3 or 4 different species, whith another under investigation.

All of the bats we saw were probably feeding females from nursery roosts, some of which came in very close to have a good look at us. I wasn't sure who was watching whom!

It was a great night, with wonderful weather and an extremely knowlegable guide!