Batty autumn
Secret caves around our Commons are where rare bats, those spookiest symbols of Halloween, will this autumn be hanging about to hibernate. Protected roosts deep within hillsides at Minchinhampton, and further afield, are where endangered Greater and Lesser Horseshoe bats choose to spend the winter. Disused stone mines are among their favourites, with more common Pipistrelles and other bat species lodging alongside them too.
The nocturnal bats are of course hard to spot. Often all people see is when they suddenly catch a flit out of the corner of their eye at dusk. But the places that the National Trust looks after in fact offer homes to every species of bat that lives in the UK.
Across the valley from the Commons, you can observe bats in the attic of Woodchester Mansion via a bat-cam. The parklands that surround the mansion are owned by the National Trust and have been the summer home and feeding ground of the Greater Horseshoes since the early 20th century. Visit Woodchester Park's web page for more information.