17/04/2026
🦇 Happy International Bat Day 🦇
When we converted our barn back in 2019 (formerly stables and cow sheds), the planners informed us we needed a bat licence. Fair enough…
Cue six months of dedicated ecological night shifts: experts in deck chairs, wrapped in blankets, sipping from flasks, munching sandwiches, and aiming what looked suspiciously like a 1970s sci-fi ray gun into the sky, on official bat-spotting duty.
Eventually, the verdict came in: “You have one Pipistrelle bat.”
One.
So naturally… we called him Dave.
We had to politely nod, despite the fact we’d spent many summer evenings outside ourselves, casually pointing a glass of wine at what appeared to be… quite a few more than one.
Nevertheless, rules are rules. We got the licence, installed four concrete bat boxes and a deluxe breeding suite (Dave clearly has standards).
All in all, a rather expensive housing project… which Dave has completely ignored.
So, in honour of our elusive tenant, we named the barn after him, Pipistrelle Barn.
We still see Dave most summer evenings, happily dive-bombing for bugs and living his best life… just not, as far as we can tell, in any of the luxury homes we bought him. 😂
WildlifeStorie
