Reserve goes batty about history

Loch Leven is to play host to two free walks on subjects that are poles apart – bats and history.

The national nature reserve will first play host to Batty About Bats on Saturday May 6 and then participants can Walk Through Time at a trek on Sunday May 14.

As the evenings warm up, the reserve’s population of bats start to come out of hibernation to feast on insects found over the loch during the hours of darkness.

Using modern bat detectors, participants will be able to listen to high frequencies of the bats’ echo-location at the event being run in collaboration with the Fife and Kinross Bat Group, a partner of Bat Conservation Trust.

Scottish Natural Heritage reserve manager Neil Mitchell said: “It’s a great experience venturing out on to the reserve in the gloaming with the trepidation of hearing the first clicks and squeaks from the bat detector, then peering into the darkness, trying to pick out the fluttering shadows of bats.”

For history aficionados, as part of the year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, local historian Professor David Munro will be leading a walk showcasing the cultural history of the area.

The walk is free, but Prof Munro is welcoming donations to the Michael Bruce Trust to help mark the 250th anniversary of the poet’s death.

To book your place on either walk, call the reserve office on 01577 864439.