Hibernation Survey 3rd January 2026 11.00 am till 12.30 pm | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Hibernation Survey 4th January 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Wales Hibernation Survey 17 & 18th January 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
| Injured Bat Workshop 22nd February 2026 9.30 am – 4.30 pm | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Email for full details. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Bat Group AGM Tuesday 3rd February 2026 7.15 pm for 7.30 pm start | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Our annual AGM & Talk from our Guest Speaker. This years speaker is Laura Torrent who recently completed her PhD on the bats of Equatorial Guinea, carried out in collaboration with the BiBio Research Group from the Natural Science Museum of Granollers, CIBIO research centre from Porto, and the Doñana Biological Station. In this talk, Laura will present an overview of her research on Equatorial Guinea’s bat fauna, integrating field surveys, museum collections and molecular data. Her work has led to the discovery of new species, resolved long-standing taxonomic questions, and delivered the first comprehensive update of the country’s bat diversity in decades. All welcome, book using the email, so we have enough refreshments! Contact & Booking: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Hibernation Survey 7th February 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Hibernation Survey 8th February 2026 10.30 am – 1.30 pm | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Wales Hibernation Survey 28th February & 1st March 2026 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Monthly Trustee Meeting 1st April 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Bat Walks & Talks Workshop 18th April 2026 9.30 am – 1.00 pm | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Learn how to present and promote bats on public events such as Bat Walks and Talk and countryside events; This workshop is for those that will help and lead bat walks & Talks on behalf of the group. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Promoting Bats to the Public Workshop 18th April 2026 1.30 am – 4.30 pm | Venue : Red Hall Hotel Bury. Manchester Road, Walmersley, Bury BL9 5NA Learn how to present and promote bats on public events such as Bat Walks and Talk and countryside events; This workshop is for those that will help and lead bat walks & Talks on behalf of the group. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Greenmount Open Day Date tbc 12.30 to 4:30 pm | Venue : Nailors Field opposite Greenmount Village Old School, Brandlesholme Road, Greenmount Bury BL8 4DS. SD77781433 Visit our stall and buy some batty items. Contact Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
| Plant MCR, Angel Meadows 7th May 2026 7:45 pm – 21:45 pm | Venue: Manchester, M4 4BB. A wonderful evening talk on an introduction to our Native Bats at the Altogether Otherwise studio, followed by a walk- through Angel Meadows to seek out our resident bats. A ticketed event, please book via the Plant MCR website. Contact: John Craig enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 for further details. |
| Bat Law Workshop 10th May 2026 9.30 am – 12.30 pm | Venue : Village Hotel Bury is Waterfold Business Park, Rochdale Road, Bury, BL9 7BQ After a 2-year gap this workshop returns to cover the legal side of bat conservation covering all the legislation with case studies and examples galore to bring it to life. If previous workshops are anything to go by this will be a lively affair and nowhere near as dry as the title suggests! Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
| Bat ID Workshop 10th May 2026 1.30 pm – 4.30 pm | Venue : Village Hotel Bury is Waterfold Business Park, Rochdale Road, Bury, BL9 7BQ Want to be able to identify bats in the hand or in the roost (i.e. not using detectors)? Then this one is for you. An interactive workshop covering all the features you need to know to ID bats in situ. Booking is essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
Prestwich Clough Open Day 17th May 2026 10.30 am – 5.30 pm | Venue : St Marys Flower Park, Prestwich Manchester SD814036 Visit our stall and buy some batty items. Contact: John Craig at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Monthly Trustee Meeting 3rd June 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850. |
Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts June 2026 tbc 8pm till late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
| Bat Detector Workshop Date tbc 5.00 pm – 11.00 pm ish | Venue: tbc If you have a bat detector but don’t have loads of experience in using it, this course is for you. The workshop will equip you for all the groups’ surveys and the National Bat Monitoring Programme. Booking is essential – Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Brown Long-Eared & Soprano Pipistrelle NBMP Counts June 2026 tbc 9.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts June 2026 tbc 8pm – late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
Brown Long-Eared & Soprano Pipistrelle NBMP Counts June 2026 tbc 9.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Lesser Horseshoe NBMP Counts – Back-up date June 2026 tbc 8pm – late | Venue: Various in North Wales – details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email |
Field Survey – NBMP July 2026 9.30 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Field Survey – NBMP July 2026 tbc 9.10 pm | Venue: Tatton Park, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Millpond Surveys start, every night for about a week! 31st July 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Watch your emails for details of the meeting point for the start of the 2026 survey Contact: Steve Parker, Clare Sefton, Paul Robinson enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Waterway Survey – NBMP August 2026 tbc 9.15 pm | Venue: Ramsbottom, Bury, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Waterway Survey – NBMP August 2026 tbc 9.00 pm | Venue: Ramsbottom, Bury, details will be emailed nearer the time. Booking essential – reply to the email Contact: Steve Parker enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Monthly Trustee Meeting 2nd September 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
National BCT Bat Conference 11th -13th September, 2026. | Venue: Hybrid event at Warwick University or online at Your House, virtually. Your choice. But its better in person. The National BCT Bat Conference returns. Loads of talks/presentations, posters and workshops, with a Bat Walk on the Friday night www.bats.org.uk for further details |
| Plant MCR, Angel Meadows 24th September 2026 18:30 pm – 20:30 pm | Venue: Manchester, M4 4BB. A wonderful evening talk on an introduction to our Native Bats at the Altogether Otherwise studio, followed by a walk- through Angel Meadows to seek out our resident bats. A ticketed event, please book via the Plant MCR website. Contact at John Craig enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 for further details. |
Bat Box Check, Tatton Park September 2026 tbc 12.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park. Meeting place tbc Bat box checks at the wonderful Tatton Park Booking Essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Cheese Night 11, Tatton Park September, 2026 tbc 6.00 pm | Venue: Tatton Park. Meeting place tbc The annual event to mark the end of survey season. Booking Essential. Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Monthly Trustee Meeting 7th October 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Bat Box Check, Haigh Country Park / Duxbury Woods October 2026 tbc 9.30 am | Venue: Haigh CP Hall Lane Wigan Yarrow Bridge Pub Bolton Rd (A6) Meet at Haigh at 9.30 am, after checking these boxes we’ll move onto Duxbury, finishing with a drink in the pub to warm us up! Booking Essential Contact: Steve Parker at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Monthly Trustee Meeting 2nd December 2026 8.00 pm | Venue: Venue: Online – Zoom Meeting Trustees Only Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Christmas Do December 2026 tbc 7.15 pm till late | Venue: Details sent to bat group members – Restaurant in central Manchester |
Hibernation Survey TBC – January 2027 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Wales Hibernation Survey January 2027 tbc 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Bat Group AGM & Bat Talk Wednesday 3rd February 2027 7.30 pm | Venue: TBC. Contact: Brian Robinson at enquiry@slbg.org.uk or 0161 7648850 |
Hibernation Survey TBC – February 2027 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Around South Lancashire – details will be sent to invited parties. |
Wales Hibernation Survey February 2027 tbc 9.30 am till sunset | Venue: Wales – details will be sent to invited parties. |
South Lancashire Bat Group is covered under a Public Liability Insurance policy, but no Personal Liability is covered. Anyone taking part in bat group events, including bat box checks, bat walks and hibernation site checks, does so at their own risk, and must be member of the group. South Lancashire Bat Group recommends the wearing of gloves and an up to date rabies vaccination when regularly handling bats (speak to a Trustee for more guidance on when this is needed), which should be carried out in accordance with the current guidance from the Bat Conservation Trust.
Throughout the winter, various Hibernation surveys will be arranged, however these are by invite only.
Training workshops are available to members of the South Lancashire Bat Group as they are intended for group members to expand their knowledge and provide better understanding of bats and increase skills to benefit bat conservation through the work of the group. The workshops are not suitable for those specifically seeking licence training for consultancy, but will be useful for all.
Anyone wanting to attend any SLBG event in order to obtain experience and then subsequent signing of any log-book, must notify the event leader only, prior to the event(s), as SLBG has a policy in place for this.
Trapping surveys will be arranged for the group, by email to all members. At the time of writing these surveys include the National Nathusius Pipistrelle Project and the Small Myotis Project. Places can be requested but may be limited due to the nature of the survey type. Where place cancellations cannot be filled, this may lead to reduced invites to future surveys.
For SLBG members who want to book events, please note we now have a policy for this in line with our insurance and safeguarding arrangements. The policy can be seen in both the Members page, and Governance pages of the website.