Tidenham Tunnel, part of the Wye Valley Greenway, closed on the 30th September until April 1st to allow local bat populations to hibernate, writes Charles Dennis.

The Wye Valley Greenway is an eight-kilometre nature walk along the Wye Valley, which runs from Tintern Abbey to Sedbury, with the Tidenham Tunnel making up just over a kilometre of the trail.

The tunnel, a repurposed railway line, was decommissioned in 1992 and was reopened as a cycle and walking route in 2020.

As part of its bat licence from Natural England, the site must close each winter to help safeguard the bat populations. It is also required to remain closed at night and dimly lit.

Jordan Long, Beat Forester for Forestry England, explains, “Our woodlands link several roosting populations of both lesser and greater horseshoe bats for which parts of the Forest of Dean are designated as a Special Area of Conservation.”

Forestry England does not own the tunnel, but rather the woodland surrounding it.

“The network of natural caves and old mining infrastructure provide ideal locations for hibernation roosts, allowing the bats to move around underground and find the optimum conditions”, Jordan Long explains.

The Wye Valley is a stronghold for the Lesser Horseshoe Bat and Greater Horseshoe Bat, which are both protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Both are rare in the UK and are now only found in a limited number of areas.

The Bat Conservation Trust explains, “They are all protected because they’ve experienced significant historical declines, but they play an important role in healthy ecosystems, including the control of crop-damaging insects”

The rest of the Wye Valley Greenway will remain open throughout the winter,and its website lists alternative routes for walkers and cyclists’ information.