According to leading British Chiropterologists (bat experts) bats use sonar to follow the lines of the hedgerows and woods in their nightly peregrinations. So when A38 Dobwalls bypass, a new highway, was going to be built bypassing the village of Dobwalls, bat experts worried that the destruction of the hedgerows by the road would confuse local bats.

To help the local bats and at the cost of tens of thousands of pounds, two “Bat Bridges” have been constructed. These “bat bridges” are made of three steel towers, with cables suspended between them and a series of mesh panels. The idea is that the bats’ sonar will recognize these bridges as the hedgerows and help them to cross the highway, though there is no definite evidence this will work.