The Kennet and Avon Canal from Reading is waterway where walkers would expect to see some interesting wildlife, brightly coloured canal barges slowly chugging along the river and an abundance of locks with gates and bridges.
However, most people wouldn’t expect to find relics from a time when Britain was threatened by war still standing strong.
Nevertheless, despite the years gone by, there are still plenty of examples of this dangerous period of history dotted along the banks of the Kennet and Avon Canal.
These relics are a series of small concrete or brick buildings called Pillboxes.
Pillboxes were built in 1940 as part of a GHQ Stop Line, a defensive line, designed to stop a German armoured advance.
Although their original purpose of watching over the canal in the case of an invasion has long faded, many still exist today.
Unfortunately, for a lot of these existing pillboxes they have been bricked up or are derelict now because they are isolated structures surrounded by and often overgrown by the surrounding countryside.
Having said that, some of the pillboxes that have withstood the test of time have been repurposed as a sanctuary for bats, for example the pillbox at Garston Lock.
These pillboxes are an excellent structure for a bat haven because with only a few modifications they can be transformed into a highly suitable roosting place for the bats.
With the pillboxes being located so near to the river, it provides the ideal area for the bats since they are close to a rich source of food by the waterway.
The bats have access to various different habitats such as woodlands and grasslands, with the canal acting as a highway and the pillboxes as their sanctuary.
Therefore, while some pillboxes standing today are carrying out a different purpose to what they were originally intended for, they are still defending the local area, by protecting the wildlife along the Kennet and Avon Canal.
