Info on Bats | This pub has a live stream bat cam in its bar

You can enjoy a pint and check in on the wildlife at the same time.

This pub is a bit different to your average boozer.

It has all of the normal things like a bar and a beer garden and it also has a bat cam.

The Halfway House in Polbathic installed the camera system in their roof earlier this year, which allows guests to spy on the little creatures whilst sipping a beverage at the bar.
A mouse controls the camera which pans around the rafters of the old pub to get a closer look at the huge colony of bats taking up residence there.

Landlords Jessica Stanton and Russell Matterson, who took on the pub three and a half years ago, always knew the bats were hovering above their heads and wanted to make the most of them.

Jessica, 40, called the creatures "fantastic animals" and thinks they should be celebrated more.

"We got a bat report in the beginning and have been living harmoniously together since," said Jessica.

"We are so lucky because in the beer garden the bats fly in and out of [the building] at eye level, so you can see where they shoot in. The locals and punters have always been involved with the bats. The next logical step was to get a camera up there.

"We had to get it in during May as in June they come back to roost.

"There's a healthy population of lesser horseshoe bats and brown long-eared bats - both are really funny characters to watch. Lunch is a good time to watch them as they are all hanging out, stretching and yawning.

"They are such fantastic animals - they get a bad press so we wanted to turn a negative into a positive and celebrate them.”

Jessica thinks there's around 80 - 100 bats in the roof - at dusk it's a real spectacle to see them swooping around the beer garden.

Several bat fanatics have gone to the Cornish pub just to see the little creatures.

It's not the only quirky feature The Halfway House has either - it's also home to a fully stocked library replenished each month by Cornwall Council and it has a community play park in the garden.

For more information about The Halfway House and where to find it, click here.

• This pub has a live stream bat cam in its bar