Swindon Bats

01/04/2026

📢 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Due to an administrative error at the Charities Commission, we’ve realised we’ve accidentally been registered as a 'Flying Mammal Conservation Group' instead of a Charity for the Visually Impaired for the last 20 years! 🦇

To stay legal, and fulfill our new regulations we will be replacing Wednesday and Mondays Tenpin Bowling sessions with 'Hanging Upside Down from the Rafters' training. 🧗‍♂️

We also have a delivery of 5,000 live mealworms arriving at Craven House tomorrow for our members to enjoy. 🐛

Does anyone know where we can buy tiny capes for 55 people? Flying practice starts next week 🦇


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Photo Description:
One of our members hanging around looking very sweet in their new tiny cape 😉🦇

10/03/2026

Swindon Bats at 20: Anniversary Gala.

Come and celebrate 20 years of the Swindon Bats in style!

When: Saturday, 20th June 2026
7:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Where: The Village Hotel, West Swindon
Dress Code: Black Tie & Evening Wear

The Evening:
Red Carpet Arrival: Complimentary Fizz or Beer.
Dining: A celebratory 3-course set menu.
Awards: Honoring 20 years of our community.
Entertainment: Grand Raffle and Disco.

RSVP by 4th May

Book online at: TicketTailor
https://buytickets.at/swindonbatssportssocialcharityforthevisuallyimpaired/2110279

Or contact: Becky Harrison
Email: rebecca.harrison@swindonbats.org

Please include any dietary requirements with your booking via email.

05/03/2026

🏆 WE DID IT! SWINDON BATS ARE PRIDE OF SWINDON WINNERS 2026! 🏆

What an absolutely unforgettable day! We are beyond thrilled to announce that the Swindon Bats took home one of the awards for Best Team of Volunteers at today’s Pride of Swindon ceremony! 🦇✨

The surprises didn’t stop there—we were called back up on stage at the end of the ceremony and named Top Scoring Charity of the day!(by the Judges vote)🥇

This means we’ve been awarded a generous grant of £1,250 from our amazing friends at Zurich Community Trust. This will go such a long way in helping us continue our work in the community. 💰🙌

A Triple Win for our Chairperson! 🌟 A huge shoutout to Becky, who had a very busy stage walk today!

Not only did she represent the Bats, but also helped collect a second award as part of the National Literacy Trust in Swindon Volunteer Team for their incredible dedication to promoting and Championing Literacy across Swindon. 📚✍️

A Day of Celebration 🍰☕
Bats Team members Cheryl, Becky, Ali, Andrea and Ian spent the afternoon at the DoubleTree by Hilton enjoying some delicious tea and cake. It was an honor to share the room with so many inspiring charities and individuals.
A massive thank you to the dignitaries who presented the awards and showed such support for Swindon’s volunteer sector:
The Mayor of Swindon 🎖️
The High Sheriff of Wiltshire 🗡️
Leader of Swindon Council 🏛️
The Police Commissioner 👮‍♂️

To the Bats Family... ❤️
Finally, a giant thank you to every single member of the Bats Family and everyone who has supported us along the way. This award belongs to all of you. We couldn't be happier or prouder of what we’ve all achieved together over the last 20 years!


.5FM

04/03/2026

🎉 Exciting News! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that the Swindon Bats Sports and Social Club for the Visually Impaired has been nominated for a Pride of Swindon Award! 🏆

This incredible honor comes just in time to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, making it even more special. We’re so proud of all the hard work and dedication our volunteers and members have shown over the years. The award ceremony is this coming Thursday, and we would love your support and well-wishes.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey, wish us luck! 🍀

!

The image is a side-by-side collage of the pride of Swindon logo featuring a man in a top hat and the Swindon Bats logo which shows a Bat with a white mobility cane and bowling ball 

23/02/2026

It’s hard to believe that Swindon Bats is 20 years old!
On 15 February 2006, several visually impaired people met at the Swindon Superbowl (now Tenpin Swindon) to take part in a ‘have a go day’ at tenpin bowling. This event had been organised by British Blind Sport in conjunction with Wiltshire Blind Association (now Wiltshire Sight). At the end of this session, six of these visually impaired people (Trevor Johns, Derek Smith, Nicky Newport, Tracey Nash, Russ Riggs and Sue Mead) decided they would like to get together on a weekly basis to play a couple of games of tenpin bowling, and so Swindon Bats was born. For a full report and photos, please visit

blindness, visual impairment, tenpin

04/02/2026

We are so excited to be holding a stall again this year. Please come down and see us, learn what we do for the blind and visually impaired community in Swindon and the surrounding areas. 💙🦇

Eye Can is coming to Swindon this April

On Thursday 23 April, Eye Can returns to Swindon with a free exhibition for blind and partially sighted people, their families, and anyone supporting someone with sight loss. The event will take place at STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway, Fire Fly Avenue, Swindon, SN2 2EY.

Eye Can brings together a range of exhibitors all in one place, showcasing equipment, technology and services that can support everyday life with sight loss. It’s a friendly, relaxed event where you can explore what’s available, ask questions, and find out what support is available locally. There will also be short talks running during the day, with more details to be shared soon.

It’s a good opportunity whether you’re newly adjusting to sight loss, have been blind or partially sighted for some time, or are supporting a family member or friend.

Save the date for now, we’ll be sharing more information closer to the event.

Image description: The top section of the post has a dark blue background with white text reading “Eye Can Swindon, Thursday 23 April, STEAM Museum”. Below is a photo of the exterior of STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon, showing the long stone building with large windows under a blue sky.

01/02/2026

On Friday 23rd of January, some Bats members went to Christchurch in Swindon, for a candle lit quartet performance of Vivaldi’s four seasons.
The atmosphere and acoustics were calming and enjoyable the company great and the musicians perfect.

31/01/2026

Thank you so much to everyone at The Hills Group for their fantastic donation!

We are overwhelmed with your generosity.

With our sincere appreciation from all Swindon Bats 🩷🦇

Becky Harrison
Chairperson

This month, our County Park Charity Committee arranged our first charity event of the year, Lucky Squares, to raise money for Swindon Bats! Congratulations to Karen for winning £10 and a bottle of champagne!

Swindon Bats is a local charity that provides sporting and social activities for people with visual impairments, including ten-pin bowling, cycling, sailing, acoustic rifle shooting, and showdown (a sport specifically designed for visually impaired individuals).

The Charity Committee raised a grand total of £277.96. Thank you to everyone at Hills who donated to this fantastic community cause!

27/01/2026

Last night was another one of our fantastic Zürich challenges. The first one of the year in fact. We started out joining together for a meal at the Ridge , followed by two fantastic Bowling matches. It is always so lovely to meet the people from the Zürich community trust, and we are always so grateful for their generous donations and time getting to know our bowlers.
Here are just a few fantastic action shots of our Bats team absolutely smashing it out the park.
The final result was Bats were the winners, with our very own Stuart taking away top pin scorer for the Bats.
We can’t wait for the next one! 🎳 🦇 💙

20/01/2026

🦇 💙 Volunteer with Swindon Bats!

Swindon Bats is a sports and social club for visually impaired people in and around the Swindon area, and we’re looking for friendly volunteers to support our members at activities and community events.

Volunteers are at the heart of what we do, and your support can make a real difference. If you’d like to get involved, send us a message or email—we’d love to hear from you!
You could be doing anything, from Bowling to theatre trips and much much more.

We really look forward to hearing from you. 🦇🩷

18/01/2026

Another fantastic Social Trip today! 11 Bats members attended The Wyvern Theatre to watch the brilliant Jason Manford! Lots of laughs were had by all and plenty of Dad jokes now stored up for a rainy day! 😂

A big thank you to our Social Activities Dream Team Andrea Vigor and Ali for organising such a fun afternoon of Comedy and fun.

Did you know our Bats members all enjoy heavily subsidised tickets to our events and activities and carers go free where possible!

This is only possible thanks to the fantastic generosity of the public who help keep our Charity going! These donations help the Blind and Partially Sighted Community in Swindon and the surrounding areas get out, socialise and make lasting memories.

If you or someone you know is Blind or Partially Sighted or have any sight impairment that impacts your life on a daily basis and you are interested in making memories with us please do contact us at: info@swindonbats.org

If you're interested in donating or volunteering your time to come along to our social activities as a volunteer please do get in touch and check out our website which has more information about the activities we get up to and hosts our volunteer policies.

www.swindonbats.org.uk

Thank you.
🦇🩷

Photo Description:
Jason Manford standing on stage at the Wyvern Theatre dressed in a dark shirt and chinos.

17/01/2026

A brilliant night was had last night with 16 Swindon Bats members coming along for a game of Skittles on the incredible Skittle Alley that was handcrafted by our very own fantastic Bats volunteer Ivan Rogers!

We are very grateful to everyone at the fabulous Swindon ConClub for hosting our Skittles night, we all had a brilliant time. There was lots of fun, laughter and friendly competition had by all.

A special thank you to Bats Social Activities Coordinators Ali and Andrea Vigor for organising. And to our wonderful volunteers on the night, Derrick Holmes, Pete Wingletang, Andy Cooper and Uan. Without your regular support and dedication we wouldn't be able to put on these wonderful activities for the Blind and Partially Sighted Community in Swindon.

Thank you all!

If you're interested in any of the activities we get up to or would like to volunteer with us please contact us at: info@swindonbats.org

And check out our website for more information and where you can find our dedicated Activities Page which will Keep you updated on what events and social events we have coming up in 2026.

www.swindonbats.org

🦇🩷