[Frog on Charlcombe Lane]
More than fifty volunteers helped 3,626 toads, frogs and newts across a half mile stretch of Charlcombe Lane on the northern edge of Bath during this year’s recent migration season.
This takes the total number recorded over 24 seasons since the patrol started to more than 55,000.
Charlcombe Toad Patrol is one of 280 patrols across the UK that take part in the national Toads on Roads project run by the amphibian and reptile conservation charity, Froglife.
This year’s patrol saw more than 3,000 amphibians collected and safely moved across Charlcombe Lane for the third year in a row. It was the third busiest year for the patrol in its history, with last year being the second-best year and 2010 being the busiest ever year for the patrol [1].
2026 was the best year for toads (1,547) since 2012, the second best for palmate newts (1,015) and the fourth best for frogs (1,064) since the road closure began in 2003.
Charlcombe Lane is closed annually for seven weeks in February and March as volunteers patrol every night from dusk to help toads, frogs and newts on their journey to their breeding lake.
Volunteers collectively spent 645 hours in high visibility jackets, armed with torches, buckets and special gloves, walking slowly up and down the road. Toads, frogs and newts are carefully picked up and taken safely in buckets to five drop off points to help them on their journey towards the lake.
One of the volunteers, Jonathan Lidster, says: “The annual toad migration is one of the highlights of the year, both for the toads and the Charlcombe Toad Patrol volunteers.
“They probably don’t appreciate it, but for me it’s hugely rewarding to help the toads, frogs and newts on their way to the lake each year and just walking up and down the dark lane with a bucket and torch in the company of my fellow patrollers is a pleasure.
“An added bonus are the owls and the bats along with other hidden rustling nature. We never want it to end!”
Helen Hobbs, the Patrol Manager, said: “This feels like a significant year for the Charlcombe population with more than 3,000 amphibians helped by volunteers for three years in a row. Against a background of many patrols seeing declining numbers of amphibians, having a relatively stable population really matters.
“With a changing climate it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the peak times for amphibian movements, that is why closing the road for seven weeks makes such a difference. In the first ten years of the patrol, seven of the busiest days were in March, and in the last ten years, seven of the busiest days have been in February.
“Two out of the last three years have seen a larger movement of amphibians before the road closes due to the wet and mild weather. This led to much higher casualty rates [2] at the start of the patrol, but thanks to the hard work of our volunteers we managed to keep the overall casualty rate down to 6%, which compares with 62% before the road started to close annually during the migration season.”
Last year scientists at Froglife and their counterparts in Switzerland used data collected by toad patrols to explore what has been happening to the population of common toads across the UK. The research demonstrated that the common toad population has declined by 41 per cent in just 40 years [3].
The biggest challenges facing amphibians today include habitat fragmentation due to roads, changes in farming practices and development, and the loss of habitats, such as ponds and the impact of pollution. A changing climate is also adversely affecting amphibians with milder winters leading to them waking up from their brumation more frequently.
Bath and North East Somerset Council has supported the patrol and road closure (one of only five in the UK) since 2003. However, the Charlcombe Toad Patrol fundraises to pay for the administrative costs of the road closure, and VolkerHighways sponsor the Group with the provision of signage each year.
All the information collected by patrollers is collated by Froglife and in 2025 data showed that 199,562 amphibians were given a helping hand across A roads or quiet country lanes [4]. New analysis by Froglife found that in the last 50 years thousands of volunteers have helped more than two million toads to cross roads across the UK [5].
Sheila Gundry, Head of Operations at charity Froglife and local patroller, said: “With three strong years in a row for the Charlcombe Toad Patrol this is bucking the national trend. Froglife’s data from many toad patrols around the UK shows that toad populations are declining and are very depleted in many areas of the country.
“The temporary road closure makes a big difference too, as do the surrounding landowners who look after the breeding pond and foraging grounds. We also now have two new ponds at Charlcombe Community Nature Reserve [6], where frogs have already moved in and this will help to secure the future of the local amphibian population.
“It is wonderful to have such a good news story of people and wildlife working so well together.”
Notes:
[1] The three best years for the number of amphibians have been: 4,485 (2010), 3,995 (2025) and 3,626 (2026).
[2] The casualty rate on a toad patrol is the percentage of amphibians that are found dead during the patrolling season.
[3] The data collected from toad patrols was used to establish the long-term decline in the common toad population in the UK.
[4] Data about the number of patrols and amphibians saved comes from the 2025 ‘toads on roads’ report. More info about toad patrols can be found via a handy guide on the Froglife website.
[5] Analysis by Froglife on the number of toads helped across the road since 1974:
[6] Charlcombe Community Nature Reserve is a 16 acre reserve run in partnership between the local community and the landowner, Bath & North East Somerset Council – www.charlcombenature.co.uk.
