Incident number: 1290
Date: 2/8/26
Site: On the Cotswold Way public footpath at Sands Farm (between Dyrham and Pennsylvania/ (Cold Ashton) just before where the Cotswold Way crosses Gorse Lane. The very approximate coordinates are 51.468770,-2.378849.
Type of cow: Boisterous group of young cattle.
2 walkers, no dog.
Report: “At approximately 12:00 noon, Sunday 2nd August 2026, my mother and I were forced off the Cotswold way footpath due to being charged by a herd of young, boisterous cattle. We were following the Cotswold way sign posts, which took us into and signposted us across the field, we were definitely following the correct route. The field was shortly before the Gorse Lane crossing.
Upon crossing a stile into the field, a herd of what looked like young bullocks (not entirely sure that they were male but they were definitely young, we thought they looked like bullocks) immediately noticed us and began trotting directly toward us. We retreated over the stile. When we attempted to re-enter the field, the entire herd immediately charged/ran at us in a highly boisterous manner. I’m not sure whether they were aggressive or just playful and curious, but there were about 20 of them and they could easily have trampled us regardless of their intention. We had to scramble back over the stile in a rush to avoid being trampled. The herd then packed tightly against the boundary line, following us along the fence as we looked for an alternative route. They were very interested in us. My mum is 73 so scrambling over the stile in a rush wasn’t easy for her! We couldn’t find a safe way around the field. We were forced to turn back completely and walk an extra 2–3 miles. This diversion required walking for around a mile along the A46, which has no continuous pedestrian verge and was highly dangerous. The Cotswold Way is a heavily promoted, busy national trail. While retreating, we encountered and warned several other walking groups who were about to enter the same field. Given the energetic, charging behaviour of these approx 20 large animals, there is a very high risk of a walker being trampled or seriously injured. Also, it would be easy to enter the
field without seeing them, as the field is sloped and there’s no sign to indicate that potentially dangerous cattle are in there!”
Comment: “The cows need to be moved off the Cotswold way. It’s a very busy route and someone could be seriously hurt.”
Cattle Safety 