On the 31st July, 2022, we were walking along a public footpath, leaving Slaidburn on the approach to Panes Farm, in Lancashire. We were walking on the public path with our dog on a lead, and were about 200 metres away from the field gate. Half way across the field we could see a group of cows near the gate and lying down.
Read more: SL Story: a mad scrambleWithout warning, the cattle got up and started to charge towards us. It was then we noticed there were calves in the herd. We scrambled over a gate to get out of the way – which included having to throw the dog over the gate as best we could. My husband slowed their approach by making himself large and shouting at them, but they were still in charge mode – with one being particularly aggressive.
It took us at least 30 minutes of scrambling over drystone walls and gates to reach an alternative footpath. We escaped with only minor injuries, but one of us is still suffering from an injured back caused by scrambling over walls and gates.
In our experience, when entering a field because of the lay of the land it is often too late to realise cows are in the field.
In this case, there were no warning signs. We were lucky there was no barbed wire to scale over which would have made an escape very treacherous.
Farmers should not be allowed to have cows in fields that have a public right of way running through, especially with calves.
Response ID 266187259
Photo from site stock
Cattle Safety 