Risborough Walker

Jonathan’s unforgettable visit to Stonehenge 31/03/1972

Response ID: 293,315,471

Report number: 812

This happened a long time ago when I was just 12 years old but remains fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. Two of my older cousins aged 19 and 22, took my brother (aged 10) and I to see the stone circle at Stonehenge. After visiting the circle, we decided to walk back using the field rather than the roadway. We were walking along a well-worn footpath without a dog. There was a group of cows in the middle of the field about 300 feet away. One of them started mooing and we didn’t notice but they started moving slowly towards us.

We did not have an inkling that cows could be dangerous as in the public mind they are considered ‘gentle’ animals. They broached up around us very quickly and had us surrounded. They acted in a very aggressive manner. Luckily, my cousin had a walking stick and waved it at them, shouting. We backed up against the field’s fence and moved slowly along it without turning our backs. Eventually we came to a gate not far away and made a quick exit.

The cows followed us all the way and stood at the gate staring. I can still remember how they looked up close, they are big animals and at 12 years old they looked huge. We were all terrified and shaken & felt lucky to escape unharmed. Heaven forbid if we were not near the fence when it happened. Since that time I have enjoyed many walks in the countryside and have steadfastly refused to walk in any field with cows even if there was a public footpath. I always skirt around them. I do not believe that cows should be allowed in fields with public rights of way or they should be fenced off from the footpath. They are dangerous animals.

We need fences separating cows from public rights of way, warning signs for the public and more public awareness of the danger.

Angela’s story – Aggressive cow attacks walkers in Cheddar Gorge

292,890,420 Report Number 806

Date: 21/10/23

Where: Cheddar gorge , Black Rock walk , grid ref: ST482546 for car park at start of walk

Who was involved: 2 walkers , no dog, single black cow with a calf

We were walking along the footpath and a lone cow and calf were coming towards us. As we passed by, not making any noise and giving them a wide berth, the cow charged at my friend and started to head butt and attack him, pushing him into the hedge with force with repeated head butting.

Charged at by a herd in Derbyshire

Report number: No. 749

Date of Incident 12 08 23

Location: Cliff Farm, Elton, Derbyshire. On public footpath.

Single person, no dog

When I entered the field the cattle and bull were lying down mostly at the bottom of the field a good distance away from me and the footpath. I didn’t see any young with them. As I started walking across the field they stood up and one started making an awful, aggressive sound. I continued calmly, didn’t change direction or pace and kept walking away from them.

There were a couple of cows very close to the footpath, they let me pass without any problem. I heard more noise, looked back and they were starting to walk quickly towards me, so I sped up as the field is quite big. When I looked back again they had start running towards me along with the two I had recently passed by. So I had to run!

I just made it to gap in the wall before the closest one reached me. I dived through and my ankle caught in the gap and fell. I hurt my ankle, shin and knee as I fell. It was a terrifying experience, the gate very close by was wide open and they could have come through there so I was still terrified as I crossed the next field. Thankfully, they stayed at the wall and continued to make aggressive noises.

Additional note – I had walked through another field previously with cattle (grid ref – SK21972 61197) I don’t know if it belongs to the same farm. This was a much smaller field and they had young with them. The cows didn’t mind me walking through, even though I had to walk straight through the herd and I had no issues, however I did notice as I was a good way over the field that there was a massive bull in there too with no signage anywhere. If it’s the same farm, it makes me think it’s a farmer with a bad attitude to walkers and rights of way.

Tom’s story – a cow with calf blocking the way and a blind farmer

Report number: 750

Date of incident: 7/8/23

Where: Yorkshire Dales, specifically on the public footpath between Carperby and Castle Bolton

No dog, 2 walkers

We were walking through fields toward Castle Bolton, our walk was about 90% completed. We saw ahead of us, a metal gate. On the other side of that gate, only about 15 feet away from it, we saw the rear of one cow. When we were about 45 – 50 feet from the gate we could see that the gate was the footpath’s exit route from the field. The cow turned around to face us directly. When we got a little closer we saw one very young calf (looked like it was born 5 or 10 days ago; I’ve seen a cow give birth, so I’m familiar with what a very young calf looks like,) the very young calf was suckling the cow that had just turned around to face us. We approached a little more, (now we were about 20 feet from the gate) and we saw that TWO very young calves were suckling the cow. We KNEW that we would not/could not open the gate and enter given the cow’s proximity to the gate. Also, if we had opened the gate, a dry stone wall was to our immediate right, and the cow would have been about 15 feet to our immediate left, and it was a long way to the next gate.

“What do I do if I meet cows on my walk?” Safety Advice from The Ramblers, NFU and The Kennel Club (and what farmer’s are advised to do to keep us safe.)

A few of our reports have had people say they were unsure of what they should be doing if they meet cattle on their walks – so Killer Cows has had a look at the latest posts from these Organisations and listed them. We are not saying doing this will keep you safe – we’re saying this is what they are telling us.

Happy walking.

The Ramblers states cheerfully: “Whatever animals may be in the field, follow our top tips and you’ll be unlikely to run into any issues.”

Contact the Health and Safety Executive after a cattle attack or near miss.

The Health and Safety Executive is the national body responsible for investigating accidents and incidents that happen on a farm. If you have a close brush with cattle, or if you are unlucky enough to be injured, please file a report with the Health and Safety Executive.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

You can also add your incident to our database by filing a report with us: https://killercows.co.uk/page/

Multiple spoiled walks and near misses – badly scared walkers

Killer Cows receives many varied reports of aggressive and scary behaviour by cattle, and several of our recently reported incidents are posted below. There does not seem to be one type of breed that is safer and we cannot assume that because cattle did not react the last time we walked through their field, they will be equally calm the next. Farmers can fail to spot when cattle are a risk – so how can we notice?

Our reports are split with 50% having a dog present, 50% not. These incidents have happened in quiet rural spots and in areas where there is a lot of public footfall. Each incident results in badly scared walkers; they are no longer able to enjoy the wonderful freedom of walking along a footpath without worrying whether there are cattle in the next field.

The guidance issued by NFU or The Ramblers can work in some occasions, but not in others. Signage doesn’t seem to be updated to reflect whether cattle are present at the time you are walking – so no help at all. Signs warning of cattle in fields don’t absolve the farmer of their duty of care to walkers, but they may deter some walkers – and some farmers may be happy with this result. There are farmers who are actively looking at ways to keep walkers safe and are proactively working with the legislative bodies – we applaud them. Our footpaths give us access to our countryside, we need to feel safe to enjoy them.

Read the varied accounts below –

Nicky’s story – one of the cows started pawing the ground…

290,885,628 report number 786

Incident date 31/3/2020

Dipton (County Durham) DH9 9JY

I was out for a walk with my husband and 2 children (age 7 and 9) and we climbed over a stile into a field we normally walk through that is a public footpath. There was a herd of cows and calves in the field about 50 metres away. We stood still and discussed if we should walk through them.

Whilst we were stood there, one of the cows started pawing its hoof at the ground and the next moment was charging at us. The children and my husband were able to run and climb the stile, but as I ran, I fell to the floor. (We were unsure if this was due to impact from the cow or if I fell over a hole in the ground.)

I laid on the ground bracing myself waiting for the impact of the cow but thank goodness it didn’t come and I looked up to see the cows udders above me. My husband ran to me and then, thank goodness, the cow walked away. The children were screaming.

My foot was injured and swelled up immediately and I was unable to weight bear. I should have attended A&E that day but due to covid I was reluctant but I attended the following day and had an x-ray. Initially it was thought to be fractured but this was ruled out and I had a moon boot on my foot and was unable to drive for a few weeks after the incident. I had some physiotherapy sessions.

Comment: After the incident I was in shock and looked to see who I could report it to but my understanding was that there was no-one I could report to as I hadn’t had a serious injury or been taken straight to hospital. Every time I passed the site, I saw people and children walking in the same field as the cows and I just felt I had to do something. I managed to track down the farmer and told him about the incident. He was horrified and asked me to identify the cow so he could remove the cow from the herd. He also put a warning sign up at the entrance to the field to warn that cows with calves can be dangerous.

Dave’s story – unprovoked attack by a cow

Response ID 292,302,524, report number 799

Date: 12/10/23

Where: Near Ashley Walk Car Park, New Forest, nearest village Godshill

While walking with my 2 Cocker Spaniels this morning near Snake road we were subjected to a sustained & totally unprovoked attack by a lone dark grey cow. We were about 25 yards from the animal & heading away from it when it suddenly charged at the dogs. It took them by surprise & almost caught one of them but the dog managed to roll away from under its hooves.

Then the cow turned its attention to me & charged. It was a truly terrifying moment as it thundered towards me, only pulling up when about a foot away. I slowly backed away as it followed wild-eyed & snorting . I moved more quickly backwards without running & eventually it lost interest & we made our escape.

My dogs were unharmed, I was badly scared.

The warning signs in the New Forest are all about not letting your dog worry livestock. Nothing about the danger to humans or dogs

This has been reported to New Forest National Park Authority

There has been a huge increase in the number of cattle in the New Forest in recent years. It has become very difficult to avoid contact with them. It would be great to have some cattle-free areas where people can walk without fear of attack.

Lucy and her friends meet an excitable mob

Response ID 291,013,673

Incident number 787

Date of incident 25/09/23

Site of incident: A path on the fields surrounding Princess Helena College, School Lane, Preston, Hertfordshire, SG4 7RT. The co-ordinates for this (closed) school are 51 54′ 34″ N 0 16′ 58″ W. We entered the field at a gate on School Lane near St Albans Highway/Hitchwood Lane and exited further down School Lane near Crunnells Green.

On Monday 25th September My Dad, his friend and I were hiking in our local countryside with my dog Tabby. Tabby was on her lead at all times during the walk. Towards the end of the route we had to enter a field with some cows in. The cows were black and white and they were a herd of young animals. As we entered the field the cows were on the left of the field grazing beside the fence. We followed the designated footpath across the middle of the field. As we got closer to the cattle we started to walk wide of the path so we did not have to get too close to them.

*Photo by Julissa Helmuth on Pexels.com*

Simons story – hunted by cattle

Response ID 291,908,092, Report number 792

Date of incident: 12/09/23

no dog lone walker

I was walking on my own on a footpath on the north side of the stream which flows east to Fordingbridge from beyond Rockbourne. I entered the large field by a stile at the east end with the exit stile at the west end. The path was parallel to a fence with stream lower down & brambles & shrubs filling the gap between the barbed wire fence & stream. The field rises on the right but stays level by the fence all the way to the exit stile. It seemed a long way on level ground to the exit in the west.

After a few steps I saw cattle grazing on the sky line near the top of the field. When I next looked one was staring at me. I avoided looking at them & walked a little faster. I looked up after a few seconds and the herd of about 10 cattle were walking down hill exactly towards me. I knew if they started to go faster I would not make it to the end. I quickened without running. I felt the ground vibrating, looked sideways & saw they were running towards me. The barbed wire fence on my left had brambles & thick vegetation behind it.

Julie’s dog George is trampled by cattle

291,957,814 report number 793

Date of attack: 07/10/2023

Where: In the first field off Cliff Lane towards Cliff Farm on the footpath between Alport and Elton in the Derbyshire Peak District what 3 words ///improvise.sneezed.warned

I was walking across on the footpath with George on a lead, the cows were in the corner of the field near stile into next field.

They came walking towards me, George panicked. I shouted at them to move back and George ran in front of me to protect me and one of the cows trampled him.

George was trampled underfoot by one of the cows, he screamed in pain when he was trodden on by the hooves. We took him to the emergency vet to be checked over and to have an ultrasound scan for internal bleeding. He is bruised and sore but we are fortunate there is no internal damage it could have been a lot worse. The vets bill was over £500 for scans and pain medication.