Risborough Walker

Jackie was headbutted to the ground

Report number:899

Date of attack: 27/06/24

Site of attack: what 3 words – Chopper.indulges.rates (possibly here) on the footpath from Daymark to Higher Town, St Martin’s in the Scilly Isles.

Report: Two of us were walking a there and back linear route, with no dog. The field had appeared empty at the start of our walk, (although we had noticed a sign saying ‘Cows in Field.’) When we returned to pass through it there were 2 bullocks (I think they were Red Devon) standing by the gate we needed to exit through. We approached giving them as much space as possible. As we passed, one of the cattle put his head low, took 4-5 paces towards me and headbutted me over onto the ground. Once on the ground I thought he was going to continue and trample me – it was an intentional ‘lunge’ and pretty frightening being headbutted and having an animal of that size and weight go for you, thank goodness the bullock moved away after that.

I was scraped and bruised and had numbness and tingling in my arm/hand for 3 days afterwards which I guess was nerve damage from the fall.

If cattle are feisty or mischievous they should not be kept in a field with a PROW. There should be separation. As a consequence, I would be unlikely ever to walk a PROW shared with livestock again which is very limiting. We did nothing to provoke or spook the animal (walking around it, giving as much distance as possible) and had no pets with us. I would be interested to know if others have been attacked here too.

Walkers and Farmers – we can help each other.

We all know that feeling, looking at a map of an unfamiliar area, trying to plan a route. Walkers enjoy the freedom that access to our footpath network gives them; most walkers are careful to respect the farmer’s land and often help keeping the footpaths clear, they can notify farmers if livestock are lose or look ill. Well tended farms with farmers following HSE guidelines help walkers. We all get to enjoy our beautiful countryside.

Scared out of a field: Twice in as many months!

Report number:892

Date of incident: 23/06/24

Site of incident: Close to OS Grid Ref: SY 63456 82538 on footpath going East to West, just south of Tatton Farm near Chickerell, in Dorset

We were walking on a public footpath in Dorset around 16:00 hrs. We had entered a field with a few cows in, so had put the 2 dogs on their leads. The cows were looking at us from a distance, though not approaching. We kept looking back to ensure they didn’t follow. All of a sudden, we became aware of another, different herd of cows ahead numbering approximately 25. We could see the stile we were making for, but the cows quickly surged towards us. My wife, who was very scared began to run with the dog she was looking after. I released my dog so it might follow her whilst I could try to slow the cows down, to allow them to make it to the stile. We are aware of the advice not to run, but it is a natural instinct to remove yourself from imminent danger. I did not run, just walking fast and shouting as loud as I could at the cows, swearing and repeatedly shouting no. This did slow down their approach, but did not stop it. I had now got close to the stile and continued to fend them off while my wife managed to get the dogs and herself over the stile (no doggy door to make things easier!). The herd continued to approach me as I got over the stile and swarmed around it after I had cleared it. I would not necessarily describe the cows as aggressive, although my wife did notice some leg stomping. They appeared youngish and it may just have been exuberance on their part, but the danger of contact with some very heavy animals was very real. This is our second near miss encounter in as many months and I am beginning to wonder whether my dogs (two flat coat retrievers) are of particular interest to cows.

We should not be intimidated out of using public footpaths. Warning signs are not enough. Landowners/farmers need to be more conscious of this issue. After all, they expect us to be sensible and considerate!

Susan is lucky there was a way round the cows with calves

Report number: 891

Date of incident: 30/04/24

Site of incident: what 3 words – Unwound.minds.blessing (Near Purton, Wiltshire)

I was walking on my own, with no dog and came upon a field of cattle with young calves on my route. I was on a public right of way.

I knew it was important to avoid walking through the middle of the herd and tried hard to do this. But the herd was spread out and eventually all the cows came together facing me, fronted by the young ones. The cattle began to show aggressive behaviour and would not back off. I fled over a gate and found another way round.

Susan comments that footpaths should at least have warning signs and electric fences to separate them from cattle perhaps.

Georgie “I saw a cow with its head down charging toward my partner”

Report number:890

Date of incident: 19/04/24

Site of incident: Avening Village, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8PB

My partner, our whippet, and I were walking through a field on the side of a hill. The path runs directly through the field and winds its way upwards toward the top boundary. Due to the steepness of the field and the long grass, we couldn’t see the top or bottom of the field, nor could we see the cows initially or how many there were. About four minutes into entering the field, while talking and interacting with our dog, a group of young looking cows appeared seemingly out of nowhere to our side, standing in a line and staring at us. I grew up around cattle and walking the family dogs around cattle, having lived on a house located on a local common where cattle graze for seven months of the year. Both my partner and I have been chased by the odd protective mother who’s only motive is to move walkers away from their calf and always thought we had a good idea of how to stay in control if needed. However, this situation immediately felt different. These were 8 young cows who had come over to us and were now standing in a line facing us. We paused for a moment, accustomed to walking through groups of cows, as is our dog, who rarely pay any attention to us and wanted to assume these guys were just being inquisitive. The cows began to curve round and block our path just ahead, so I suggested we turn around and head back along the path we came down. My partner was momentarily reluctant to retreat wanting to stand his ground, but then one of the cows put his head down and started coming pretty quickly towards us, so we, as calmly as possible started walking back along the path we had come, but still facing the cows. As we did so, the entire group of cows then put their heads down started running towards us. I spotted two bushes ahead just above me on the steep slope and aimed for them, hoping to put something between us and the cows. In my haste, I tripped on brambles and unfortunately ended up in the bush I sought for protection, landing on a bed of nettles and thorns and fearing a cow was behind me and might trample me, I tried quickly get up which then resulted in shredding my arms and legs on the brambles. Once I was up and around the bush, I saw a cow with its head down charging toward my partner. He stopped where he was and raised his hands and shouted ‘NO’ and ‘BACK’ alarming the cow, which then reared up and turned away from him at the last moment. Meanwhile, three cows started chasing our whippet who up until then had done well to get out of the way as he was agile and quick enough to evade them. Our dog, likely returning to protect us after what had just happened with my partner, was then chased back down the path to the entrance of the field which leads on to a busy road. Fearing what was going to happen next we frantically called our dog back to us and thankfully saw him turn around at pretty much the last moment and try to return to us. I called to my partner to make his way toward me, which he did slowly, continuing to shout instructions to the cows that were still attempting to run at him while he waited for our dog to get back to us.

Once we were all behind the row of bramble bushes we caught our breath while the cows stood and waited on the other side of the bushes. As the cows were blocking the way we entered the field, we decided to silently make our way up the field and along to the gate on the other side, constantly checking behind us to see if the cows were following, acutely aware that we weren’t in the clear yet. Once we were out of the field, we checked each other over, including our dog, fearing he may have received a stray kick. Thankfully, I was the only one injured with a pretty torn up and severely stung leg, arm and hand from where I fell.

We have walked through this field almost daily for the last 4 months and hadn’t seen any cows in the field before, that’s not to say they hadn’t been there before but due to the steepness, size, trees, hedges etc, you don’t ever have a clear view of the entire field. However, this was the first time I had noticed evidence of the cows as there were fresh cow pats scattered around, so for all I know they could have been introduced to the field that day. Other than a ‘livestock’ warning which would have given us a heads up, there wasn’t much else the farmer could do to prevent what happened. As regular walkers if we had seen this notice we would have put our dog on a lead (although our dog did nothing to provoke the cows) as we entered the field. Although I do doubt that this would have made any difference as our dog walks calmly by our heels anyway and having him on a lead could have prevented his escape at the beginning.

Local walker, frightened in Derbyshire

Report No: 889

Date of Incident: 19/06/24

Location: Footpath near Shireoaks Road, Mount Pleasant, Belper, Derbyshire – GR (as given by respondent) 53.0331277-1.4969888

Dogs 1 on lead

Herd of black cattle

Account by local walker: “The fields are on the valley sides, so it can be a bit steep in places. There are 2 paths parallel to each other that run along the slopes. I could see a herd of black cattle ahead on the lower path, so I kept my border terrier on a short lead & walked along the upper path to get enough distance to could get around the cattle safely. I knew that path goes through & under some trees and was worried some of the herd may also be there, plus it was just starting to get dark, so it would be difficult to see any black cows ahead. I dropped back down onto the more open lower path once I’d passed the herd, not noticing there were more cattle up ahead. I cautiously dropped lower off the path to keep away but they started to look interested & move towards me. I kept the dog on a short lead as I know she would want to protect me if they charged & get trampled on. I threw my arms open & kept ordering them away. A few would stop then others would start coming at me again. I had to do this a few times before they finally stayed put. I honestly thought they were all going to charge. I wouldn’t be able to run away from them. It was very frightening, especially as I was on my own.

It definitely spoilt what I’d hoped would be a relaxing evening walk.”

Local walker would like “Temporary electric fencing to keep cows off paths when they are in the fields – to become legal.”

“Hotfoot”meets a field of cattle

Report number: 888

Date of Incident: 15/06/24

Location: Coast path (two fields away??), Caerhays, Cornwall, England – no GR given

Account “I am a runner, and I was dressed in brightly coloured clothing. I entered the field, closing the gate, and started jogging. Several of the cows were standing on the path. I immediately slowed to a walk. Deviating from the path would have put me into the middle of the herd, so I kept to the path and tried to stay between the most aggressive cow and the edge of the fence. The most aggressive cow shuffled around to face me. I walked quietly around it but it oriented towards me and starting following me. I had the sense it was annoyed with me. I had to stop three or four times and put out of my hand, shouting ‘No!’ to get it to stop, which it did, flicking its ears. On the last occasion, it walked backwards a bit, and from this point I was able to walk to the next gate, about 50 metres on.”

Charged at by cattle on a footpath

Report No. 886

Date of Incident. 25/05/24

Location. Near Metton, Norfolk, England – what3words – followers.crunching.galaxies

No dog

Account “Two of us, early 30 yr old males, were passing from Metton towards Felbrigg mid afternoon in light rain. We came to a field which was signed with ‘bull in field’ and saw a group of 30+ cows, at least one bull and several calves (young, but mid size). We are experienced outdoorsy people and walked into the field, we were a long way from the group of cows, and we noticed one of them coming towards us. We still weren’t concerned until they started moving as a group and loudly huffing. As we gently moved quicker they started to charge. We turned, walking backwards moved our arms up and down expressing ‘Hey!’ at them – which has deterred further movement on other occasions. This worked at first but then they all began to charge. We loudly shouted ‘HEY!’ This slowed them at first but they began to run. By this point we had gotten closer to the fence and were able to scramble out of their way. They then all came close as they could to us, on the other side of the fence not moving. It was a VERY close call.”

“I was not aware until today we could report it. Honestly we didn’t know we had rights about this as while it’s a marked footpath and on OS as a walking route, we assumed it’s still private land – so on us if something happens.”

Killer Cows states: The farmer has a duty of care to people that walk across their land.

Cows blocked Helen’s path

Report number: 885

Date of Incident: 29/05/24

Location: Rowsley area, Derbyshire, England. Grid ref 255 659

No dog

Account “Cows were blocking the footpath for quite a way, they were also blocking a gate under a bridge. They seemed docile but the two of us felt anxious having to walk so close to get past them. It had been very wet weather and the path was very muddy and full of cow poo, so it was slippery. ”

Killer Cows comments: This sort of incident happens frequently, it spoils walks and prevents people being able to enjoy the countryside. People ask what should they do, but perhaps we should be asking what should the farmer do, what does the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance say? Cattle are huge animals and even if they are calm, passing close by them can be risky, a cow could easily crush a person, or stand on their feet. No wonder Helen was anxious. We are asking for cattle to be segregated from footpaths, we agree with HSE guidance.

Less confident with cows after a meeting with boisterous bullocks.

Report No. 884

Date of Incident: 8th June 2024

Location: Exminster canal footpath, England. Grid ref SX 295753 88008

1 quiet dog on a lead.

Cattle: Group of bullocks. Chestnut brown.

Account “I was walking across a large field, a long way from the cows, at least 200 feet away. 2 or 3 bullocks ran over, one was bigger than the others and was lowering and shaking his head, stamping his feet and was not deterred by me standing my ground, shouting, waving my arms etc. More joined them and I moved in stages to the edge of the field. My dog was calm and behind me.

I stood still, facing them and the picture was worrying enough for a cyclist to stop on the towpath on the other side of the hedge and ask if I was ok and they offered to stay in case anything happened.

I had to stand still for about 15 minutes as moving made the main bullock run forward in a charging motion. Eventually I stretched my hand out to the bullock, low down, and this seemed to calm things a bit. After about 20 minutes I was able to calmly and slowly walk to the field exit.

I am very confident with cows and have encountered them in fields many times but this was genuinely concerning and could easily have ended very differently.

Final comment – “The field is enormous, at least 30 acres, so these bullocks could easily be fenced off with electric fencing. I appreciate that farmers need to put them somewhere but this is a popular walking area and it feels like a serious accident waiting to happen.”

Steve’s group meet an aggressive cow

Report number: 883

Date of Incident: 5th June 2024

Location: High Tilberthwaite, Cumbria, England. Grid Ref SD 330824 501300. On right of way.

Dogs: None

Cattle: Group of cows and calves. Brown.

Account “Our group of four adults entered a field of cows near to a farm through a gate; we were intending to walk calmly across it following a public footpath. Cows with calves were lying down on and near the path so we made a detour to give them a wide berth. All the cows except one appeared to ignore us. This one cow, which was approximately 80 to 100 yds away, looked at us with great interest and started to walk briskly towards us. It then began to run, and charged aggressively towards one of our group, a man. It stopped about half a metre away from him and made aggressive roaring noises, darting at him repeatedly in a threatening way and pawing the ground. It was very close indeed. The man stood his ground, unsure what to do, and two others of us shouted and clapped loudly. The cow fortunately hesitated and withdrew. We quickly retraced our steps and left the field through the gate. Many of the cows had calves next to them, but this cow did not appear to have a calf.”

There were no warning signs.

Steve comments – “It should be illegal to put potentially dangerous animals in a field that contains a public footpath.”

Blaine meets bullocks on Offa’s Dyke

Incident number: 881
Date: 31.03.24
Site: Over 6 days walking the northern half of the Offa’s Dyke Path. Montgomery to Prestatyn.

Description: A group of five of us started to walk the northern section of the Offa’s Dyke Path, a National Trail, from 26th May to 31st May 2024. We walked on average 14 miles per day over 6 days.

We had to walk through fields of cows and bullocks every day. Some days the National Trail route took us through as many as six fields containing cattle. One of our group was not at all happy with walking through fields with any large animals, so they stopped their walking trip after day 2 as a result.

I am uncomfortable walking through fields with anything but the most benign cows. I had an incident as a young teenager where I was unwittingly in an effective “bullfight” with an extremely aggressive bullock! The other three in our party are reasonably confident with big beasts. We are all experienced long distance walkers. If it had just been me and my partner, the walk (and our holiday) would have been abandoned at the first cow field on day 1! She was persuaded to continue, only with promises of surrounding her and “sacrificing” ourselves should the need arise.

Advice to find an alternative way to avoid a particular field is, in reality, often impractical with many field boundaries.

The range of encounters was from cows a long way away in a field paying us no attention, (but even this can concern some, including my partner.) We met cows, no calves present, crowding near gates/stiles having to be gently mo(o)ved and then following us from curiosity. There were cows with calves having to be given a very wide berth. The most scary incidents involved bullocks. We had 6 scary incidents with bullocks over 84 miles of walking. We would enter the field as a group and be immediately surrounded by bullocks getting very close. We would talk calmly to them, occasionally shooing them away, raising and waving our arms. We learned to gradually escalate our responses, as they seemed to get used to whatever we did and overcome their fear! By the time we reached the end of the field, we would be dealing with charges/mock charges to within inches of us.

There was one field, where a group of bullocks were quite enclosed by water/mud/trees, where we did opt to jump a fence. Luckily that was an option as these were very feisty.

We saw relatively few other people walking the dyke (end to end). Those we did meet all shared concerns with bullocks. Having spoken to locals they reported that numbers of people walking the dyke have dropped significantly over the past 20 years. This may be due to relative popularity of other paths but could be due to livestock issues.

A couple of points that I think our experience raises:

Scary encounters with livestock are common;
Such incidents put many people off walking in the countryside (if we’d dropped to only 2 or 3 of us then we would have abandoned our walk). My girlfriend won’t come on the next one; I was a hang-glider pilot in my youth and accepted the risks of death/serious injury. This should not be the case for a walk on a right of way in the countryside!

Comment: I think bullocks, cows with calves and any aggressive animals should not generally be allowed on paths with rights of way. As a minimum the right of way should be protected from beasts of any kind by an electric fence.