Category: Near-miss Stories

Scramble over barbed wire

Maybe I should just pack wire cutters?

I was on a public footpath in Anglesey with a companion, and we were headed downhill east from Bod Feddau (shown on 1:25000 OS explorer Anglesey East) through a field at SH593797. We saw some bullocks in the field, and we took a low key detour to avoid the field they were in. We had no dog with us.

There was a connecting gate we hadn’t noticed. The bullocks caught sight of the pair of us and came at us at a gallop. We climbed over a couple of barbed wire fences to avoid them, getting our clothes ripped in the process.

Getting very fed up with similar incidents on Anglesey. Many farmers seem to be obstructing the footpaths with problem cattle. There were approx 25 bulls in this incident and they looked to be at least 10 months old, and possibly Limousin; which seem to be common locally. Getting to the point when I’ll just pack wire cutters to make escape easier and safer.

I’ve reported it to the council but have had no reply.

Andy’s story: Frightened by a rogue cow

The cow became more and more threatening and aggressive.

In May 2019, I was walking with my daughter along a footpath near Coalburns, Gateshead.

There was a group of cows and calves in the field, along with some bullocks. I’m experienced at walking among cattle and normally OK. This time, one or two younger bulls were inquisitive but soon lost interest. Then an older cow started to follow us.

I did have my two labradors with us, which I kept on a very short lead at all times, as I was conscious of younger calves in the field. The calves were quite a distance from us. The cow following us didn’t appear to have a calf with her.

The cow became more and more threatening and aggressive. I had to shout and raise my voice a few times to make her back off, but she continued to follow us, even though we were now on the far side of the herd and heading out of the field.

The cow continued to follow us, and then started running towards us, bucking its back legs in the air as it turned around us. Quite scary! I even resorted to picking up an old fence post that I thought I might need to fend her off. My daughter was very scared.

Luckily we weren’t injured, and the dog was unharmed, but we were badly scared.

 

Photo by Luca Basili on Unsplash

Chased out of the field!

One particular cow made straight for us.

This September, the two of us were walking on a footpath in the Derbyshire Dales near Throwley Hall, with our dog on a lead.

There were some cows in the field. They were light brown and tan coloured, some a rust colour – possibly Guernsey, although I’m not sure. We are used to livestock and were giving the cows a wide berth so as not to split the herd.

One particular cow made straight for us and came towards our dog, calling very loudly. The rest of the herd began to move towards us too.

My partner shouted at the ‘main’ cow and waved his hands. It turned away momentarily, before turning back and suddenly rushing at my partner. He dropped our dog’s lead and the dog ran off, pursued by the herd.

These cattle were extremely agitated and even after retrieving our dog and getting out of the field, they pursued us to the gate.

I’ve reported the incident to the local authority but, as far as I’m aware, they’re not investigating it further.

Close escape: chased across a river!

I discovered the rest of the herd were right behind me.

On the 23rd September, 2018, I was walking along a public right-of-way near Wolsingham, County Durham. I was on my own, and didn’t have a dog with me.

I noticed there were cows in the field, but they were in the far corner, so I wasn’t concerned. I crossed a river using stepping stones put there for this purpose, and found a lone cow on the other side. It was standing by the gate out of the field, and it wouldn’t move. Continue reading “Close escape: chased across a river!”

Angry cow on the Wales Coast Path

I waved my arms and roared loudly as the cow bore down on us.

My girlfriend, my dog and I were walking along the Wales Coast Path, on the Llyn Peninsula, in June 2018. We passed through a turnstile to find a herd of cows with calves. We proceeded to pass quietly along the path with our dog, aged 8, who has walked in the country with us all his life and never bothers with cattle, horses or sheep.

Keeping an eye on the cattle, I noticed one of the mothers getting agitated and starting to make a noise. She was at least 10 metres away, and she started to stamp and run at myself and our dog. Continue reading “Angry cow on the Wales Coast Path”

Colin and his dog

These aggressive animals were way more than ‘just curious’.

It was May 2017, and we were walking near Morwenstow (on the Devon/Cornwall border). There were four of us, and we had our large Estrela Mountain Dog on a lead. We had left the South West Coast Path and were heading inland to Morwenstow village, following along a public right of way as marked on the Ordnance Survey map for the area.

Suddenly, over the horizon appeared about 15 head of young Friesians running at speed. Within seconds they had our dog (now slipped from the lead) at bay against a sheer cliff.

Thank goodness there were four of us, and by shouting and judicious use of walking poles we were able to clear a way to run the 800 metres or so along the field edge to the next stile. Unluckily the field tapered, and we were almost headed off at the very end by these very aggressive animals who could easily outrun us and our dog. They showed absolutely no fear.

We made it by seconds and narrowly avoided a very ugly incident as these animals were way more than ‘just curious’.

Even a year later we are super aware of any cattle on our side of the fence… and this has in all honesty greatly affected both our enjoyment of the countryside in general and of Cornwall in particular.

A note to the ‘authorities’ … quite apart from issues of justice and compensation, unless the threat from livestock can properly be brought under control you risk losing considerable tourist ££s as well.

I had always thought that dairy cattle were milder mannered than beef cattle but apparently every rule has its exceptions, and the ‘rules’ for dealing with these incidents are worse than useless.

 

Photo credit: the featured photo of an Estrela Mountain Dog was modified by COWS from an original by Pleple2000 on Wikimedia, and is shared under Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 3.0

Near miss: Sue and her husband

Now, we are both very wary of entering a field with cows.

In 2010, my husband and I were in our late 50s and were walking along a footpath somewhere in Somerset. We came to a field containing cows, and my husband walked diagonally across the field ( I walked round the edge ).

A large cow started to follow him, and I urged my husband to hurry to the stile at the edge of the field, as I didn’t like the look of the cow. The cow then made as if to mount my husband, rearing up, just as he got to the stile. Luckily he escaped unharmed.

Cows are VERY big, and we found the incident very scary.

A second incident, at another time in north Devon, involved my husband being rushed at by a large number of young bullocks and totally surrounded. No harm was done, but this incident was also very scary.

My husband was raised in the country and worked on farms in his youth, so he wasn’t in the least bit scared of cows – as I was – until these incidents. Now, however, he’s completely changed his mind and we are both very wary of entering a field with cows in it. Unfortunately, this has impacted on any walks we may want to do in the countryside, as we always have to ask – “Will there be cows?” If “Yes” we think again or make sure we keep to the edges and can quickly climb over the fence!

I do feel very strongly that farmers whose land includes a public footpath should NOT have cows there, or should put up a walkway through the field, protected by an electric fence, for legitimate walkers to use.