Category: Near-miss Stories

Near-miss story – Jayne’s Tale

Charged by cows while walking the Wales Coast Path. Why can’t footpaths be fenced off?

My husband and I are walking sections of the Wales Coast Path together. On Saturday the 29th of July 2017, we set out from Carmarthen and were heading for Ferryside. We entered a field – following signs for the “Wales Coast Path”. There were no cows in sight.

As we walked across the field, we noticed a group of cows were at the top of the field near the gate. I’m not sure of the breed but they seemed a mixture. Some were brown, some black and white.

We had to keep walking towards the gate, as it was the only way out of the field and we had no other option. Because we didn’t want to alarm or scare the cows, we kept as close to the fence as was possible. Sliding in mud and cow dung.

One cow started to walk towards us and then four other cows started to run directly towards us. They were charging straight at us. Both myself and my husband were terrified. At the last minute my husband shouted and raised his arms. Luckily this seemed to slow them down.

We could see the farmhouse which was about 300 yards in front of us. I shouted several times for help but no one came to assist us. We managed to get to the gate and we both felt terrified and very lucky to escape without being hurt.

My husband and I love walking along the coastal path and have so far have walked from Chepstow to Pendine. We want to walk the whole of the Wales Coast Path in due course but I don’t think I can face walking through fields much longer, as I am getting increasingly anxious.

We respect animals and appreciate the farmers immensely for the work they do. All we want is to be safe and enjoy the walk. We didn’t have a dog with us.

Recently we were out walking and passed through roughly about 15 fields. We noticed the majority of them had a fenced off walk way through or around the edge of the field. Could this be adapted where possible to ensure safety of cows and walkers?

 

Near-miss story – by Miss S.J.

It’s very sad when aggressive cattle prevent the public from using public footpaths.

In March 2017, I was walking with my husband, and we were following the Western Loop of the Witches’ Trail near Pendle. We had our small dog on a short lead.

Near Drivers Height Farm the footpath climbs steeply up a hill and runs next to a stone wall. We noticed a group of six cattle standing in the middle of the field. We stayed quiet and made sure to keep well away from them. Our dog did not bark or do anything to disturb them in any way.

As soon as we entered the field, the cattle immediately made their way swiftly toward us. The most prominent one – the leader – seemed to be all tan in colour and I think it might have been a bull, but I cannot say for sure. The other cows were different colours. Some were all black and others were pale. They had no calves with them.

We tried moving further away, until we were walking on very boggy ground right next to the stone wall. But they just kept coming.

I was scared and turned back. They pursued me to the gate, but my husband and the dog were still trapped inside the field. Standing at the gate I shouted and waved my hiking pole, until they moved off.

We waited until they had moved over to the other side of the field, and then we made another attempt to cross the field.

Once they saw us, they started making their way toward us again. It was very intimidating, but we remained calm and quiet and tried to give them a very wide berth. They pursued us no matter what we did.

In the end we gave up and left the field. We were forced to look for a longer yet safer route around. I was very shook up and I don’t even want to think about what would have happened had we been further from the gate and unable to get back, because the cattle kept coming and it’s such a steep ascent. The consequences could have been tragic.

It’s very sad when aggressive cattle prevent the public from using public footpaths. These animals are an accident waiting to happen. We saw no warning signs. I think there should have been very clear warnings. I also think cattle with aggressive tendencies should be kept out of fields with public rights of way.

Interestingly enough we had walked through a field just 30 minutes prior filled with black and white dairy cows, who did not bat an eyelid at our presence.

Approximate site of the incident:

 

Photo courtesy of MabelAmber on Pixabay

Near-miss story – Nigel’s Tale

30-40 bullocks charged towards him at full gallop on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Last April, 2016, I had a frightening encounter with a group of bullocks in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

I was walking along the coastal path between Angle and Pembroke. It was a public footpath and well signposted. A herd of 30 or 40 bullocks slowly started to walk towards me. Then one broke into a trot and before long they were all charging towards me at a gallop.

There was nowhere I could escape to. The field was very large and long, with a hawthorn hedge and a steep drop into the sea on one side, and a high security fence on the other.

My only option was to run towards the cattle shouting and waving my arms.

Thankfully they stopped and I was able to walk away to safety. I dread to consider what would have happened if I had not decided on this option.

I didn’t see any warning signs when I entered the field, and I didn’t have a dog with me.

Luckily I wasn’t hurt, and I didn’t report the incident to anybody.  I do appreciate that farmland is there to be used by livestock, but it was very frightening, and since then I have become very cautious of cattle. They are very unpredictable.

 

 

 

Near-miss story – Maddi’s Tale

Maddi escaped by hiding under a tree. A terrifying experience.

In April this year, three of us were walking on a public footpath through Tring Park, in Herefordshire. There was a sign on a gate that warned us to be careful of cows, especially with dogs. We didn’t have a dog with us, so we weren’t particularly worried.

Suddenly, a herd of cows came over a hill and began running straight towards us. They had calves with them.

We ran away, but they chased us. To try to escape, we turned off the path and hid under a tree. The cows stopped on the path and began walking slowly towards us. They started to surround the tree. We were terrified.

Slowly, we started to walk away (instead of running). Thankfully they didn’t follow us.

When we got near the gate out of the field, and thinking we were safe, we stopped to talk. Suddenly, the cows suddenly started running at us again. We raced to the gate and managed to get away.

We didn’t have a dog with us, so there was no reason for the attack. I have no doubt that if we hadn’t got out of their way by hiding under the tree, they would have trampled us.

Luckily nobody was hurt, but we were badly frightened. Afterwards we reported it to the Woodland Trust (who own the park), but as far as we know there has been no further investigation.

More people should be aware of how dangerous cows can be. Possibly we need to fence off paths when they pass through a field of cattle.

 

Near-miss story – Maxwell’s Tweet

One man went walking with his dog. Next minute, he was running for his life.

One man went walking with his dog, and happened to enter a field of cows. Next minute, he was running for his life.

He captured the terrifying incident on his smart phone and, later, posted it on Twitter as a lesson to others.

“This happened at Pishiobury [near Welwyn Garden City]. I just cried and ran. My dog had to fend for himself. Literally the worst thing ever.”

Listen to it with the sound turned on.
Video on Twitter
Cattle attack, filmed on smartphone, posted to Twitter

Posted with the permission of @JMaxwell.

Near-miss Story – Ilse’s Tale

Ilse and her husband meet a bull on the narrow Pembrokeshire Coastal path.

I live in Belgium and was in Wales with my husband on a four-day hiking holiday along the famous Pembrokeshire Coastal Path. On the 13th July, 2017, we set off from Milford Haven, heading for a B&B in Dale. 

We were near St Ishmaels. There was just the two of us, and we didn’t have a dog. We had just passed some old bunkers, and the path was narrow with lots of shrubs. To the left was the cliff and the sea. To our right was a barbed wire fence and a meadow.

Suddenly we saw a bull. Behind him were several cows. They were right on the path. The bull was making a lot of noise.

 We were so frightened. Shaking like leaves.

 Luckily, there was a nearby gate, and we could escape through the gate and into the meadow. Safely on the other side of the fence, we took a photograph of the bull (see above).

 Suddenly, he turned around and went away, just as if he wanted to return back to the farm. Thinking it was safe, we left the meadow and started back along the path. To our horror, the bull and the cows returned. We were so scared, in shock, and almost paralysed by fear, but we managed to escape through the fence again.

Eventually the animals left. We were too frightened to go forwards, so we turned back and tried to make our way from there to St Ishmaels. We walked for miles and miles. Got lost. Eventually we had to catch a bus in order to get to our B&B in Dale.

 We weren’t injured, but we were very badly scared.

The strange thing about is that the bull and the cows were actually on the very narrow coastal path, and we had to escape into the meadow. It should have been the opposite way round!

 Suppose we had encountered the bull at another point, where the coast path then was even narrower, and where there was no fence to get safely behind? On our left side were cliffs. What would have happened?

 I didn’t report the problem at the time, but later I sent some pictures of the beautiful coast in Wales to http://www.pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk/ and I also sent the bull picture and our story of the bull in the neighbourhood of St Ishmael’s. I got an answer from a lady called Rebecca Evans, and she told me she will be meeting the farmer next week.

 As walkers, we know there is advice on how to walk across a large field with livestock, such as cows, bulls, ponies, etc. But being confronted by a bull and cows on a narrow path with no way out… what is the advice for that specific situation?