Category: Spoiled walks

Farmers should take responsibility for the safety of walkers and the wellbeing of their cattle.

Incident number: 1007

Response ID: 307,707,670

Date of incident: 18.09.24

Location: SK142589 – Peak District National Park, near Hartington at the very end of Reynards Lane (Biggin Dale end) – immediately adjacent National Trust land.

Status: Two people with no dog on PRW

Leigh’s story

“We were walking on a very popular and busy footpath – well over a dozen groups of walkers, many with dogs, had passed us in the previous 15 minutes; including the farmer himself riding a quadbike. When we came upon a gate adjacent to the footpath there were a large group of distressed cattle that had gathered at the gate, bellowing very vigorously. A number of groups of walkers had gathered there, asking each other what had caused the commotion. We carried walking along Reynards Lane towards Biggin Dale, with the herd of cattle separated from us by a dry stone wall. As we walked the herd followed us. A large bull walked behind the herd and a numbers of walkers passing in the opposite direction commented on the size of him. As we were walking a number of cows were mounting each other, while others were feeding their calves. When we got to the end of the lane, about 200m further on, which then became a footpath, we saw that the farmer had left another gate to the field wide open, along with a gate to another field on the opposite side of the lane. Some cows were crossing the lane, others with their calves were standing in the middle of the lane, completely blocking the way forward. These being the same group of cattle that had been visibly distressed not five minutes earlier, we were very anxious about pushing our way past them. We waited a while until other groups of walkers appeared from the opposite direction, who in turn waited until more groups of walkers appeared. Eventually each group felt safe enough in the presence of others to walk forward, to which the cattle gave way, while still bellowing. It’s a walk we’ve done a number of times before and the gates have never been open. It seemed perverse to us that the farmer had decided to open or leave the gates on either side of a busy path in a national park wide open, especially since he will have been very aware that his cattle were distressed. Was he deliberately trying to cause on incident or scare walkers away?”

Leigh added “Farmers to take responsibility for the safety of walkers and the wellbeing of their cattle. In this instance the herd of cows, bullocks, calves and a bull were already in a very large group of connected fields with a water tank. If the farmer wanted to move them to the fields on the other side of the lane, why didn’t he herd them across? Why did he simply leave the gates open on either side of the lane when it was clear that the path was very busy, many groups had dogs and his herd were clearly distressed?”

Belted Galloway herd including a bull with calves blocking public foot path in Eskdale, Lake District.

Incident number: 1006

Response ID: 307,651,725

Date of incident: 31.08.24

Location: Public footpath from Boot to Doctors Bridge Eskdale. (What 3 words ///positions.forgotten.sweeter)

Status: Two people with dog on lead on PRW

Zoe’s story

“We were walking the Inn Way to the Lakes along this path. The cows bull and calf were all against a gate we needed to get through. They were at a fence so therefore had nowhere to go apart from back towards us. We couldn’t get through the gate as they didn’t move. We had to get in the river and walk down the river to get to the other side of the gate. We did this in all gear and boots so wasn’t ideal!!”

She adds “Farmers to be prosecuted if cattle is not secured. Bulls should not be with cows and calves in public areas”

Zoe was also badly frightened by belted Galloway cattle many years ago in 1999 between Coniston and Tarn Hows

Near-miss on Southwest Coastal Path near Coverack

Incident number: 1005

Response ID: 307,647,490

Date of incident: 12.09.24

Location: South West coast path, Coverack Cornwall. TR12

Status: Two walkers with dog on lead on PRW

Davyd’s story

“Following South West coast path from Coverack to Lizard point Cornwall. Walking along public footpath with dog on lead. Started hearing what sounded like a thundering hoofs. I turned and saw about 20 cattle charging directly at us. We ran as fast as possible to the next swing gate over rocky and muddy ground just making it through in time. The whole heard were headbutting the wood gate still trying to get us. My wife was absolutely terrified as we only just made it out before we got trampled by them. I cannot believe that dangerous farm animals are allowed to be grazing on public footpath especially south West coast path. If we were older and could not move as quickly we could of been trampled to death.”

Perhaps Castle Howard should fence off their cows from the general public?

Incident number: 1004

Response ID: 307,631,374

Date of incident: 29.09.24

Location: Castle Howard grounds (North Yorkshire), East of the main estate and the South Lake

Status: Loan walker dog on lead on PRW

AW’s story

“On a circular running route and I wanted to take the footpath over the field. There were signs warning of cows with calves. I couldn’t see anything so I went through the gate with my dog on a short lead. The field is very hilly and you can’t see far. I approached slowly up the hill and then heard moos and noticed cows over the brow of the hill. One started mooing and the rest started to join in. I moved cautiously and slowly to the edge of the field, but they started to stand up. There was stamping and snorting – then they all started to approach. I turned and walked as fast as possible and heard them charging behind me but made it to the gate. It’s really disappointing and not the first time these particular cows have acted this way, with or without calves.”

Castle Howard – landscape, farming and wildlife on the Yorkshire estate

Taken from the Castle Howard website “An Aberdeen Angus suckler cow herd was established at Castle Howard, grazing estate fields, with most of the beef being supplied to the Farm Shop.”

Surrounded by bullocks

Incident number: 1003

Response ID: 307,588,507

Date of incident: 27.09.24

Footpath from Rudyard to Horton  (Leek Staffordshire (What 3 words : ///refilled.publisher.tech.)

Status: Lone walker with dog on lead on PRW.

Cieran’s story

“The footpath runs up the right hand side of the field. Most of the cows were away to the left of the field but there was one bullock in front of me in the first third of the field. As I got past the bullock it started to follow and pretty quickly the whole herd of 30-40 bullocks was crowding in towards me. I was backing up holding my arms out and shouting to stop them but every time I turned around to walk away more quickly they would start to run towards me until I turned around again and shouted. This became more intense and they got closer the further up the field I went. I kept the dog on a short lead through the whole event. She was frightened but did not bark and was not aggressive towards the cows. Several times I had to turn, stand and shout to stop them from trampling me. I could not climb over the wall in to the next field as the farmer has installed barbed wire along the top of the dry stone wall. When we were in sight of the exit style I ran and threw the dog over before jumping through myself. The herd raced up to wall behind me and it would be impossible to get back down the same footpath.

This is a regular issue at this spot of the footpath and I now consider it too dangerous to use as this is not the first time I have had this issue.”

Walker put off walking the Welsh Coastal path by cattle

Incident number: 1001

Response ID: 307,458,462

Date of incident: 23.09.24

Location: The Mathern area of the Wales Coastal Path

Status: Lone walker no dog on PRW

Annette’s story

“I was not hurt or even charged, but there was a few hours of extreme anxiety of having to walk through multiple small herds of cows while being stared and mooed at as well as trying to locate my exit. Plus the ground is very difficult to traverse in a pasture so escaping quickly is not an option. One field posted a warning that there is a bull in the field. My choice was to go back through all the pastures I had just braved through or continue on. Thankfully the bull was not there that day but he recently had been. It is a large pasture to get through and no one should have to be terrified while hiking because of cattle. I’m not sure I will continue the path.”

Annette also adds wisely “Hiking solo already comes with elevated risk and some anxiety. We should not have added risk because of cattle.”

Dartmoor common land stand off with cow

Incident number: 998

Response ID: 307,430,357

Date of incident: 17.09.24

Location: Dartmoor Nearest village: Gidleigh (What three words careful.showrooms.studio)

Status: Two people with dog on lead on PRW

Anonymous report “We were on a footpath on a remote part of Dartmoor a couple of miles away from Scorhill stone circle, just to the north west of Rival Tor. We had previously passed 2 groups of black cows without incident. We saw the cow ahead, not far from the path. It started running aggressively towards us. My husband stood firm and bellowed at it, also waving his walking stick. I walked on with our dog still on a short lead while there was a stand-off between my husband and the cow. The cow started to shake its head which we knew was a sign of danger. Worried it was about to charge him, my husband started to walk away at which point it started running around towards me. I had let the dog off at this point as thought this was best. Luckily the cow stopped and there was another standoff. Fortunately it then lost interest as we walked away. It was particularly frightening as there was nowhere for us to escape to – no hedge, no stream, no gully, just open featureless moorland.”

Further thoughts “There was a sign by the car park from the Gidleigh Commoners Association. FOR YOUR SAFETY PLEASE KEEP YOUR DISTANCE FROM ALL CATTLE ESPECIALLY WITH CALVES – went on to give more info about precautions and danger signs, the final advice was, amid danger signs eg cows shaking heads and pawing ground “to retire as calmly and quickly as possible” and then “if a cow actually offers (sic) to attack you let any dog off the lead and the cow may focus interest on the dog while you retreat calmly” The problem is – where do you retreat to in open moorland where there are no fences/boundaries???”

Walking on the Saxon Shore Way between Sandwich and Plucks Gutter

Incident number: 997

Response ID: 307,395,004

Date of incident: 01.09.24

Location: Saxon Shore Way between Richborough and Plucks Gutter

Status: Loan walker with no dog on PRW

Kaite’s story

“Walking on the Saxon Shore Way between Sandwich and Plucks Gutter recently, there were a number of very large open fields with cattle roaming freely including cows with calves, and no realistic way to avoid them – no alternative paths, no fencing etc. Most of the time when I came across them I had no idea prior to entering the field (often some way back) that there were cattle and I didn’t really have any choice but to hope for the best and go on. The first couple of times turned out to be fine (including a field with cows with calves, which I normally avoid). However in the third field with cattle a cow was standing right in my way, and eventually began to approach me. I backed away and slid down the river bank, and she followed, standing at the top of the bank – a group had now joined her. I waited to see if they would move but they stayed there. Fortunately I had a dry bag with me (I am a keen swimmer and had hoped to swim in the river at some point) so I managed to pack my things into the dry bag, get into the river and swim across, then picking up the path on the opposite bank where fortunately there were no cattle. I don’t know whether they would have hurt me but I wasn’t going to find out – having been chased on three previous occasions I am nervous around cows and try to avoid them wherever I can. Since the incident I have read online that other walkers have had run-ins with cows in the same part of the SSW. It’s a very isolated walk (I’m not sure I saw a single other walker all day) so there was no option to wait for another walker to brave the cattle together, and if I had been hurt it would have been hard to get help.”

Katie also added a link to the walk on Alltrails and previous warnings of cows

Saxon Shore Way: Sandwich to Hillborough, Kent, England – 7 Reviews, Map | AllTrails

Dartmoor is supposed to be an area of public access and people fought hard for that right in the past

Incident number: 996

Response ID: 307,292,939

Date of incident: 17.08.24

Location: Dartmoor nearish Sourton/Okehampton area

Status: Two walkers with no dog on PWW

Anonymous walkers

“A group of a few cows were standing together in front of the gate we needed to pass through on a public footpath. We gave them a wide berth and walked around them, deciding to go over the fence up from the gate instead of through the gate. One was staring at us in a way that felt potentially unfriendly more than curious. When we got nearer to the fence it stomped/snorted at us and started moving towards us (not running luckily or we wouldn’t have made it in time) so we ran and jumped the barbed wire fence and I cut my leg on the fence. Not badly but as it broke the skin I contacted NHS 111 afterwards and went to a walk-in centre to check if I needed a tetanus booster. My partner walking with me was not injured. We carried on the walk and encountered a much larger herd of cows later (still on the public footpath) and I was too nervous to go through them again so we ended the walk. Wish they hadn’t put cows on the public footpath, I know the NHS is there to help people but the whole thing was a waste of NHS time and ours and ruined a walk. I’m reluctant to walk on Dartmoor again as you can’t avoid cows in that part of the world. Dartmoor is supposed to be an area of public access and people fought hard for that right in the past.”

Further comments “Cows shouldn’t be allowed on public footpaths. If the farmer really needs to put cows on a public right of way due to space restrictions, then I’m sorry but the farm is too small for the number of cattle being housed there. This should be regulated by agricultural bodies. There’s absolutely no excuse for putting people in harm’s way for the sake of agricultural profit. I’m not saying don’t farm, because it’s an important part of our food system, culture and heritage – just downscale if necessary. Even if the cows don’t hurt hikers, intimidating people goes against the spirit of the public right to access the countryside, which is important for everyone’s health and wellbeing.”

Climbing trees to avoid cows in Lee Mill Devon

Incident number: 995

Response ID: 307,223,358

Date of incident: 17.09.24

Location: Lee Mill, Devon UK. A path that follows down from Lee Mill Park to a public walkway / field.

Status: Two people walking with no dog on PRW

Georgia’s story

“We walked down the pathway where lots of people walk their dogs, just 2 of us. It takes you between 2 fields, with the upper one having around 8 bulls and the lower one having a smaller patch of land. There were no signs or anything to state there were any dangers. As we got to the pathway in between, the bulls began walking down to us. We decided to move which is when they began charging. The gate was too far away so we climbed up a tree and waited for the bulls to clear off a bit, as we had been circled and they were extremely close showing aggressive behaviour. Nothing would deter them so we just sat and waited. Once they began to turn away from us after about 15 minutes, we grabbed our bags and ran for it to the gate. Upon closing the gate we looked behind and saw they had chased us the whole way and the leader was kicking out, huffing.”

She adds “Keep bulls / any animal that can pose a threat to passer-by’s behind a fence and put up signs to state there are bulls on the loose. We could have been trampled or charged at.”

I want the people in your country to know that this is happening in the US also.

Incident number: 994

Response ID: 307,193,852

Date of incident: 15.06.24

Location: Alhambra Creek Staging area of Briones in East Bay Regional Park in California (The East Bay) 

Status: Loan walker no dog on PRW

Mary’s story

“A calf started after me after he was butting heads with his buddy. He decided to do it to me. This has happened frequently with adult cows as well. The cows get all over my path, the fire road, as well as the field where they graze. I therefore have no other place to walk. I go slowly but they don’t care and they charge. The cattleman does not manage his animals at all!”

Mary wanted to warn us of potential US dangers – but cows are cows which ever country you go to – so be careful wherever you travel!

Hurdling a gate to avoid cows

Incident number: 962

Response ID: 306,985,898

Date: 05.05.24

Location: Near Brockhampton Herefordshire ( What 3 Words ///asleep.dated.pods on a footpath heading East towards Hollington Farm)

Status: Loan walker without dog on Public right of way

Rob’s story

“I was walking alone along a footpath from Lower Bolstone Wood towards Hollington Farm. As I entered a field I started walking alongside the hedge towards the other side. Then a group of cows came running towards me from the left hand side. The hedge was too high and overgrown to climb over or through so I ran to the other side of the field and hurdled the gate just before they reached me. There were approximately 20 of them and it was very frightening”