Category: Spoiled walks

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”

BE: “all fields containing livestock should have signs giving a name and contact number to be used to report an animal in distress, or endangering the public”

Report number: 984
Date of incident: July 2024
Location: Fields near Thorncombe, Dorset

Report: “I walk my dog daily on footpaths around the village. Many of these footpaths run across the middle of fields and there have been several times when I have found cows threatening and frightening. The cows are moved frequently in and out of different fields, so it is unpredictable where they are likely to be. They are also often densely grazed in large numbers. As I have become more anxious about the threatening behaviour of these cows, I avoid entering fields containing cows whenever possible. In the recent case, in July, I had been for a long walk, and when I found there were cows in one of the fields on my way home, I could not see an alternative route and did not want to have to walk all the way back the way I came. The cows initially looked quite docile and not too close to the path, so I entered the field and walked along by the path but closer to the fence. A cow saw me and started to move towards me, then others noticed and followed. I became worried and as they grouped together and picked up speed towards me I ducked under the barbed wire fence and tried to continue on the other side, however this was alongside the river (River Synderford) and the undergrowth stopped me from continuing that side. I luckily found a large fallen tree branch and got back into the field. By waving the branch and shouting I was able to keep the cows back and reach the stile out of the field. I kept my dog on the lead with me all the time, as I didn’t feel it would have helped to let him loose.”

Additional comments: “I think warning signs should be used (though not as a ruse to prevent walkers using footpaths.) It should be made clear that walkers are entitled to go off footpaths and into neighbouring fields if necessary to avoid cows. Electric fences could be used to create safe routes to allow walkers to pass through, or around, fields containing cows. I also believe that all fields containing livestock should have signs giving a name and contact number to be used both to report an animal in distress, or escaped, as well as those endangering the public. It is currently impossible much of the time to know who owns the animals, or which farm they belong to, so you have no idea who to contact.”

Mrs Williams is chased by bullocks

Report Number: 982
Date of incident: 29/6/2024
Location: ///highways.viewer.call Nr St Buryan, Cornwall

Report: “Two of us were walking along a public footpath. We had got half way across the field when cows came round from a connecting field, they were a group of bullocks and they ran to us at the stile, I had our dog in my arms the whole time. Then we ran to a gate at the far end of the field so we could get into the next field and escape from them, unfortunately the gate for the cattle was open and they continued to chase us across that field.”

Comment: “I have a video of this. The footpaths were badly marked, I don’t think many people use this path. But it is on ordnance survey. I carry my dog when ever I see cows.”


Henry wants more protection for walkers so they can cross fields safely.

Report number: 979
Date of incident: 30/6/2017
Location: ///Leopard.Riverboat.Soonest. Between Stanton Prior, BA2 9HT and Bath Spa University campus,

Group of cows involved, black angus, red angus, Angus/Hereford cross, lone walker, no dog

Report: “I had passed through the field the day before and observed the cows were very alert and territorial, despite there being no observable calves. On that occasion I decided to leave the field through a fence as I was uncomfortable walking further. The day of the attack I was walking in the opposite direction, from Stanton Prior to Bath Spa University, where I was a student. I entered the field via the footpath and saw the cows on the far side of the field, approx. 400m away. With so much distance between us I felt reasonably ok about walking through, despite my encounter with them the previous day. However, as I continued to walk, keeping a close eye at all times, they gradually began to notice my presence and turned towards me. I kept walking as they were still far away, but then the herd began to move in my direction. I had already picked an exit point to get to if needed and I began to slowly move in the direction of the gap in the hedgerow by the fence. As I was moving away they began to run towards me in a long line, with one cow breaking off and running down the fence line. I was able to get over the fence just before the cow reached me. Had I not been aware of the herd’s previous behaviour and picked an exit route, I’m not sure I would have made it away unscathed. The hedgerow was thick and there were long stretches without exit points. The method the cattle used with one running along the fence line and the remainder spread out and running towards the fence line would have made outrunning them very difficult. I had no dog, was moving cautiously and always keeping distance. In other words this was totally unprovoked and potentially very serious. I filmed the entire encounter as I was so concerned something might happen.”

“I informed the farmer who didn’t take the incident seriously and told me how nice the cows were. This incident totally changed the way I walk in the country, especially around livestock. I will not enter a field with cows again as a result of this.”

Henry comments ” there should be more signage, more communication that this can happen to anyone, not just dog walkers. More exit routes in fields. Ideally more protection for ramblers/walkers so they can cross fields in safety. I used the route as my commute to university and work. Without crossing the field, my walk increased from 20 minutes to 1hr. I had no other method of transportation.”

Raced at by bullocks

Report number: 978
Incident date: 5/9/2022
Location: Berry Pomeroy – walking on public right of way path from the village up through huge field to head towards castle.

Lone walker, dog on lead.

Report: “The field from the village is huge and slopes up so you cannot see when entering if livestock are in there. It’s a circular walk from Berry Pomeroy village to the castle and back. As I got to the brow of the hill I saw a huge group of (what I presume were) bullocks They were a long way off but when they saw me they came racing down and started bombing me and hitting the hedge around me and my dog. I was about 20m away from the gate so I ran for it as they were getting more aggressive. I just managed to get through the gate and they ran into the gate after me (colliding with it.) I was terrified. Stupidly I didn’t take my dog off lead.”

“I had to get a friend to drive to collect me as the only way back to village was along a well-used B road that people use as a rat run to Paignton/Torbay and that has no footpaths. The bullocks were still at gate when my friend picked me up an hour later from the castle. I’m surprised no one has been killed in that field. A notice should be put up to warn hikers! I’ve never gone back.”