ncident No: 1318
Date: 13.10.26
Site: Timberscombe Common, Timberscombe near Minehead, Somerset
1 horse, 1 pony and rider. Group of cows.
Sophie’s Report : “I was hacking my horse back along the bridleway across the centre of the common towards the village, when the cows saw me and charged at me. My horse and the pony I was leading bolted. I managed to pull them up and span round shouted and tried using my whip to stop them, they slowed down.”
Tag: charging cows
3 incidents – Different counties, different cattle, with and without dog
Each report below details a moment when walkers proceeding along public footpaths were confronted by cattle. Each must be regarded as a near miss as any close encounter can cause awful injuries.
Nicky dropped the lead when the bullocks charged and they ran after the dog allowing her to escape unharmed. Matt was chased by a group of heifers and luckily managed to escape (although it was a mucky and tricky exit.) Heidi’s dog ran off and the cows weren’t interested in chasing her dog – they rammed into Heidi, attacking her several times. These cattle were Belted Galloway – the breed that are used a lot by NT and the Wildlife Trust as they are supposed to be less aggressive!
So the recommendations by others to let your dog off its lead may or may not help you.
All types of cattle, even supposed “gentle” breeds can be aggressive.
Giving the cattle a wide berth and keeping dogs on short leads doesn’t appear to help in these occasions.
Even if you have no dog cattle can harass you. There are recommendations out there suggesting running will only make the cattle more interested in you. But faced by a herd of cows hurtling towards you would you wait and see?
We agree with Heidi, but go one step further – Cows should not be allowed on public footpaths.
Report number: 1309
Date: 22/9/26
Location: Banks of the river Wey on a widely used footpath (between Broadway and Radipole, Dorset)
Group of bullocks, single walker, dog on lead initially
Nicky’s Report: “Bullocks started charging across the field, others began to follow. I had to drop the lead and let the dog run or we would have been crushed. The dog escaped unharmed.”
Report number: 1314
Date: 04/09/26
Location: 51.643340,-2.518658 Rockhampton, Vale of Berkeley, Somerset
Group of heifers, 2 walkers, no dog
Matt’s Report: “Group of heifers chased us from a public footpath. We had to sprint and climb onto a pile of muck and into another field to escape.”
Report number: 1316
Date: 02/10/26
Location: Yarm, Stockton Upon Tees, North Yorkshire
Belted Galloway cows with bull, small group of walkers with dog on lead initially
Heidi’s Report: “We were walking wide of the cows when they started to surround me with my dog. Dog was distressed and slipped her leash. I was rammed from behind 3 times, my dog had run off at this point. Continued to harass me twice more but didn’t knock me over.” Heidi comments – “Cows that have attacked before not be allowed on public bridleways.”
Rachel and crew saved by horses
Report: 1310
Date: 04/09/26
Location: Mount Pleasant, Upton Cheyney, Nr Bristol
Cows with calves in the field
Small group of walkers with dog on lead
Rachel’s Report: “We walked past the cows ( around 30-50) on the footpath slowly, taking a wide birth around them. When we were about 10 metres past them they started following us, after a few minutes they started charging us. We let the dog off but he stayed with us. We were between the cows and a high fence with barbed wire. We kept walking, they charged and we turned round and shouted at them. They stopped so we kept walking then the cows charged again.”
“On the 3rd charge 2 horses ran over from the far side of the field and stood between us and the cows. The cows stopped charging. We kept walking to try and get to a hole in the fence. After about 20 metres the cows charged again. The horses galloped over again and stopped them. This continued until we left the field. About 10-13 mins of being chased by them.”
Rachel’s Comment: “Herds that big should not be on public rights of way. When cows in front of the charge stopped, the cows behind slammed into them, pushing them into us. If the horses had not come between us we would have been seriously injured.”
Cows chase walkers AGAIN on Sussex Ouse Valley way
Incident number 1303
Date: 31.5.26
Site: Between Lewes and Hamsey on the river footpath BN7
I dog, on a lead, 2 walkers
Description: “Chased by cows on footpath, not for the first time here but very scary. Our dog froze in panic making getting away from cows near impossible.
We reported it to the council who have replied saying they’ll be there for months, really uninterested in them chasing us – don’t know who else to tell but it’s very scary and it’s our daily walk so feel very cross!”
Comment: “I would LOVE the cows to be behind a fence and not on the footpath!! How do we do that?”
Cattle Safety comment: This report highlights the problems with reporting issues on walking paths to councils. The person receiving the report is not trained to recognise a Health and Safety “near miss” and so ignores this report. Unfortunately these cows will continue to pester and chase people if nothing is done and then a serious accident could occur. Yes – walkers are instructed to report incidents to the footpath officer on a council – but, in our experience, doing that rarely achieves anything. Informing the Health and Safety Executive may achieve something as these people are trained in H&S.
Hungry bullocks charge at walkers
Incident number: 1304
Date: 27/08/26
Location: We were walking the Outer Aylesbury Ring and had left Gypsy Bottom on our way to Ashendon, Buckinghamshire
13 walkers, no dog
Libby’s report: Our walking group is completing the Outer Aylesbury Ring, one section at a time, the path we followed was obviously not walked a lot, one wooded section was tricky with a fallen tree and some barbed wire as a trip hazard, but we continued until we arrived at the field. The field in front of us was huge, all grass was scorched, and our footpath passed along two borders of it. It contained a very boisterous group of young cattle that came charging over to us, very close. We had a discussion at the stile, the alternative was to walk along a main rural busy road with tricky bends – so hard to see walkers until you’re right on them, a large group would be at risk. 4 people opted to walk back to the road. The rest of us opted to walk across the field keeping very close together. (Cattle have poor eyesight and so a cohesive group of people are seen as a big animal and cattle will stay away – that was the reasoning- but it felt scary.)
One group member walked to a nearby gate and lured the cattle away from the stile while the rest of us crossed into the field. We all bunched up together as the cows came charging over to us, they were very frisky and came very close. We tried clapping our hands and shouting – but that brought them closer. We think perhaps the farmer fed them near that stile and he probably summoned them by shouting and waving his hands. So we just kept quiet after that.
I carried a huge branch that had fallen on the ground and others had walking poles, we just tried to make ourselves as big as possible in their eyes. They charged off and then ran round back to confront us again and again, coming very close each time. They were snorting and jostling and lowering their heads towards us – which is aggressive behaviour. Eventually we came to a scabby line of trees, we walked on the far side of these and the cattle stopped following, even though we were still in the same field as them. We must have convinced them we had no food and weren’t worth chasing. We slowly (the ground was a little uneven) made our way to the exit stile and very gratefully left their field.
None of us were injured, but it was intimidating to walk across that field. A fence separating us from the cattle would have sorted both the worried cattle and walkers.
Because we were a large group, with no dog, and had agreed before we entered the field that everyone would stick together, I felt we were safe to walk the field. (Not completely safe but better than the road!) BUT I would not have felt safe if we were a smaller group, single walkers would have been at risk by those cows I think.
I wonder if this is how cattle are behaving across the parched fields of England and Wales at the moment? If so then large groups of walkers (RAMBLERS) be careful and stick together to be safe.
Near miss in the Itchen Valley
Incident number 1300
Date: 23.08.26
Site: Brown trail – Itchen Valley, Nr Southampton ///owner.press.duck
Single walker, no dog
Walkers report: The cows were grazing. I walked through the field and they all looked up at me. One started to walk over, about 10/15 meters away then started to sprint at me. Other cows started to try and corner me off. Had to run out of field and was chased, no calves were present. Cows then decided to go around to another gate to try and chase me again. I got out of the field safely.
Family escape from aggressive cattle over barbed wire fence
Report: 1296
Date: 18/07/26
Location: 52.2403290, -1.3127479 Just looked up on map and copied from Google maps. It was on a footpath going towards Napton on the Hill, Warwickshire.
Kirsty’s Report: “We were walking across a field with cows in the far distant corner, a long way from where we were and we noticed they looked agitated. Then they suddenly all started running full speed towards us. We’ve never seen cows behave like that before. We were in danger and had our 12 year old daughter with us so had to run to nearest fence which was unfortunately barbed wire. We had no choice but to climb over the barbed wire fence to escape to safety. After we escaped we saw the cows closer and they were scraping at the ground looking very aggressive and agitated. We didn’t have a dog with us and never got anywhere near them, didn’t see any calves either so don’t understand why they reacted like that. It was terrifying. Had the cows been closer when stampede started we would not have made it out uninjured especially with the barbed wire fence.”
Kirsty added “I didn’t know how to report these incidents until I read BBC Countryfile article with this website. We need more awareness of the dangers and how to report incidents. Our family haven’t been for a walk since and it was almost a month ago. It really frightened us. We had a stressful situation finding a way out and couldn’t find a way around the cows so had a very long walk back the way we came in hot weather having run out of water too. I don’t think barbed wire fences are appropriate in fields with cows and footpaths, that made our escape to safety so much more hazardous and difficult to escape without injury.”
Cattle Safety comments:
Here is a link to our webpage giving details of who to contact after an attack Report an Incident – Cattle Safety
Link to the Countryfile article mentioned above Fear not! Here’s how to stay safe while walking near cows | Countryfile.com – please note we have many issues with this article!
Boisterous cattle on the Cotswold Way stop walkers following the path.
Incident number: 1290
Date: 2/8/26
Site: On the Cotswold Way public footpath at Sands Farm (between Dyrham and Pennsylvania/ (Cold Ashton) just before where the Cotswold Way crosses Gorse Lane. The very approximate coordinates are 51.468770,-2.378849.
Type of cow: Boisterous group of young cattle.
2 walkers, no dog.
Report: “At approximately 12:00 noon, Sunday 2nd August 2026, my mother and I were forced off the Cotswold way footpath due to being charged by a herd of young, boisterous cattle. We were following the Cotswold way sign posts, which took us into and signposted us across the field, we were definitely following the correct route. The field was shortly before the Gorse Lane crossing.
John was nearly killed by cows, HSE decide that a few signs will make this safe for future walkers.
Report: 1284
Date: 02/08/21
Location: Todmorden, West Yorkshire. On footpath from East Whirlaw Farm to Style Road. Approximate map reference 255 936 on OS Map OL21
Single careful walker, no dog
John’s report: “I skirted around a group of cows as I walked downhill, but a number of the calves started to follow me. After that the cows started to run towards me and as I stumbled and fell , one or two cows trampled on me. I managed to phone my wife who came to assist me with our brother-in-law. My sister-in-law went to the farmer’s house and asked him to move the cattle. He was very reluctant, saying that it was his son’s job. He was only persuaded to move them when the air ambulance said that it would be dangerous to land with the cattle in such close proximity.”
Continue reading “John was nearly killed by cows, HSE decide that a few signs will make this safe for future walkers.”It could have ended so badly near Speaks Mill, Hartland
Incident number: 1269
Response ID: 329,908,514
Date of incident: March 3rd 2026
Location: Hartland near Speaks Mill on the SW coastal path
Status: Group of walkers with two dogs on a lead on PRoW
Dani’s story “Walking along the SW coastal path following an All Trails app trail when we come to a gate with no signage what so ever. Two adult males, a teenage male and myself a lone female, two dogs on leads with us, continued to walk the path and we came across cows in the middle of the field. They all suddenly turned attention on us, one cow with horns started charging and jumping at us which made them all start to run at us. Cliff edge with a huge drop a couple of metres to our right so we had to choice but to run to the other gate (we didn’t know not to run at the time as never encountered this aggression in cows before) We had to walk back through this field again on the walk back to get back to the car, we didn’t see any signs of the cows this time as we got to the gate which again had no signs, they were right at back of the field rather than near the cliff edge so thought we were safe but to our shock they again made their way from all the way at the back right corner of the field to the coastal path again trying to charge at us. The male members of our group waved arms and made loud noises but it didn’t stop them charging at us so again we just ran. I didn’t know the advice regarding letting the dog leads go in this scenario but to be honest I know both of my dogs would have just stayed by my side regardless.
I think we were so SO lucky not to be injured or worse in this instance and I only think it’s because our group members thought to try scare them that it confused them a bit. I genuinely experience trauma and PTSD from this experience it could have ended so badly”
Letting go of his dog probably saved Michael’s life
Report 1259, Response ID 329,768,059, Single walker and dog, group of cows with calves and a bull
6/6/26 Location: Between Blore & Thorpe, Ashbourne on the Staffordshire/Derbyshire border. On a bridle path between Coldwall Bridge and Coldwell Farm. The Limestone Way runs through the field as well as another public right of way. What three words are ‘chop.doubts.rotation’
Michael’s report: “Dog on the lead, tucked in behind me. I saw the cows with calves, and gave them a really wide berth but I saw a couple of cows running towards me from a distance away. I was knocked to the ground and then the other cows started gathering around. I sustained a serious leg injury which requires surgery. I let go of the dog and he bolted towards the gate and the cows chased him which probably saved my life.”
Michael added “Better signage would be a start. Also I’ve been informed by other farmers that it’s not appropriate to keep cows with calves near a very busy public footpath, there are 3 public footpaths running through the field in question. The following day a sponsored walk was taking place with 300 walkers set to walk through the field. I believe the farmer was made aware of the walk but chose not to move his cattle.”
Killer Cows comments: Michael has informed Police, HSE, Local Council Rights of Way Office, the Farmer, The Peak District National Park. We hope he makes a good recovery.
Aggressive or curious cattle? Either pose a risk to walkers.
3 recent reports follow, 2 with dogs, 1 without. All the walkers felt worried enough by the cattle’s behaviour and exited the field across potentially dangerous routes. People may argue some of the cows were “just” curious or playful rather than aggressive. If a 1/2 ton of animal is “curious” and comes charging towards you or pins you to a gate, that is dangerous. Cattle pose a risk to walkers. So what is the solution?
Signs indicating dangerous cattle in the field will not happen as the law states no dangerous animals should be kept on land with public access. Banning dogs across fields of cattle clearly will not solve the problem, half of our reports are from people with no dog. Educating people to “respect the cows” will not help, you can respect a charging cow as much as you like, but it won’t make you safe. Giving cattle a wide berth, not getting between a calf and mother, having a calm dog on a short lead – all good ideas but we have reports from those who follow all the above and yet were attacked. The solution is fencing off cattle from walkers. Read the following reports and decide what you would do in that situation.
Continue reading “Aggressive or curious cattle? Either pose a risk to walkers.”
