Location: Wilburn, Yorkshire on a walk by the castle Howard estate ///harmlessly.fitter.cowboys
2 walkers and baby, no dog. Cows and calves in field.
Account: “My husband and I were walking with our baby in a sling on me. The trail went through a herd of cows so we tried to go around them and as we walked by, a cow starting getting agitated. It then charged us and rammed my husband to the ground. As he backed away on the floor, it backed up and charged him again. We backed up slowly. Another cow came charging towards us looking upset and we walked slowly backwards and it stopped. No injuries (other than a wet bum but no bruising) but still quite scary!”
Location: Walking on Heart of England route just up from Blockley village and in field that runs parallel with the road from Blockley to Batsford Estate.
Account: I entered the field with my Jack Russell in a lead. I walked a few feet away from the stone wall on the very edge of the field. The cows were a good distance away. One cow looked up and stared at me. She went over to her calf and then just ran at my dog. She head butted my dog and scooped her in the air. As my dog was in the air I grabbed her and the cow was bellowing like a mad animal. She turned away and I thought I was safe. But she then ran at me and head butted me in my chest. I stumbled but didn’t fall. I was so near the wall so I jumped over the stone wall and barbed wire and lay in a ditch. The cow stayed bellowing at me and my dog, snorting and glaring at me, in this ditch. I had just about a foot width between the wall and barbed wire and a wire fence on the other side of the ditch.
I managed to get my phone and I rang 999. I honestly thought I was going to die. This cow was just reaching over the wall trying to reach me. The call operator from the fire brigade was great. They asked if I had what 3 words, I didn’t. I lay in this ditch for over 5 minutes, wedged between wire and the stone wall. When I couldn’t see the cow I popped my head up over the wall to see if it had gone.
The cow had walked off, but as soon as it saw my head, she came running over again, bellowing and shaking her head. At one point she followed the wall in front of me, I think she was looking for an opening to get to me. After some time I heard a human voice. I shouted, “help help, I’m behind the wall, are there any cows in the field?” A lady shouted back- ‘no’. So I put my head up again and the cows had moved into the next field. They have free access across 4 fields all on the public footpath. This lady, and her husband helped me and my dog over the wall. I could hardly breathe I was so frightened.
I know the walk as I walk it at least once a week. So I walked as quickly as possible to the gate and onto the road. There I just broke down and sobbed and saw how cut I was from jumping over the wall and barbed wire. The fire brigade found me as I went to the farmer whose cattle they are.
I thought I was safe, as I have lived in the country all my life. But most significantly I thought I was safe as the cows and their calves were out and free to walk all over the Monarch’s Way that is a very very popular walking route.
I thought there was no way they would be allowed to be free if they posed a risk. How wrong I was..”
Harry has reported this to the farmer, the police and the Health and Safety Executive.
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.”
Location: St Johns in the Vale, Near Keswick Cumbria (What 3 words beads.successes.goodness)
Status: Loan walker with dog on lead on PRW
Mark’s story
“Had been unable to locate the end of the planned public path and so had to follow another public path onto the valley floor and along the side of St John Beck north east of Thirlmere reservoir. After passing through a field with cattle entered another field and after passing a heard of approx. 16 – 18 cattle roughly have adult half calf’s I looked back an noticed they were starting to follow me. This then developed into a gallop with one adult at the front heading towards me. I moved over from the path to an area of reeds and water thinking if I get across they wouldn’t follow but before I got much further the front cow dropped down as I had already slipped down and then crashed into me. It’s head into my left side and I believe one of its knees into my leg”
Mark sustained two broken ribs and tibia plateau fracture in my his leg.
Marks adds “I would like to see improvements in public path signage and maintenance. At the end of the day I would not have had to enter this field to get back to my starting point if the path I wanted which was on the other side of a stone wall with no cattle could of been located.”
Report number: 989 Date of incident: 15/4/2016 Location: Merthyr Tydfil/ Aberdare way
Report: “We, f40, m35, son 4 and son 2 in a pushchair, walked along a track at about 3pm to the woods about a mile away. No cows around but they could be seen very far away up the mountain. When we returned at about 6/7pm, it was still light but about 20 cows with calves were blocking the road. We had to go through the centre of them to get to the end of the track and our car. I passed first with son 2 in pushchair and 1 dog on leash. My husband was holding my 4 year old sons hand and our other dog on a leash. He saw one cow staring intently and it took a step towards them. The entire herd looked like it was ready to run at them. My husband took a step towards it and stared it down. While also picking up our son slowly.
As crazy as it sounds, my husband growled at the cow. Don’t ask me why! But it worked and after a very tense 2 minutes of staring at each other, with the rest of the herd also staring at him, the cow turned and walked off taking the rest of the herd with it. I don’t know what would’ve happened if he hadn’t done that. I don’t know whether the growling or the staring down was what worked. But I honestly feel like he saved our lives that night. I’ve since had a phobia of sorts of cows. Which everyone, including my husband thinks is so funny because, after all, they’re only cows, right?!”
Further comment “We obviously need better signage of areas that have cattle but also include the dangers of walking there at dusk and during calving season. Something I didn’t know anything about before. I also think more education would be good. Children should be taught from a young age to respect the countryside and it’s animals. They learn about the green cross code so why not about countryside safety as well.”
Report number: 987 Date of incident: 8/9/2024 Location: ///skip.adjuster.mopped on the Tarka Trail, Nr Okehampton, Devon
cows with calves on open moorland on Dartmoor (mostly pure black herd but main aggressor was pale brown)
Report: “It’s an area we walk very regularly, my dog is off lead but under close control. It was a very foggy day and we found ourselves amongst the cows on the moor. We couldn’t see them until we were about 20m away. We are well aware of their potential so were trying to avoid them. My dog ran past the brown cow and her calf was nearby, she turned and went to attack my dog who was able to run away uninjured. The herd of black cows then came charging up from behind to see what was happening, running past us on either side, we stood still.
Report number: 986 Date of incident: 15/8/2019 Location: Sycamore Gap
Group of cows with calves. Dog on a lead. Family walk.
Report: “We were on the main footpath leaving Sycamore gap in Northumbria – the walk we were following was on a National Trust printed leaflet. When we got into the field I could see the cattle all crowded around the footpath and the stile, they were huge – looked like highland black cattle – huge horns. I sensed for some reason we may have trouble, possibly because of an earlier incident (described later,) and told my daughters if there were any problems to jump over the wall to the next field. I said this as sort of a joke but then as we approached one cow in particular looked troubled by the dog (who was on a short lead and perfectly calm,) she started following and virtually cornered myself with the dog, and terrifyingly when about 4 foot away, put her head right down and started scraping her front leg as if about to charge. I noticed there was a ditch with long grass, chucked the dog and myself in it (which effectively hid the dog) and walked slowly along, this thankfully seemed to confuse the cow, but it felt like a very very close call.”
“I contacted the National Trust as didn’t know what else to do. They said they would talk to the farmer involved but who knows. A few years previous to that in the Lake District we walked through a field of jersey cows, I always remember but couldn’t quite believe it, but do now, we had no dog then but they were definitely bothered by our then around 5 year old daughter – who was just with me on the path , they started gathering pace but thankfully I was near the stile by this point and got her over quick – I think it could have been nasty if we had been further away as they gathered speed – hope this helps wish I had thought about reporting to the HSE or yourselves – it didn’t occur to me until I saw the guardian article.”
Additional comment: “Really troubled me that this was a leafleted walk you can pick up at the National trust places, these cows were aggressive as with calves , this was quite a small field , it was the dog that was worrying them TBF – but based on other incident with young child I was really worried about families in that area as well.”
Report number: 985 Date of incident: 3/9/2024 Location: On the Dales High Way, arriving in Appleby, Cumbria.
No dog, lone walker
Report: “I was reaching the end of the Dales High Way, with Appleby now in view. A clearly signposted stile gave access to a field. There was a cow stood directly blocking the stile, with a large herd spanning the field behind it. The cow was clearly refusing to give up any ground. I had to walk further along and scale a tall fence to enter the field. I then waited and then plotted a course to try and avoid the herd. Suddenly, a cow from the group began charging at me without any warning. With no chance of a quick escape, I shouted and clapped loudly. Luckily it swerved and stopped, but was only a few feet from me by that point. By the time I reached the exit, I realised there were indeed young cows amongst them. Although unscathed, this was a very frightening experience and could have ended up badly wrong. This is a well used national walking trail.”
Steve P comments “Large herds with young cows should be kept off public footpaths. There should have at least been an alternative option, like there are in other places in this trail. It is do-able.”
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.”
Report Number 983 Date of incident: 22/8/2021 Location: On the South Downs Way, just across the A road between Housedean Farm and Southease, near the top of a large hill.
Group of bullocks (young bulls), lone walker, dog on lead
Report: “I got to a gated field which the South Downs Way ran directly through, where I saw what appeared to be a couple of young bullocks rearing up and bucking when a couple with a dog passed by, the couple were walking slowly, and didn’t appear to be in any immediate danger, so I stupidly opened the gate and tried to walk past, staying close to the fence. When the cows clocked me they suddenly gave chase, and I had to fling myself over the fence to get away from them.”
“The fence was topped with barbed wire and I was wearing shorts, so I tore one of my legs up quite badly and had three long scratches on it for a few weeks afterwards. It was getting dark by the time I reached the bottom of the hill and I was quite shaken.”
“I had to have a tetanus jab and my GP double-checked my scratches.”
Comment re signage “There was a sign at the bottom of the hill, warning of a bull in the field, but no sign on the gate I actually went through.”
Comment by Ingrid “The field that was occupied by the cows covered an extremely large and irregularly shaped stretch of the south downs way, I would appreciate it if farmers could, where possible, keep large herds away from some of our country’s most popular walking trails.”
Report: “I entered the field (Gander Hill) from the public gate from the Centurian Copse end, onto the footpath, I didn’t know the herd was in the field. After a few minutes I saw them on the top of the hill, there were 20-30 of them, they were frisky. I chose the lower path to keep out of their way as there was not an alternative route. They came nearer but were interested in each other not me, apart from one in particular that was very frisky and watching me closely. They were on the top of the hill, I was below. I should have turned back at that point but kept going, cautiously. Probably they were 100 yards away at least. I carried on for a couple of minutes thinking that I would get to the exit at the other end of the field before them. The one that was interested in me broke away from the rest of the herd and halved the distance between iteself and me in about 10 seconds. It was watching me closing, bucking, agile, dancing almost. The rest of them came a bit closer but were still frisky amoungst themselves and not very interested in me. I was very frightened, rooted to the spot, hands clamped by my side, nowhere to go, I was too far from the edge of the field to get to it and anyway it was a high fence with a lot of brambles and barbed wire. I was scared to wave my arms around or shout at it or move in case I frightened the rest of them into running at me. So I didn’t move at all, just stood stock still. It charged at me. But stopped of its own volition about 20 yards from me, stared at me for a moment and then tossed its head and rejoined the rest of the herd, which then ambled off in the direction of the far gate. I carefully retraced my steps back the way I came and exited the field.”
Mandy comments “Cattle should not be allowed to roam on public land full stop. Where there are farmers fields with footpaths, then those footpaths should be fenced, just basic stock fencing will do. I am happy for footpaths to be sensibly re-routed within the field concerned to allow a sensible solution that protects livestock and humans from unhelpful interactions.”
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.”
Cattle Safety 