Tag: South West Coast Path

Chased by cattle on an exposed part of the Cornish Coastal Path

Report: 1167

Date: 26/7/2025

Location: Coastal path in North Cornwall, near Castle Point, St Gennys

1 person and dog

Report: “The cows ran to me and surrounded me, chasing my dog into a blackthorn bush over the cliff edge and also surrounding me. I stood my ground but had to shout at them to get a way out.

My dog was stuck in the blackthorn, but was lucky to be unharmed, I managed to get her out. She was less than a foot off from going over the edge of the cliff

The cows should not have been on such an exposed path. I am confident around cows so could deal with them. But the incident was very frightening, they were after my dog and very nearly killed her by forcing her off the cliff.”

Lone walker attacked on the Cornish Coast path

Report Number: 1105

Response ID 314,442,735

Date of incident: 13/05/2025

Lone walker, no dog

Site of incident: Near Cows Beach, South West Coast Path, near Mawnan, Cornwall. What3words location: https://w3w.co/fuzz.paying.connected

Incident report from Robin: I was enjoying the view of the ocean and then became aware of a cow stampeding towards me very aggressively, I put my arms out as it barged into me, I was shoved through barbed wire, rather than being pinned to it and crushed I had no choice but to scramble 10ft down a sheer cliff face full of brambles. I gripped onto roots but most of them gave way. I was stuck as the brambles covered a cliff face full of loose rocks! I was absolutely terrified! The cows stood at the top looking over at me as I struggled. I tried to shoo them away but it didn’t work. I had to perch on a gorse root above 40 foot or more of cliff, I was worried that a cow would fall on top of me. After more than 1 hour they moved slightly on and were distracted by other people walking past on the other side of the field, I then climbed out and escaped, scared that they would charge again.

Comment: I was traumatised, with bruising from being bumped by cow, with cuts from the barbed wire and brambles, mud and slate dust in eyes and a strained back! I think that there should be a fenced off area to prevent the cows walking onto the public footpath!

AJ thinks there should be a fence between cows and walkers

Response ID 310,379,901
Incident number 1049

Date: 28.04.24
Site: On the South West Coast path near Mawnan Smith, Cornwall. By Cows Beach, NT land I think
Group of heifers. 2 walkers, 1 dog

AJ’s report: We walked quietly straight along the footpath at the base of the field. The dog was on a leash; it doesn’t interact with other animals anyway. The cows ran down the hill towards us and continued to follow us. We walked more quickly and had to make strange sounds to keep them at bay. The only thing that kept them back was the leash my friend started to swing around as a last resort. At one point she shouted stop, while showing a stop hand signal, and the nearest cow seemed to understand it. They kept coming towards us, and it looked like they were trying to hunt us down as their eyes were very focused. I went from scared to terrified. I remember having the thought that the situation was going to end badly for us.
We were on a frequently used footpath so think there should be a fence between the cows and walkers. There was a woman on tv tonight who said walkers should respect the cows and that really upset me, we are always respectful and we did nothing wrong. I hope she normally has something more helpful to say and her words were just badly edited.”

Killer Cows comments: We agree with your comment AJ on the need for a fence between cows and walkers. If anyone experiences any cattle incident PLEASE report it to your MP, the area you’re walking through (in this case SW Coastal path) and HSE. So many incidents are unreported and unknown about – therefore it is believed there are few problems with cattle – we know differently!

https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

https://support.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/portal/s/report-a-problem

https://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/tell-us-about-a-health-and-safety-issue.htm

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.”

Janet’s walk along the South West Coast Path spoiled by ‘inquisitive’ cattle

We ended up retracing our steps and going through private property to find a road.

On the 3rd July, this year, I was walking with a friend along the South West Coast Path. We had my dog on a lead, and we were on an inland section between Abbotsbury and Chickerell, near Clayhanger Farm. Continue reading “Janet’s walk along the South West Coast Path spoiled by ‘inquisitive’ cattle”