Tag: surrounded by cattle

Surrounded by cattle in Warwickshire

Report: 1174

Date: 2/8/25

Location: We think the path we were on was the Hanson Track, Warwickshire. If you are driving down the A3400 out of Shipston, you take the turn right signposted to Tidmington that leads to Ditchford Road – it’s a field on the right marked as a public footpath just beyond High Furze and opposite a footpath on the other side.

2 people no dog

Report: “We entered the field on the footpath and started walking across, we turned and noticed cows approaching from the other side of the field at speed. We were walking along the edge of the field. The cows closed in quickly and we could not leave the way we came in. We saw another gate and moved towards that thinking we could shut it but we could not as the gate was tied open with pink twine. Cows came through and all surrounded us closely behind the gate. They were making some noises and a few kept trying to creep closer. We were worried that at any point one or some of them could potentially charge or trample us as we were trapped by the wall and an open gate. We stood trying to appear calm for 10 mins but they were not going anywhere and we could not find a number for the farm. “

“The cows kept coming close and we had to sit on top of the gate which wasn’t very high. We felt like we were left with little choice but to call emergency services as we were fearful of walking through the crowd of cattle that had not taken their eyes off us. We were told by emergency services that we had to try and make our way through first by being noisy and trying to walk through them. Although reluctant we felt we had to follow advice and started to yell “move” loudly and clap. A few started to back off and make enough room for us to walk past them. We managed to leave the field safely but were very intimidated as this could have gone horribly wrong.”

“We learned that we may have been given bad advice by being told to be loud.”

“The only signs visible was instructing us to keep dogs on leads and stick to the edges which we did. There was no mention of cattle or how to respond. We also didn’t see the cattle when we entered the field.”

“We ended the call with the police once we exited the field but we don’t think cows should be in a field labelled as a public footpath especially when there are lone walkers and dog walkers. We don’t want this to happen to others who may be elderly or more vulnerable (or less lucky!!)”

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.”

Lottie is shouted at for walking along a public footpath

Case No. 1156

Date of Incident 03 07 2025

Location: On PROW between Germoe and Porthleven, Cornwall. WtW – ample.lateral.dreamers

I person and 1 dog

Group of bullocks

Lottie’s account “I was following a marked footpath, my dog was on a lead. There were no signs about cows. I entered the field and then went along the path to an opening on the path which joins to the next field. In that field were bullocks who quickly stood up and came towards me. I felt I couldn’t escape so I stood on a wall and had to call for help. The farmer arrived after 15 minutes and shouted at me saying it was my fault for entering a field with cows when I had a dog. He lead the cows away so I could walk out of the field. My dog is safe with livestock. There are no signs warning that over 20 bullocks are on the footpath, there is no safe place to escape them and they surrounded us.”

“I was frightened.”

Pushed against the fence by cattle

Report number: 1127
Date of incident: 2/6/25
Location: Bourneheath. Near Bromsgrove
1 person and a dog

Report: “I entered the field with my dog on a short lead. The cows were some distance away so I was not worried. I always keep to the side of a field when there are cows. When I had been walking for about 2 minutes, they all ran towards me. I let my dog go as I knew this is what you should do. The cows ran at my dog. My dog panicked and ran out of the field. I slowly started to walk to the exit of the field. The cows then ran at me. They formed a semi circle around me. They were all pushing each other out of the way to try to get to me. They pushed me against the fence. I was very scared and was silently crying. I phoned my friend who is a dairy farmer. She told me to stamp my right foot and wave my arm. They moved back so I could gently ease out of the field. Thankfully a member of the public had my dog. My arm was covered in blood from where I had been shoved against the barbed wire. I was so scared. I genuinely thought I was going to die.”

“I honestly feel like I did everything right. I have no idea why they charged at me or wouldn’t leave me alone. After I left the field they were mooing very loudly. It was a terrifying experience.”

Multiple spoiled walks and frightened walkers – this is not a rare occurrence; cattle need to be separated from walkers.

Report number: 1111

Date of incident: 4/5/25

Location: Etchingham to Bodiam first half of circular trail, East Sussex

2 people no dog

Report: “After passing through a gate, we saw cows on our right quite near, and our path was to the left. Upon proceeding, the cows began to charge, we weren’t injured, just frightened.”

Report number:1112

Date of incident: 19/5/25

Location: Eaton Barn in the parish of Doveridge, Derbyshire

1 person 1 dog

Report: “Very aggressive cows, making lots of noise and running amok, luckily I had let the dog off the lead so the cows followed the dog that can run fast. I wasn’t injured, just frightened. There should be fencing to separate cows from the path.”

Report number: 1115

Date of incident: 26/5/25

Location: St Margaret’s Bay Downs Road East Valley Farm near Dover

2 people, dogs

Report: “I was walking with a friend in the above area as we have done many a times. Heard something in the wooded area to the left of us and carried on walking when from that area came a Bull in full charge mode to get to a field of Heifers!! As quick as we could we got our dogs on the lead….we tried to get out the way sadly I fell over but manage to get up and spotted an area of fencing to stand by….TERRIFIED we stood still I told my friend do not move and DO NOT make eye contact because he was stood 15 feet in front of us an no way was he friendly!! The Heifers in the field were making the situation worse by running up and down with excitement. When the Heifers moved up their field we managed to run into the farm area……our hearts racing as we were PETRIFIED!! Traumatised we reached the farm where we met a lady explained the situation……..no apology NOTHING! This Road leads to houses, local walkers and riding schools with young children!! Farmers should take more responsibility.”

Report number: 1116

Date of incident: 26/5/25

Location: Halvergate, Norfolk. On the Weavers’ Way between Berney Arms Station and Stone Road.

1 person no dog

Report: “I was walking by myself along the Weaver’s Way between Berney Arms Station and Stone Road at about 5pm on 26 May. I went through one of the gates which is marked on the Weaver’s Way and a herd of about 30 cows charged towards me from about 100m away. I went back through the gate, making sure it was closed. The cattle then congregated at the gate. I managed to find an alternative route around the field. However, it was very frightening and I felt in danger. The pathway should be fenced so that the cows can’t charge at people walking along it. Or the cows shouldn’t be allowed to be roaming in the same field as the path.”

Report number: 1117

Date of incident: 26/5/25

Location: It was a walk in Rutland, near Stoke Dry and Lyddington.

1 person, no dog

Report: “I went through the gate into what was a public right of way and immediately to my right up a slope about 50 to 100metres away was a large herd of cows. I hesitated and thought; should I chance it? My gut instinct was not to walk across this field, but turning back meant going a long and not very pleasant way round. I walked several more steps into the field trying to think where to go. I kept checking the cows to see if they’d noticed me, and they had. It was eerie, as one by one the ones at the front lined up side by side and just stared at me. I stared back out of fascination, which is probably what you shouldn’t do. I quickly made the decision to get back to the gate to leave, as the atmosphere was feeling ominous. I was about equi distance to the gate as I was from the cows. I power walked back to the gate. As I was near the gate I saw one of the cows bolting down the slope towards me. I managed to keep,semi calm as I opened the gate. A few seconds later several of the cows had run down and charged into the gate, one was hoofing the gate. Felt very relieved to be on the other side of the gate! I was extremely lucky that I hadn’t got too far away from the gate. I think that this is a real issue, where cattle graze at large in land that is a public right away. It really needs to be challenged robustly. NB: There was no sign about cattle grazing in this field. I would like to see cattle completely separated from the general public at all times. Either cows occupy completely different plots of land, or there is some sort of fencing that separates walkers from them. I don’t think you can trust cows or rely on cattle etiquette.”

Killer cows comment: It seems to make no difference whether walkers have a dog or not, HSE statistics agree as do our figures. Across the country walkers are being scared and put at risk by cattle, all the above may have resulted in injuries or worse, and should be treated seriously. Cattle require fencing off from walkers.

Nia is surrounded by cattle and very scared


Report number: 1107
Response ID 314,533,472
Date of Incident: 16/05/2025
Location: Bridge, Portreath parish, Cornwall

Nia’s Incident report: “We were in the village of Bridge in Portreath Parish, Cornwall. As you pass the pub there is a hill on your right side that leads to a public foot path through a narrow path with a steep incline either side. You go through a gate to access the footpath and to get out there is a gate at the other end. There was not a sign to say cows were in the field.

We were two women with a small dog on a leash. The dog is not bothered by other animals it just ignores everything. All of a sudden we saw about 4 cows on the high part of the field looking down at us. We were approximately half way down the path when we were completely surrounded by the cows. We walked single file and calmly to the next gate. Some ran toward us and some blocked our path to the gate. We had to manoeuvre around them to get out. They seemed to be very inquisitive and sniffing us and the dog.

We manged to get out safely but it was a scary experience. Knowing all the stories of killer cows. Even seeing the first 4 cows we could not have double backed to go out the way we came, as we were bombarded by them all within a split second. They did not harm us but I was scared.”

Nia adds – “If I was aware of the cows being there before I took this route. I would have avoided it. I would like to know why the farmer does not put up a sign to say cows on the footpath.”

John Stapp has a lucky escape

Response ID 311,481,216
Incident number 1068
Date: 26.12.24
Site: What3Words location vase.learn.test, on the King Charles III England Coast Path https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/england-coast-path-south-east/trail-information/. Cliffe is a nearby village.
No dog


John’s account: “I was walking alone on a planned circular route, starting and ending at Cliffe. A few hours into the walk I was heading westward, to my left there was a steep earth bank leading to a concrete (or stone) sea wall. Beyond the sea wall was the south bank of the Thames Estuary. I passed a couple with a large dog who were heading in the opposite direction. We exchanged greetings and continued on our way. Shortly afterward, perhaps 10 minutes later, I encountered a small herd of cows. I estimate 10 to 15 of them. The cattle were stationary, with some sitting and others standing. I do not recall seeing any calves.
Having previously experienced charging by a large herd of castrated bulls a couple of years before, I was cautious, moving calmly but staying alert. The cows did not trouble me but one cow did begin to walk towards me after I’d passed the group. However, after some moments it stopped. Given that the couple I’d passed earlier did not mention the cows, and the cows hadn’t behaved in an overtly threatening manner, I figured the cows were likely not troublesome. Nonetheless I reserved some wariness.

My walk progressed, however the circular route I had planned was not waymarked, and this return route passed over wetland, and I didn’t want to risk losing time due to not being able to find suitable crossing points over the various water features. With about 90 minutes of daylight left I made the decision to return to Cliffe the way I came, a much longer route but at least it was clear. I had a headtorch and plenty of food and water, and spare layers and so was not so concerned about walking in the dark.

At the What3Words location provided in this report, I encountered the cows again. They were now moving in a single file approaching me. Not wanting to get too close to them, I stood away from the path, and walked partially up the earth bank that adjoined the sea wall. The lead cow stopped and looked at me, then continued to walk along the path. For a moment I thought all was well, but then the cow started to walk towards me. Fortunately there was a short ladder near me, that I could use to climb over the sea wall. I climbed up a few rungs of this ladder to put some more distance between me and the approaching cow. The cow continued to approach; it had left the path and was now walking up the earth bank. 2 or 3 other cows now also began heading towards me in the same manner. I then climbed onto the top of the sea wall. The cows continued to move up the steep earth bank and now began mooing. I shouted at them and banged my walking sticks together to try and scare them off, but this did not deter them. It was at this point I decided to climb over the sea wall onto the side facing the Thames Estuary and began walking along it. I eventually found another ladder and climbed over over the wall; there were no cows in sight and I continued my way back. It infuriates me this was been my second encounter with aggressive cows on a public right of way. I had a lucky escape. Had I not been near that ladder the outcome could have been different.”

John comments: “Thank you for providing a forum highlighting the issue of aggressive cows, there needs to be more awareness of this issue.”

Badly frightened on Offa’s Dyke

Incident number: 1012

Response ID: 307,947,666

Date of incident: 08.10.24

Location: Offa’s Dyke path, Lower Gwarthlow Farm, https://explore.osmaps.com/pin?lat=52.549151911985746&lon=-3.1158738261867995&zoom=14.2

Status: Lone walker no dog on PRW

K’s story

“Cows ran over and crowded me from the second I got in the field, not deterred by big stick I was holding. Lots of loud and angry sounding bellowing. They surrounded me and were not backing off as I moved so it was impossible to go forward. I edged back and went around through other fields.”

K wants “Extra fencing along side of field to enable safe access, or housing cows in separate field”

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.”

Scared walker -“Either fence the cattle off from the path or do not put them in a field with a public footpath.”

Incident number: 941

Date of incident: 30/6/2024
Location: Gregynog Estate near Tregynon, Powys. Footpath between Skew Bridge and Gregynog Estate footbridge.

Group of cattle – “I don’t know what. No time to stop and look.”
No dog, single walker.

Account: “I was walking bang on the path. I know because I have GPS. The cows approached me at a trot. I had no stick so I had to wave my coat. They speeded up. It was terrifying. I was so scared I was screaming at them to GO AWAY, waving my coat at them. They just kept running at me from different angles. I had nowhere to go. It is a big field and I wasn’t near any edge.”

Further comment: “Either fence the cattle off from the path or do not put them in a field with a public footpath.”



Amanda manages to remain calm!

Incident No: 926

Date of Incident: 08/08/24

Location: Near Newbold Astbury, Cheshire. Lat/long 53 08 40 N 002 13 46 W WTW – spoken.kicked.acid

1 person, no dog

Account “I was on a run at about 6p.m. I crossed into the field, which has quite a steep incline, so the cows weren’t immediately obvious. As I came over the brow of the hill I saw a number of cattle. A large bull started to run towards me and cut off the footpath. I moved through an open gateway into the next field and moved behind the hedge. There were also cattle in there. The original bull followed me, along with many other cattle from the 1st field. They surrounded me and were blocking the gateway I had come through. The front ones were about a metre away from me, including the original bull. I remained by the hedge, facing them, with my arms outstretched. I stood for about 25 minutes. Each time I tried to move they followed me. Eventually the original bull started eating (though he didn’t move away) and I was able to walk quickly around the herd and escape over the fence at the bottom of the field.”

Jonathan’s unforgettable visit to Stonehenge 31/03/1972

Response ID: 293,315,471

Report number: 812

This happened a long time ago when I was just 12 years old but remains fresh in my mind like it was yesterday. Two of my older cousins aged 19 and 22, took my brother (aged 10) and I to see the stone circle at Stonehenge. After visiting the circle, we decided to walk back using the field rather than the roadway. We were walking along a well-worn footpath without a dog. There was a group of cows in the middle of the field about 300 feet away. One of them started mooing and we didn’t notice but they started moving slowly towards us.

We did not have an inkling that cows could be dangerous as in the public mind they are considered ‘gentle’ animals. They broached up around us very quickly and had us surrounded. They acted in a very aggressive manner. Luckily, my cousin had a walking stick and waved it at them, shouting. We backed up against the field’s fence and moved slowly along it without turning our backs. Eventually we came to a gate not far away and made a quick exit.

The cows followed us all the way and stood at the gate staring. I can still remember how they looked up close, they are big animals and at 12 years old they looked huge. We were all terrified and shaken & felt lucky to escape unharmed. Heaven forbid if we were not near the fence when it happened. Since that time I have enjoyed many walks in the countryside and have steadfastly refused to walk in any field with cows even if there was a public footpath. I always skirt around them. I do not believe that cows should be allowed in fields with public rights of way or they should be fenced off from the footpath. They are dangerous animals.

We need fences separating cows from public rights of way, warning signs for the public and more public awareness of the danger.