Ruth Livingstone
My book: Walking the English Coast
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Winfield’s Award
Killer Cows: Cattle Safety
Cattle charged at walkers – this could have been prevented by a simple fence
Incident number: 1229Response ID 329,262,000 Date: 16/4/26 Location: Preston Bagot, Warwickshire. Grid reference 176644 2 people, no dog Report: “Walking around the edge of a field the cows charged. I had to climb over a barbed wire fence while my husband ran around the corner of the field.It would be great to see special fencing […]
Charged at by a cow in Derbyshire (Pattern of previously aggressive livestock behaviour in this area)
Incident number: 1228Response ID 329,163,280 Date: 8/4/26 Location ///farm.prepare.character, Between Unstone Green and Dronfield,Derbyshire 2 People, with 2 dogs on lead Incident Summary: “On 8th April 2026, while traversing the established public footpath southwest from Highgate Lane, our party (two adults and two canine companions on leads) encountered an aggressive bovine. The animal emerged from […]
Ensuring Safety on a Walking Holiday: Cattle Management
We all have a right to walk safely along footpaths, and we can’t predict which cattle will be aggressive.
Category Archives: 09 Devon
141(pm) Barnstaple to Chivenor
It should be easy walking – flat and a good surface. But I find it hard work. A collection of boats ahead cheers me up. Not exactly a luxury marina, but a sort of informal mooring of everyday boats, the sort I enjoy looking at.
141(am) Instow, Barnstaple, Chivenor
I pass rusting wrecks and abandoned jetties. A sign tells me it is a “Wildlife Refuge” – although I see no sign of any life, wild or otherwise. Inland there are wet areas and clumps of grass. And a marching army of poles.
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140(pm) Appledore to Bideford and Instow
In a small square is a statue of Charles Kingsley, historian and novelist, famous for The Water Babies and Westward Ho!. He spent some of his childhood years in Clovelly and some in the village of Barnack, close to my home town of Stamford. Continue reading
140(am) Westwood Ho! to Appledore
The sea gives way to mud flats and a sign. WARNING. The tidal waters and mudflats on this estuary can be dangerous if not treated with respect.
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139b Peppercombe to Westwood Ho!
“The next section of shoreline is up-and-down,” my husband warns me. He has already walked this part of the coast, in order to meet me.
“How many ups-and-downs?” I ask. Continue reading
139a Clovelly to Buck’s Mills
On Hobby Drive, through the trees I get a sudden view of Clovelly. I am surprised to discover how little progress I have made in 30 minutes of easy walking. Continue reading
138b Clovelly
Clovelly is an impossible village. Ridiculously steep slopes. Inaccessible. Beautiful. The only safe harbour between Boscastle and the waters of the Bideford/Barnstable estuary. Continue reading
138 Hartland Point to Clovelly
I wonder if I have been spoiled for ever. Cornwall was so extraordinarily beautiful, perhaps every walk from now on with be disappointing. Continue reading
137 Hartland Quay to Hartland Point
A glorious day and a short walk. But I work out that in the past eight days of my coastal walk, I have climbed the equivalent of Mount Everest! Continue reading
136b Marsland Mouth to Hartland Quay
And here is a little desk in front of large windows. And notepaper, pens, water, glasses. It looks like a study. Somewhere a poet might sit. A modern “Hawker’s Hut”. Continue reading
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 