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.
Tag Archives: britain
223 Pwllheli to Abersoch
I get on the wrong bus, meet monster trucks, and fill my pockets with pebbles. Continue reading
201 St Davids to Whitesands Bay
The path is positively crowded today, with swarms of kayakers and plagues of coasteerers. 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
116 Porthleven to Praa Sands
I decide to ’embrace the wet’. This sounds like a good mantra. I start reciting it as I march along in my cloudy, wet world. ‘Embrace the wet.’ The path is overgrown. Wet branches lash against my legs. Through gritted teeth I chant, ‘Embrace the wet.’ Continue reading
74. Durlston Head to Chapman’s Pool
For some reason, I am feeling anxious about the walk today. I am unfit. Everyone has told me how rugged and difficult this section of the South West Coast Path is. Will I survive? Continue reading
30. Fobbing to Tilbury
“Or, if you walk into the village, you may be able to catch a bus.”
“I am not allowed to travel by bus,” I tell him.
If he thinks this is a little odd, he is too polite to say so.
Continue reading
28. Great Wakering to Southend to Leigh-on-Sea
Southend is full of sunlight but I am surrounded by warning signs. I am forbidden from walking along the beach – first by Ministry of Defence warning signs and later by an oil spill. I scratch my insect bites and have some close encounters with blackberry bushes, before becoming trapped in deep, dark stairwell …. Continue reading
26. Burnham on Crouch to Rochford
I am planning to make good progress over the next few days. Who knows, I might even manage to leave Essex. With 350 miles of coastline, Essex has the longest coastline in England. I was not aware of this fact before I encountered its miles of estuaries ….
Continue reading
25. Tillingham Marshes to Burnham on Crouch
The Dengie peninsula is flat, marshy and has a coastal walk 17 miles in length. I suffer my first serious bout of boredom …. then I see a mirage, a strangely decorated gate and discover an enormous mushroom. Continue reading
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 