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: england
75. Chapman’s Pool to Tyneham
Across crumbling clifs, above wild beaches and deserted coves, the path roller-coasters along.. and is graded as challenging. Am I up to it?
73. Swanage to Durlston Head
The wooded path leading to Durlston Head is endearingly called “Isle of Wight Road”. It is Sunday and, although still January, there are lots of people walking here today. I wonder if the rest of the South West Coastal Path will be as busy as this.
69 (part 2). Hurst Castle to Christchurch
I see a Kestrel and eat a cream tea. Checking my map, I realise I have crossed over into Dorset. I am making progress!
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Stage 33. Allhallows-on-Sea to Hoo St Werburgh
Mud has reached past my laces to the tops of my boots. With each step, I feel my boots being tugged downwards. I am in danger of sinking to my knees – or ending up barefoot. Eventually, with considerable frustration and a heavy heart, I admit defeat.
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30 (cont): Tilbury to Gravesend
The light is fading. In my walking boots, and with my rucksack and poles, I stick out like a sore thumb. I do not belong in this area …..
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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.
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29. Southend to Basildon to Fobbing
I hesitate outside the dark mouth of the gloomy alleyway. For the first time on my whole journey, I feel very uneasy. I am not concerned about tides, or mud, or even snakes. It is the thought of ….. 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 ….
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Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 