Ruth Livingstone
My book: Walking the English Coast
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Winfield’s Award
Killer Cows: Cattle Safety
Pip encounters a dangerous herd on the Welsh Coastal Path
Response ID: 328,436,497 Report number: 1222 Location: Ceredigion Coast Path (part of the Wales Coast Path) between Gwbert & Mwnt Date: 04/02/26 2 walkers, no dog, meet about 40 Welsh Black bullocks Pips report: “On the return stretch of our walk we encountered extremely treacherous terrain and a herd of about 40 Welsh Black bullocks […]
Frightened walker asks “Surely the footpath could be fenced off just like it had been done leading up to this section?”
Incident number:1220 Response ID: 328,248,081 Location: Back Forest Farm, River Dane, near Wincle & DaneBridge, Peak District ///wasps.promote.homelands Date 26/01/26 Single walker, no dog SY’s Report: “I was heading back to DaneBridge/Wincle from Gradbach/Black Forest. I’d walked by Back Forest Farm along the path between their fields and came to a gate/stile. As I crossed […]
This walker was rescued by a kind person from Denston Hall
Incident number: 1218 Response ID: 320,795,463 Date of incident: 29.12.2025 Location: Below Denston Hall, Denston Suffolk Status: Lone walker with dog on lead on PROW L.Cooper’s story “I saw a group of cows ahead and waited to see if they would move. As I couldn’t get past without going near to them I backtracked and […]
Tag Archives: hiking
23. Maylandsea to Bradwell
The wind is wild and the sea stormy. I meet a venemous, slithery thing. And I grow angry at people who obstruct my right to walk along the sea wall. Continue reading
22. Maldon to Maylandsea
Here is Byrhtnoth, the Earldorman of Essex, bold and fierce, looking out to sea. I see Bradwell Power Station ahead of me and realise am making little progress. I worry about snakes and twisted ankles …. then my phone dies. Continue reading
21. Tollesbury to Maldon
This walk starts under wide, empty skies and follows a meandering, sea bank. What is the story behind the lonely bench in this isolated spot? Later, I meet a semi-naked man, friendly sheep and excited children on bicycles.
Continue reading
Stage 20. Old Hall Marshes to Tollesbury
Bradwell Power Station looms menacingly on the horizon. There is the threat of rain and strange colour-changing light. My trousers look like an insect graveyard – sticky webs with spiders, flies, butterflies, beetles, ladybirds… Little flies extract their revenge on behalf of the insect kingdom, attacking my upper arms. Continue reading
Stage 19. West Mersea to Peldon to Old Hall Farm
This is a day of highs and lows – and of unanswered questions. What has caused the death of all these little crabs? Why am I forced to play “chicken” with uncoming cars? And what is the purpose of that large, menacing building in the distance? Continue reading
Stage 17. Kirby-le-Soken to Walton, Frinton, Clacton and Jaywick
This is a glorious day of hot sun, blue sky, warm sea – and noisy crowds. I am disappointed by an ugly pier and this part of Essex lives up to my expectations – although not necessarily in a good way …. Continue reading
Stage 16. Harwich to Kirby-le-Soken
The heat is relentless – more like Spain than England – and the air is hot and close around my face. My chest feels tight and I am having trouble breathing. I hear the sound of horse hooves behind me and have to force myself not to stop. There is horsey breath coming over my shoulder…. Continue reading
Stage 13. Dunwich, Sizewell, Thorpeness to Aldeburgh
Being a medical doctor carries a penalty – hypochondria. While I ponder the miracle of my apparent fitness, despite a multitude of possible ailments, time passes and I make my slow progress along the shingle. I am heading for Sizewell nuclear power station. Continue reading
Stage 12. Covehithe, Southwold, Walberswick and Dunwich
What is the one thing more embarrassing then being rescued by the coastguards?
I walk past crumbling cliffs and fallen trees. I can’t resist taking photographs, wanting to capture some of the drama and sadness of this doomed area, as the land gives way to the tides and the greedy sea. Continue reading
Stage 10. Caister to Great Yarmouth to Corton
I am surprised by the lack of care for sand dunes in Great Yarmouth and experience a moment of stillness under the pier. Further along the coast, I come to an area where a whole section of cliff has slipped down …. The path has disappeared. Continue reading
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 