Ruth Livingstone
My book: Walking the English Coast
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Winfield’s Award
Killer Cows: Cattle Safety
Coastal path is closed to walkers because of dangerous cattle
Ceredigion Llanrhystud (21 day emergency closure from 15 October 2026) Presence of dangerous cattle on the path near Tregynan, Llanrhystud. en until 05-11-2026 Above is the detail given for the emergency closure of a section of the coast path in Wales. The decision was taken by Ceredigion County Council according to press reports, but there […]
3 reports of aggressive cattle
Incident No: 1319Date: 14.08.26Site: 51.6221725, -2.5476959 Near Thornbury, South Gloucestershire1 cow, 1 walker, no dogDescription: “I was going to walk across the field, it was open with no warning signs. A cow was staring at me, I didn’t think much about it and just kept my distance. It took a few steps towards me so […]
Experienced rider meets aggressive cows at Timberscombe Common
ncident No: 1318Date: 13.10.26Site: Timberscombe Common, Timberscombe near Minehead, Somerset1 horse, 1 pony and rider. Group of cows. Sophie’s Report : “I was hacking my horse back along the bridleway across the centre of the common towards the village, when the cows saw me and charged at me. My horse and the pony I was […]
Tag Archives: hiking
Stage 34. Hoo St Warburgh to Rochester
My path winds around the edge of an industrial area. There is the usual assortment of unfriendly notices, telling me to “Keep Out”, “Beware, Guard Dogs”, “CCTV in operation” and, while I’m at it, “No parking”. Bizarrely, I spot a submarine in the river. It is badly rusted and listing to one side. I am suprised to see a hammer and sickle on the turret. Continue reading
Stage 32. Egypt’s Bay to Allhallows-on-Sea
I have lost the path. I struggle through brambles and long grass, then across boggy marshland intersected by water filled ditches. As I jump across a ditch, landing on a bed of flattened grass and reeds, something long and thick slithers away from close to my left foot. It is a snake.
Stage 31. Gravesend to Egypt Bay
During this walk of Great Expectations, I pass through Dicken’s wet and marshy countryside, encounter two old forts, a sunken schooner, the launch site of an ancient torpedo and stumble through the marshlands of the Hoo Peninsula. Continue reading
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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24. Bradwell to Tillingham Marshes
Around the Dengie Peninsula, there is a coastal path stretching from Bradwell Power Station to Burnham on Crouch; seventeen miles of coastal footpath, with no villages, no towns and no marinas; along which the only building of any significance is St Peter’s Chapel. A powerful atmosphere fills the place ….
