Cows and bulls

[ethandron]

Any regular walkers out there...how do you feel about walking on a marked footpath through a herd of cows and a bull??

[ethandron]

Thanks for your responses.
We've looked into the legalities of it all, and checked out lots of rambling websites so I know what is and isn't allowed to be in fields with footpaths running through, it was how people actually feel about it I'm more interested in. It seems most walkers feel the same as we do and that we're not just a couple of cowardly wimps ;)
We too had a bad experience being chased by a herd of youngish cattle a couple of years ago and it has made us very wary. We set off on this latest walk with a couple of walking poles to defend ourselves, trying to be very brave, and then noticed that one of the cows was a bull and beat a hasty retreat. It's a shame because this particular walk is part of the Thames path and goes past a lovely riverside pub where, in the past, we've enjoyed a nice lunch and bottle of wine, and strolled drunkenly back...not possible now because of the cattle :(
I fully appreciate that farmers have to graze their cattle but I do wonder why, on a public footpath, there isn't some sort of fenced in path through these fields.