25 bullocks crowding the stile on Kendal Race Course Step off a stile into a herd of bullocks. They surround you, follow you across Kendal Race Course. They head-but each other, mount each other. Today, I set out for Scout Scar but I didn't fancy the walk across the race course, pursued by bullocks. I was not alone. I met others who had aborted their planned walk to Scout Scar, intimidated by bullocks. Natural England's new conservation plan contravenes their declared objective: that we should be free to enjoy a landscape. No-one was enjoying this close physical encounter with bullocks. It was unpredictable, felt unsafe.
I am interested in farming and agriculture, and I'm supportive. But I'd ask for good sense regarding Kendal Race Course, and an appreciation of what this place is and how it is used. For locals and for tourists, it's the approach to Scout Scar. Two public footpaths cross it and they have been in frequent use for years. Walkers, dog walkers and runners all must come this way. We are accustomed to walk here safely and without being intimidated by a herd of bullocks. I watched a man I see here daily climb the stile and saw the look of anxiety on his face as he was engulfed amongst big beasts. The problem is exacerbated because the herd congregates about stiles and blocks access.
Bradleyfield Farm is situated on Kendal Race Course but it isn't a working farm. No one lives there. So the herd has no immediate link here. When I wrote About Scout Scar, and until comparatively recently, there was lambing on The Race Course in April and we locals loved to see it. Being invited into the lambing barns was a privilege. And throughout the year the ewes ensured the turf was grazed short.
Up on Scout Scar there are Welsh Black cattle, and Galloways on Helsington Barrows. They are docile, accustomed to walkers and dogs. You may walk close by and they carry on grazing, indifferent. Bullocks of a dairy breed are something else- these animals are unpredictable and we're all wary.
Clearly, the interests of farmers and visitors must be in balance. It is not cattle per se that are the problem. I'm hoping Scout Scar will soon be accessible to those of us who love to walk there without having to clear a way through large and pestering bullocks.
Of course the farmer could put up an electric fence to protect walkers and runners from the herd. This had already been done, temporarily, to keep sheep off two zones of limestone grassland. So that would be a reasonable solution to a problem which needs to be resolved fast.
I would like to see these rights of way across Kendal Race Course quickly made safe again. Scout Scar is a well loved beauty spot, an amenity that is essential to our well being. If you feel the same you might like to contact Natural England at Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal. Or you might like to contact me and add your name to a growing list of those who want to see Kendal Race Course offering safe rights of way to Scout Scar, as it has traditionally done. The current situation is unacceptable and I'm looking to see this resolved.
Bradleyfield Farm is situated on Kendal Race Course but it isn't a working farm. No one lives there. So the herd has no immediate link here. When I wrote About Scout Scar, and until comparatively recently, there was lambing on The Race Course in April and we locals loved to see it. Being invited into the lambing barns was a privilege. And throughout the year the ewes ensured the turf was grazed short.
Up on Scout Scar there are Welsh Black cattle, and Galloways on Helsington Barrows. They are docile, accustomed to walkers and dogs. You may walk close by and they carry on grazing, indifferent. Bullocks of a dairy breed are something else- these animals are unpredictable and we're all wary.
Clearly, the interests of farmers and visitors must be in balance. It is not cattle per se that are the problem. I'm hoping Scout Scar will soon be accessible to those of us who love to walk there without having to clear a way through large and pestering bullocks.
Of course the farmer could put up an electric fence to protect walkers and runners from the herd. This had already been done, temporarily, to keep sheep off two zones of limestone grassland. So that would be a reasonable solution to a problem which needs to be resolved fast.
I would like to see these rights of way across Kendal Race Course quickly made safe again. Scout Scar is a well loved beauty spot, an amenity that is essential to our well being. If you feel the same you might like to contact Natural England at Juniper House, Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal. Or you might like to contact me and add your name to a growing list of those who want to see Kendal Race Course offering safe rights of way to Scout Scar, as it has traditionally done. The current situation is unacceptable and I'm looking to see this resolved.
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