I think it’s fair to say that most of my walking adventures in the Eden Valley are not without incident. If it’s not blowing a hoolie, giving me a bad hair day and camera shake, it’s an encounter of the animal kind. There is one particular walk that sticks in my mind. It is a favourite of mine to the Eden Lacey Viaduct but it can be tricky at certain times of the year. You are not always sure whether you are going to meet the happy go lucky heifers and have to the run the gauntlet across the field between the two stiles. Not a great idea as they move at a pace that would give Jensen Button a run for his money. They are clever, heifers, very clever. They hide at the back of the field behind the trees and post look outs to look for unsuspecting walkers. I thought I was on a winner this day, not a peeping heifer to be had. I scoured the horizon, all sides of the field, decided I was safe to go, so climbed up the steps to the top of the stile. I turned to step down the other side when I saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. Stopped and checked the trees again, nothing so I carried on. I kid you not, within seconds the two lookouts had gathered the rest of the renegades and were bearing down the field towards me with smoking hooves. I was back up the steps and over that stile quicker than you can say hoofing heifer.
Catching my breath, I turned round to look at them and they are all nonchalantly munching grass with an ‘it wasn’t me look’. Unreal! Heifers, hooves and heart stopping moments? Never again! I’ve changed my route.
