Tuesday 16th December - All 25 seen

Shortly before 14:00 this afternoon, fifteen members of Caesar’s original herd were gathered near ///polka.drumbeat.raced, southwest of James Bond Pond. They were still damp from earlier rain and persistent drizzle. Steers 30, 33, and 230 were grazing contentedly in the gorse bushes, while the rest were lying down resting among the heather.

Youngster 227 spotted me approaching and wandered over to say hello, enjoying a back scratch. A short while later, youngster 222 must have heard my voice and came out from the glade where he had been resting to greet me. He happily accepted a neck scratch and rewarded me with the sweetest head rubs. Steer 21 and cow 234 had settled into a particularly comfortable spot in the heather on the opposite side of the path to the southeast. The rest of the group were very friendly as I made my way around checking on them. All fifteen were happy, relaxed, and looking well.

By 14:20, the cattle began to get up and wander along the path south of the pond, stopping occasionally to graze on gorse and heather as they went. I said my goodbyes just after 14:30 as they started heading down the hill toward Longbottom, near ///fanfare.impresses.tape.

At 14:40, I found cow 940 grazing on grass near ///slick.roost.mouse beside the water tower. After a back rub, she walked with me as I headed west to find the others. The seven Sussex cattle, along with steers 35 and 219, were browsing gorse in the bushes near ///cabin.binds.perch. They were all very friendly as I checked on them, with most enjoying a few strokes. All ten were happy, relaxed, and in good condition.

By 15:30, cows 211, 212, and 940, along with steer 219, had moved back to the grassy area beside the water tower, while the others lagged behind, continuing to nibble on gorse. I said my goodbyes shortly afterwards, leaving them all grazing peacefully.

The cows were all good today.

Monday 15th December - All 25 seen

 Between 07:45 - 10:00

All have been seen in 3 groups.

The group I found were all 7 Sussex’s at ///darling.puncture.scale which is on the slope just down from the Sandy Hill Road. All were good mostly eating acorns and sone grass at the side of the paths.

The second group were nearer to the pillbox at ///proclaims.wanted.infringe, there were 5 here 035,072,219,214 and 030. Again we’re mainly eating grass and the gorse.

The remaining 13 were between the horse pond and the sandy area at the aldershot end of the site. They were all happy with 222 being his normal friendly self.

By the time I returned to Sandy Hill Road to collect my car the first two groups had joined up and were east of the pillbox heading towards the south of the horse pond.

All the cattle were good this morning.

Sunday 14th December - All 25 seen

At 08:55 this morning, the cattle were spread out along the length of Sandy Hill, grazing among the gorse bushes from the pillbox almost to the far western end. Steers 21, 222, 228, and 271, along with cows 234 and 940, were the first to emerge and come over to say hello on the grass beside the main path. They were all very friendly and enjoyed plenty of strokes and rubs. As I continued west, several more cattle emerged from the gorse to greet me, while others simply poked their heads out before returning to grazing. Steers 30, 35, and 1626 were browsing deep in the gorse alongside the path, alternating between eating gorse and foraging for acorns. By 09:55, the remaining six Sussex cattle were gathered toward the western end of Sandy Hill near ///dolls.shackles.thing. Most were still in the gorse, but cow 212 wandered out to say hello and enjoy a back scratch. The group then began making their way down the slope toward Longbottom to rest. Shortly afterwards, the cattle settled into two groups. Thirteen remained at the western end of the hill before moving east along Longbottom to forage for acorns near ///estate.mango.drag. Of the remaining twelve, five—steers 217, 220, 270, and 271, along with cow 234—were browsing gorse in the bushes opposite their favourite corner of Sandy Hill. The other seven—steers 20, 21, 222, 227, 228, and 230, together with cow 940—were foraging for acorns in the woodland behind, on the crest of the hill. I said my goodbyes shortly before 11:00, leaving all the cattle happy, relaxed, and looking well. The cows were all good today.

Saturday 13th December - All 25 seen

The cattle were all good today.

They were in three groups—five members of the Caesar's original herd foraging for acorns and munching on gorse at the eastern end of Sandy Hill, the seven Sussexes deep in the gorse bushes on Hungry Hill. The remaining thirteen originals were grazing and resting in the sunshine north of Horse Pond.

Decided not to spend a great deal of time trying to get to the Sussexes, expecting them to be more accessible later. By the time, I'd spent some quiet, relaxing time with the group of thirteen, the Sussexes had walked the entire length of Sandy Hill and were resting on the grassy island to the southwest of James Bond Pond.

I was able to take some close-up photos of steer 33’s rear left hoof today. His inner claw is extremely long, and it appears that the outer claw is beginning to grow underneath it. I will share additional photos with the grazing team on Monday.

Full update and some photos to follow in a while.