Tuesday 3rd November - All 25 seen

The cattle were all seen in three groups this morning.

At 07:00, the first group, consisting of steers 30, 210 and 1626, along with cows 211, 212 and 234, were happily grazing in the gorse and heather near ///liner.bridge.folds. They were all very friendly, coming over to say hello and enjoy plenty of strokes and rubs. Steers 197, 219 and 1640, along with cow 1396, had crossed the path and were enjoying a mixture of heather and silver birch leaves near ///starts.fled.quiz. Youngster 219 was far more interested in a lengthy back scratch than in eating his breakfast.

At 07:40, youngsters 217, 270 and 271 were foraging in the woodland east of the Sandy Bowl near ///paused.skills.ally. They had been grazing in the woodland to the southwest before wandering down through the trees shortly before I arrived. Youngsters 270 and 271 were especially friendly, both enjoying plenty of attention before returning to grazing.

By 08:00, the remaining twelve cattle were spread over a wide area, ranging from youngsters 227, 228 and 230, grazing in the bramble by the Royal Pavilion near ///yours.keys.after, to steers 20, 33 and 222, grazing in the thicket just north of the cow shed. Steers 21, 35 and 220, along with cows 72 and 214, were grazing between these two areas. Cow 940 had wandered off to enjoy some alone time in a lovely patch of heather southeast of the cow shed near ///park.aura.shuts. The cattle were all very friendly as I made my way around checking on them, with most pausing their grazing to come over for lengthy neck, shoulder and back rubs. I've no idea what youngster 227 had been up to, but he had lots of sand at the top right of his head. He was happy for me to brush much of it off while carefully shielding his eye.

I said my goodbyes just after 08:50, as the last few cattle crossed the wooden bridge by the cow shed and headed off to the southwest. Several stopped for drinks from the stream before carrying on their way.

The cattle were all good today.

Monday 2nd - All 25 seen

 Between 06:45 - 08:45

All seen 5 groups

///pulse.rebounder.shifting 940,033,212,1640,211 and 222

///beeline.drilled.dignitary 219,1396,197 and 210 

///ironclad.seaweed.competing 214,234,227,072 and 021

///cubed.duties.splice 230,020,035 and 030

///eyelid.detained.acoustics 228,270,271,217 and 220

All the cattle were good this morning, grazing and enjoying the early morning sunshine, some hadn’t got up on my first visit but were all standing on my return. When I returned to Sandy Hill Road, where I had parked, 940 and 212 had made their way up the hill and were moving eastwards past the apple tree.

All the cattle were good this morning.

Sunday 1st November - All 25 seen

At 10:15 this morning, youngsters 227 and 270 were grazing deep in the gorse bushes south of James Bond Pond, near ///regal.jolly.swimmer. Youngster 270 was quick to come out and join me on the path, keen to say hello and settle in for plenty of neck and back scratches. After a while, youngster 227 appeared at the edge of the bushes and stopped for a few strokes before returning to graze.

At 10:35, steers 20, 35, 217, 219, 220, 222, 228, and 1640, along with cow 72, were foraging in the woodland near ///line.tedious.huts. They were all very friendly, taking turns to come over to greet me and enjoy plenty of attention. Youngsters 219 and 222 were especially friendly, both thoroughly enjoying long neck and back scratches. It was another foggy morning, and the cattle were all damp from being out in the fog. Although there was no rain, the air was so saturated with moisture that you could feel the fine droplets of fog on your skin while spending time with them.

I said my goodbyes at 11:05 and headed west to find the next group of cattle, with youngster 219 following closely behind. Steer 197, along with cows 212 and 214, were happily grazing near ///tabs.tiles.loft. On the far side of the track, cow 940 was munching contentedly on a patch of grass, with steer 1626 browsing leaves nearby. She was very friendly and enjoyed a neck rub before positioning herself for a lengthy back scratch. She's still very much the boss, seeing off any other cattle that dared to interrupt her scratching session! Further north, cows 211, 234 and 1396, along with steers 33 and 210, were peacefully grazing together. They all stopped to say hello and enjoy some strokes during their checks. By 11:30, steer 1640 had joined the group, and all twelve moved into the pasture near ///plotter.users.greet to continue grazing.

At 11:35, most of the cattle from the second group had gathered around the patch of grass near ///shock.bank.motoring to rest and chew their cud. They had been joined by youngsters 227 and 270. It was lovely to see youngsters 270 and 271 reunited and enjoying a bit of play fighting. Youngsters 222 and 228 enjoyed lots more attention before the group moved into the gorse bushes to the east. Cow 72 stayed behind and thoroughly enjoyed back scratches, lowering her head and almost falling asleep at one point.

Finally, at 12:30, the final three cattle were at the eastern end of Sandy Hill near the pillbox. Steer 21 was enjoying plenty of grass and bramble along the strip of grass at the side of the main path. Steers 30 and 230 were apart, but both were deep in the gorse bushes at the edge of the hill. I went in to say hello and check on them, only for both to follow me out into the open, making things a little easier. Afterwards, I returned to spend some more time with steer 21, who was now relaxing and chewing his cud. I said my goodbyes at 13:15, leaving him resting while the other two continued to browse on the gorse.

The cattle were all good today.