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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Tregeseal » Wretched longhorn cattle |
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moss 2897 posts |
Edited Jun 17, 2011, 20:03
Jun 16, 2011, 10:01
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Don't normally swear, and am a great fan of cows but these long horned beasts (sharpening their horns on the stones) on the Cornish moors leave a lot to be desired, at least their owners should have known better. Thank Natural England for their barbed wire and fencing off of sections of the moor, and more is on the way! Not sure if you can see this video, but it is on the SavePenwithMoor group. https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/video/video.php?v=219547668068579&oid=270993623952&comments
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StoneGloves 1149 posts |
Jun 16, 2011, 16:32
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No, you need to be logged in to BookFace to see it. (That's like asking Sitting Bull to sell the prairies). Longhorns, within limits, are notoriously (a) docile and (b) curious. They also graze rougher pasture than a sheep - which'll be why they're there. It's odd how people comfortable whizzing along the road at 60mph, their bums a foot above the tarmac, then will go daft if a bee comes within a foot of their face. (So I'm on the side of the hairy cattle) ...
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Littlestone 5386 posts |
Jun 16, 2011, 17:38
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Longhorns, within limits, are notoriously (a) docile and (b) curious. They also scratch their rumps and sharpen their horns on megaliths. Watch the video. Grrrr...
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wideford 1086 posts |
Jun 16, 2011, 17:39
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och kie the noo
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Jun 16, 2011, 21:14
Jun 16, 2011, 20:11
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moss wrote: Don't normally swear, and am a great fan of cows but these long horned beasts (sharpening their horns on the stones) on the Cornish moors leave a lot to be desired, at least their owners should have known better. Thank Natural England for their barbed wire and fencing off of sections of the moor, and more is on the way! Not sure if you can see this video, but it is on the SavePenwithMoor group. https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/video/video.php?v=219547668068579&oid=270993623952&comments The comments under the video help to put the problem in its proper context - this one from someone called Craig Weatherall: I expect they'll accuse us of photo-shopping it next, Ian. To give folk an idea how massive this breed of cattle is, the stones are from 3 to 4 feet tall. Any cattle grazing out there in the past (and that has yet to be proven) would have involved a breed called the Cornish Black. A small, short-horned breed no bigger than a Dexter, the Cornish Black is extinct, but their closest relatives are the Dexter, the Kerry Black and the Welsh Black. There is no known precedent in this area for Longhorns such as these in the clip. Normally cattle (see West kennet Avenue at Avebury) don't impact on the stones but the evidence seems to be that this particular breed is having a detrimental effect on the Tregeseal stone circle. I noticed a similar breed on the rough, marshy, land leading up to Sunkenkirk whilst walking up to the circle a few weeks back but the circle itself was protected by a dry stone wall separating it from the cattle. If the cattle have to stay then the only way to protect the Tregeseal is to enclose it in some way - like Boscawen-un, which is enclosed by blackthorn and gorse. I noticed some standing stones whilst out walking in Wiltshire last year - they turned out to be 'rubbing stones' presumably erected in recent times for the very purpose the cattle were using the circle stones.
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Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jun 17, 2011, 06:14
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moss wrote: Don't normally swear, and am a great fan of cows but these long horned beasts (sharpening their horns on the stones) on the Cornish moors leave a lot to be desired, at least their owners should have known better. Thank Natural England for their barbed wire and fencing off of sections of the moor, and more is on the way! Not sure if you can see this video, but it is on the SavePenwithMoor group. https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sfrm=1#!/video/video.php?v=219547668068579&oid=270993623952&comments Using Bodmin Moor a lot for exercising my dogs whilst exploring the stones/cairns/barrows etc like I do I have to say that I love seeing the Highland Cattle. It's not just them that cause damage though as the sheep and horses do the same. I suppose you could claim that the sheep are the worst as they create ditches around the base of the upright stones which then fill with water and become 'easier' to push over. But by far and away the worst culptits for me are the kids that are allowed by their parents to climb all over the stones (I'm thinking of the Hurlers now nearby to where I live). I've been over there many a time in the summer months where families virtually use the central circle as a football pitch and trying to take photos is impossible. At least with cattle you can chase them off, not so the kids who give you a torrent of abuse and are mainly backed up by their parents! I can't speak for other parts of the moor but the animals congregate at the Hurlers at Minions because that is where all the visitors arrive at to walk to the Cheesewring from and do feed the animals. I have some 'lovely' video footage of the car park awash with ponies amongst the cars. It is nice to see the bonding between man and beast although there is always a downside.
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moss 2897 posts |
Edited Jun 17, 2011, 07:57
Jun 17, 2011, 06:37
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Yes I know its lovely to see longhorned cattle around, but the photos that alerted me are on Megalithic Portal, and are pretty terrible, the stones are only 3 to 4 feet high and the cattle are immense, a holed stone has been smashed, whether it was the cattle I don't know. http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=560 The main thrust of the argument is of course the fencing of the moors which is seen as very unfriendly, you would know more about that ;), whether as TJJ says that fencing round the circles would help I don't know - lots of grumbling from photographers and people who want to get into the circle.... If the following is true, permanent enclosure of the moors is writ large, last time that occurred was probably the 18th century... "New Higher Level Stewardship agreements have been signed that cover parts of Watch Croft, Carn Galva, Men-an-Tol and Lanyon Quoit Crofts. Extra fencing will be installed and grazing will mostly begin after next May." It's also been covered here of course..... http://heritageaction.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/cattle-damage-at-tregeseal-stone-circle/
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tjj 3606 posts |
Jun 17, 2011, 07:36
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moss wrote: The main thrust of the argument is of course the fencing of the moors which is seen as very unfriendly, you would know more about that ;), whether as TJJ says that fencing round the circles would help I don't know - lots of grumbling from photographers and people who want to get into the circle.... Just to clarify, in my post I mentioned Boscawen-un - as an example, not of fencing in the barbed wire sense, but of an wonderful stone circle which is protected by a circular enclosure of gorse and blackthorn (beautifully in bloom when I visited a couple of Aprils ago). There are a lot of blackthorn hedges in that area which are quite effective as fencing - as anyone who has tried to scrabble through them will confirm.
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StoneGloves 1149 posts |
Jun 17, 2011, 09:22
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It's curious how many crotal bells are turned up by metal-detectorists and the conclusion must be that many domestic animals, in the past, must have worn them. Which means they must have been very closely shepherded. Probably by a child, in the days before widespread schooling. The largest threat to monuments is people, first and last, and I concur that sheep are the worst by puddling round stones, using them as rubbing posts, which are then undermined and slip or topple.
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ocifant 1758 posts |
Jun 17, 2011, 10:08
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tjj wrote: Just to clarify, in my post I mentioned Boscawen-un - as an example, not of fencing in the barbed wire sense, but of an wonderful stone circle which is protected by a circular enclosure of gorse and blackthorn (beautifully in bloom when I visited a couple of Aprils ago). You win some, you lose some. Agreed, Boscawen-un is wonderfully protected, private and hidden, but at the same time it's almost impossible to get a sense of the circle's place in the landscape, as all you can see from the circle is bloody gorse! :-) Compare and contrast with Tregeseal which has a beautiful view across to Carn Kenidjack, or Fernacre on Bodmin with the views up to Rough Tor and around.
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