How the Whispering Cow Walk got its name
We had been thinking of running some tours - just because so many of our ice cream customers ask to see the cows. We’re so busy that we just didn’t ever seem to have time to fit this in. So, we decided that we absolutely at least what we had to do to put tours in place - what the necessary health and safety measures and insurance were, so that at least we would have the choice if people asked and we could find the time.
Just as we had got all of this in place, we had a phone call from a lovely American family who were on holiday locally; the two teenage daughters were desperate to see some Highland Cows and their Mum was a keen photographer and wanted to get up close for some nice pictures. This was our cue - we decided to take this family on our first tour.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon with a light breeze, not too hot. Jane took the guests quietly around the farm to see the different groups of cows, resting in their natural environment.
Late afternoon is always a quiet lazy time for our cows, it seems to be when they take a wee nap and chill out before the evening forage, feed and groom - good for getting a bit closer and seeing them very relaxed.
We walked slowly and quietly down through the fields, stopping first of all to meet the milk cows and their calves, learning a little about them and how they fit in with the ice cream milking regime, who they are, where they came from and so forth. They had found a cool spot under the edge of the woodland, and were all lying sleepily out of the sun. We were able to creep nice and close without disturbing them - they just lazily watched us, not bothering to get up.
Carrying on down into the next field where the ground is rough and steep we met the calving cows - two older cows looking enormous and due to calve within the next few weeks, and two yearling heifers who we have decided to rear as milk cows who are learning some manners from the older cows and staying safe from the bull. They were standing under the big oak tree to get shade from the sun and were quietly chewing the cud, they didn’t mind our quiet presence at all and posed for some nice photos. Finally we walked ‘around the loop’ to the top pasture where the youngsters were with beautiful Jock the bull. Two 3 year old heifers and a 4 year old cow - all standing serenely in the burn cooling their feet in the water doing nothing but flicking their tail at the odd fly and chewing contentedly. We stopped and watched them for a while and learned their names, and chatted about their preferences and the history of Highland cattle. As we walked on up the burn-side a red squirrel popped up and scoured one of the big Douglas Fir trees disappearing out of site behind the high branches and then we looked up three heads of our ponies appeared from amongst the trees to check up on us, so we chatted to them for a wee while.
The hour long walk was so tranquil, the only sounds were birds calling, running burns, the sound of cows chewing and the rustle of the trees and the grass.
Our guests absolutely loved the tour and we decided at that point that these tours aren’t really ‘tours’, they are Whispering Cow Walks and we would offer them every Monday and Thursday throughout the summer months.