Cattle working in Epping Forest!

Whilst out for our usual walk in Epping forest today, we came across these Red poll cattle who are, apparently, employed by Epping Forest. The 'cattle at work' sign has always made me smile: today I took a shot of the sign and the cattle ( who are very gentle, friendly ladies) and combined the two for my blip.


Below (if you are interested) is some info about cattle grazing in the forest:

Grazing by cattle has taken place continuously in Epping Forest for well over a thousand years and continued into the 20th century until 1996 when , the impact of the BSE crisis finally broke the tradition.

Longhorns became the basis for a conservation herd that was re-established on the Forest at Fairmead and Chingford in 2002 and since then Red polls (shown here) have also been introduced.

Apparently, grazing allows more flowers to flourish than mowing would: for example, low-growing species such as Birds-foot Trefoil only thrive where the thatch of dead grass stems is regularly removed and hooves create bare ground.


Epping Forest is literally breaking ground by installing invisible fencing. This is a buried wire that sends a warning signal to the collars the cattle are wearing. Epping Forest was the first open space in the world to use this type of fencing when it was trialled successfully in 2011. Along with the cattle grids recently installed by Essex County Council and some traditional wooden fencing along the busiest A roads, invisible fencing will now enable more of the Forest to be grazed as it has been for centuries and visitors will benefit from less visible fencing.