A perfect day for a cattle drive: Seasonal movement benefits both land and animal

After the concert, an endless queue forms for refreshments as people register for the drive. We are each given a freshly cut hazel stick to keep us steady. There’s rough, uneven ground on the long walk ahead.

The seasonal movement of livestock or “transhumance”, is familiar from many parts of Europe. But the usual pattern is to drive herds down from the uplands to sheltered lowland pastures before the winter cold sets in. Forde explains why the Burren winterage reverses this pattern, but first she welcomes us, and celebrates the occasion.

The heifers are all in calf, but they certainly seem eager to move, at a pace that is quite demanding for many of us walkers. The view recurs that what we need is balance. Road-users must be protected from falling branches and poor visibility, but that does not justify the often brutal slash-back of healthy vegetation teeming with wildlife.

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