Crazy cows on public footpaths: is it time to change the law?

One of the most dangerous things I have ever done as a trekker was cross a field of bullocks above the Atlantic coast near the village of Boscastle in Cornwall.

As the grandson of a farmer, I was brought up to think of cows as benevolent, peaceful animals who are always more scared of you than you are of them.

On that cold January afternoon, as the salt-sea air caressed my cheeks, I didn’t have time to reflect on whether this was true, but it probably wasn’t. As I walked briskly towards the stil...