Autumn Herd Walk 2023
Colhayne Herd Walk
On Sunday 24th September 2023 we held our autumn herd walk at Bernard and Val Fry’s Colhayne Herd.
We had nineteen club members in attendance from all of our Southwest counties, one of the Dorset members was an hour late, so we have promised to send a reminder next time!
Firstly, we were treated to a lunch in the farmhouse which included some delicious homemade tomato, courgette, and onion soup, with a wonderful selection of sandwiches.
The foundation of the Colhayne Herd in 2006 was the purchase of twelve cows and a bull from the Lockerley Herd. Since 2012 Bernard has used AI only, for which he is trained.
Over the years Bernard has had great success exporting females from his herd to Europe, something which has now ceased post-Brexit. So surplus females are now sold within the UK and bulls are sold throughout the southwest.
The first part of the walk involved descending into the valley to the low-lying fields to see a group of some thirty cows, with calves at foot. The calm nature of Bernard’s stock meant that even the sight of eighteen strangers bearing down on them did not phase them. The cows had obviously been doing their calves well with some good growth showing for their age. The stock are out grazing all summer and housed indoors during the winter months.
There was one cow that caught my eye, the sort that I would consider my ideal cow. Just so happens that her sire was Ardrossan Admiral A2 which was the sire to my own bull.
After some time of being appreciated, the herd decided they had had enough of our attention and moved off. That signalled time for us to climb back up the hill towards the farm crossing the Exeter to Waterloo main trainline as we went.
Through the farmyard and out the other side was a nice group of heifers, they had access periodically throughout the summer to a splendid looking crop of herbal leys which had served them well.
After a pleasantly sunny afternoon, looking at some great cattle, we returned to the farmhouse for a cup of tea, a chat and some of Val’s homemade cake and biscuits.
A massive thank you to Bernard and Val for their hospitality and for making us so welcome.
Alan Eustace
