WALKING OLD WAYS

The call of “heiptro ho!” would have echoed down the hill, the first forewarning of an incoming herd. A scurry would follow as people gathered their animals to avoid them being swept up with the drove. Soon you would hear the clatter of the livestock themselves as they advanced down the road, a formidable herd of more than 100 braying black cows. Among the animals, you might have caught a glimpse of the drovers, mounted on sturdy Welsh ponies, a dog or two scurrying around their feet.

Until 150 years ago, this was a common sight on roads across the UK as livestock headed to London, the market for meat stimulated by the burgeoning economy in the capital from the late 16th