Ever since we first passed the signs for it, one of the sights in Northumberland that I’ve wanted to see is the Chillingham Wild Cattle. Located near to Chillingham Castle and with views over the Cheviots the cattle have a stunning estate to roam.

It is not quite known when the cattle were released into the area (possibly Roman times?) but they were kept wild through medieval times so that they could be hunted for sport. Their calls sound like haunting echos of horns used in hunts. I can imagine as a guest staying in the castle their calls must feel quite surreal during the evenings.

Whilst I saw some stunning photography of these fantastic beasts before we went to visit, I don’t think I quite anticipated the distance we would have to them. Some of the nearer specimens could be picked out easily by my xf55-200, but it left me wanting for closer shots, such as those I am used to capturing of highland cows. This is in all fairness understandable. They may be cows, but they are wild, and as such need to be respected. Instead I wish I had availability of a longer focal length, maybe a 100-400, treated like wildlife photography.

As mentioned, for the cattle there are views across to the Cheviots. An example of the views to expect are below.

The cattle combined with the castle would may a great day out. We booked one of the later slots to see the cattle and didn’t really have enough time left to tour the castle (one for another day), but we did manage to make it to the castles tea room for sandwiches and cake… Although lets be honest, it was all about the cake really!

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A small selection of further images of the cattle.

A pair of buildings near to the cattle. The Garden Cottage and the Warden’s Cottage. As mentioned in my previous post, I have a thing for buildings like this, so I will no doubt have a post centred around photos like this sometime soon.

A trio of miscellaneous images. The road up to the cattle which you traverse in a tailer accompanied by a ranger. A puffball mushroom, these were all over the field. A door to the walls around Chillingham Castle which I found cute…