Sunday 12th July – All 4 seen – Test Track access restricted daily due to the Farnborough Airshow, plus local road closures

The cattle were initially deep in the thicket near ///expel.podcast.duet, fairly close to the Test Track fence line at the eastern edge of the reserve. Despite pushing through the woodland to reach the fence line and then following it northeast, I completely missed them on my first attempt. However, after turning back and retracing my steps, I was greeted about halfway along by a chorus of moos, letting me know I had finally found them. All four were standing watching me with great interest, but there was no passable route through to them. So, I was very pleased when they followed me back to the clearing near the step stile onto the Test Track, around ///merely.cheered.bright, where I was finally able to join them at the end. 16:30.

Steers 200 and 208 immediately came over to say hello, both enjoying a few strokes before contentedly standing beside me to rest and chew their cud. Despite the gusty wind, which made the hot conditions much more comfortable, the boys were still being bothered by numerous flies around their eyes. Cow 201 soon came over to join us, remaining in the shade of the trees, while steer 207 stayed a little further back among the bushes. After a while, I wandered over to check on him, only for him to follow me back to where the other three were standing. Steer 200 has really started to enjoy having his back scratched, happily shuffling around to make sure I reached all of his itchy spots.

The cattle continued to rest, moving a little deeper into the shade of the trees and bushes, but remaining happy for me to stand with them. They would occasionally nibble on the gorse or browse leaves from the trees. All four were happy, relaxed, and looking well. They all appeared to be coping well with the extended period of hot weather, showing no signs of heat stress. I said my goodbyes at 17:15, leaving them all resting peacefully.

I wandered along to check the water levels in the pasture pumps and found they were both empty, so I gave them a good clean and refilled them. A small amount of water was left around the bases and on the ground after cleaning and refilling the pumps. Afterwards, I checked the water levels in the ditch and found it completely dry again.

Please be aware that entry into the Test Track section is now restricted due to the Farnborough International Airshow. Interestingly, it appears they have reused the signage from 2024, as the dates are incorrect. Aircraft validation is due to take place between 13th and 19th July, with the airshow running from 20th to 24th July. In addition, please be aware that there are a number of local road closures between 12:00 and 17:30 each day. These include the entire A323 Fleet Road, as well as Aldershot Road between its junction with the A323 and the Foresters pub. There are also restrictions in place on Aldershot Road from the roundabout at Tesco, with access permitted only for residents and those visiting the pub (this is the section past the main vehicle entrance to Long Valley).

Am I right in assuming the cattle will remain on the Test Track section during the Airshow? I know that when we had cattle on the Test Track back in 2022, they were removed for the duration of the show.

The cows were all good today.