The Cows are Back on Grantchester Meadows
CPPF Warden Jess explains how nine Belted Galloways are helping us care for the grassland and create better conditions for wildflowers and wildlife.
We’ve recently welcomed nine Belted Galloway cattle to Grantchester Meadows, where they are helping us manage and improve the grassland.
The cattle eat the grass and other vegetation growing across the meadows. This reduces some of the more vigorous growth and gives wildflowers and specialist plants, which tend to prefer lower-nutrient conditions, a better chance to thrive.
Without grazing, plants such as nettles, bindweed, cleavers and brambles can begin to dominate. The Galloways are unfussy grazers and will happily eat this coarser vegetation, helping to prevent it from crowding out other species.
Managing the meadows naturally
This approach is known as conservation grazing. Rather than relying entirely on machinery to cut, collect and bale the grass, we use cattle to manage it in a more natural and traditional way.
Historically, large herbivores would have moved through grasslands, eating different plants and creating variation in the landscape. Grazing recreates some of those effects. Because the cattle graze gradually and selectively, they help produce areas of vegetation at different heights and densities, creating a wider range of habitats.
Our hope is that this will improve the diversity of the grassland at Grantchester Meadows. More wildflowers can support more insects, which in turn provide food for birds and other wildlife. Each part of the habitat supports another, so improving the grassland can have much wider benefits.
Why Belted Galloways?
Belted Galloways are particularly well suited to conservation grazing. They are a hardy breed, with thick coats that allow them to remain outdoors throughout the year, including during colder weather.
They also eat a wide variety of plants, including rougher grasses, scrub and the more vigorous species that we need help keeping under control. This makes them effective at managing land where the aim is to encourage a varied mixture of plants rather than create a uniform field.
The cattle belong to our Countryside Manager, Ed Wombwell, through his conservation grazing business, The Wandering Herd. His cattle graze at several sites around Cambridge, including Wandlebury Country Park, Coton Countryside Reserve and Trumpington Meadows.
Protecting the river
Visitors may notice an electric fence close to the river. This is there to stop the cattle from entering the water, not to restrict access for people.
Allowing cattle into the river could damage and erode the bank. It could also affect water quality through disturbed sediment and manure. Keeping them away from the water means the grazing can benefit the grassland without causing harm to the river environment.
The usual pedestrian access across the meadows remains open. The path leading directly from the cattle’s field down to the river is currently closed, but the riverside path can still be reached through the neighbouring fields.
The cattle are in the field closest to The Blue Ball pub. If you follow the upper path across the meadows, you should reach their field, although they may be sheltering in the shade or gathering near the water trough at the top.
Part of the character of the meadows
Cattle have long been associated with Cambridge’s meadows, so it is good to have them back at Grantchester. They are lovely animals, each with their own character, but they are also here to do an important job.
By managing the vegetation and creating more space for different plants to grow, they are helping us improve the habitat for wildflowers, insects, birds and other wildlife. We hope their grazing will help Grantchester Meadows continue to thrive and remain a special place for both nature and people.
