The good old National Trust, home of stately piles, clotted cream teas and exotically stocked gift shops, have taken the Wild West to heart by appointing Lisa Hawthornthwaite as the first modern cowgirl in charge of 1,850 acres of grazing land at Studland Heath in Dorset.
The London Metro paper claims they even had applicants from ranches in South America!
Trust bosses created the role because an increasing number of visitors meant the cows could not roam freely as they did up until the early 20th century… Rather than put up fences to control them, the trust decided to revive the cowherding tradition.
As I sit here in my London office the thought of joining the Conservation Cowgirl herding 40 cattle round this beachside patch is very appealing!
October 31st, 2008 at 11:54 am
The Beeb has a video about this and says there will be more cowboys in the UK http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7700380.stm. Is this green living? The rawhide sound track is fun
December 8th, 2008 at 12:11 am
[...] Lisa Hawthornthwaite back in October being appointed as the National Trust’s first Dorset cowboy? Well it appears this modern day move to horse-powered conservationism has now hit Wales, or [...]