Goats take refuge in Bee Boles

The new kid is now 19 days old and finding its feet; quick and agile on steep slopes but not yet able to cross over fences. For the time being the kid and its mum are separate from the rest of the gang, although today there was a second female or aunt in attendance.

This morning’s weather was foul, cold and wet. As I drove up the hill, the kid and its mum were on the drive in front of me, just above the lower hairpin. They stared at my car for a while, but as the intensity of the rain increased, it was time for shelter. They ran up the slope and took refuge in one of the bee boles. The mum ushered in the kid then squeezed in herself; a tight fit with her horns touching the ceiling.

The bee boles were built for skeps, the baskets in which bees were kept before the invention of the beehive. It’s good to see old buildings put to new uses.