Herd the moos?

A fun social media campaign celebrating the iconic Highland cow on VisitScotland’s social channels is celebrating its 10-year anniversary – with one recent post reaching more than three million people.

In November 2014, VisitScotland began posting an image or video of the popular Scottish animal on its Facebook channel every Tuesday, with the hashtag #Coosday. Due to its popularity, the hashtag and images were posted on all the national tourism organisation’s social channels, though Instagram remains the most popular platform for #Coosday.

In the last decade, VisitScotland’s social media team have published a #Coosday post almost every week. Since 2016, there have been 1,160 #Coosday posts, which have been viewed more than 218 million times.

What started out as sharing a fun image to celebrate the iconic hairy Scots cattle – known in Gaelic as Bò Ghàidhealach – is now used to help raise awareness of businesses, destinations and the burgeoning agritourism sector.

Despite the social media landscape evolving in the last decade, #Coosday posts have remained a firm favourite with followers around the world, with one post published last month (October) reaching more than three million people.

These rustic cattle, famous for their shaggy red, blonde or black coats, can be found across Scotland - including the islands - and #Coosday has profiled them the length and breadth of the country, including:

• A smiling coo in Drumnadrochit, Highlands
• A Halloween #Coosday post featuring a Highland coo in Forfar, Angus
• Baby Highland coos in Lochaber, Highlands
• A Highland coo overlooking a stunning beach on the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides
• The Arbikie Highlanders – five Highland cows who are vital to regenerative farming and natural environment recycling in Angus
• Highland coos on the golf course at Brora, Highlands
• A Highland coo being groomed in the West Highlands
• A Highland coo with a beard in Dumfries & Galloway

In many places across Scotland these rugged yet magnificent animals roam freely, including along the Bealach Na Bà, an historical cow drover’s road running between Applecross and Shieldaig in the Highlands; and the Highland villages of Duirinish and Plockton, where Highland cows are also free to roam the villages.

The native breed, which is recognisable by its long, pointed horns and overgrown ginger fringe, is becoming a popular draw for international visitors following reports of growing interest in experiences to see the farm favourites.

In recent years - particularly during the pandemic - agritourism has become a growing travel trend with visitors seeking out authentic rural experiences that connect them to the countryside. Agritourism in Scotland is defined as tourism or leisure on a working farm, croft or estate that produces food or fibre.

Popular experiences include feeding Highland cows, farm stays, farm tours, field to fork experiences and sheepdog demonstrations, as well as food and drink activities which support a growing trend towards buying locally and reducing food miles.

The Scottish Agritourism Conference, takes place in Perth on 18 and 19 November and will showcase all that has been achieved by Scottish agritourism in the past year, as well as looking at the future of the rural economy.

Lesley McIvor, VisitScotland’s Senior Social Media and Influencer Manager, said: “When we started posting #Coosday images in 2014, we never imagined it would still be going strong a decade later and be enjoyed by so many people across the world.

“From January this year until now, there have been 10,000 mentions of the hashtag #Coosday, with 30% of that coming from the USA, 44% from the UK and mentions are happening as far away as Brazil, Japan and New Zealand!

“Our analytics let us see what else people talk about when they mention #Coosday and VisitScotland is the biggest association with the hashtag. From the keywords to the locations mentioned in posts, it’s a fun and positive way to help us promote Scotland and agritourism to our global social media audience.

“We try our best to regularly spotlight coos from all over the country as part of our wider support for agritourism and associated businesses in Scotland. We hope this helps our visitors discover new places, at different times of the year, and slow down to enjoy these authentic experiences when they come to Scotland - and there is nothing more authentic than a Highland coo!”

Cath Anderson, owner of Fife-based Highland Cow Coastal Stays, said: “It’s no surprise that #Coosday is my favourite day of the week!

“Our Highland coos have previously been included in a VisitScotland #Coosday post and it’s great to see how much love there is for these beautiful animals.

“People come from all over the world to stay with us and experience the famous coos up close. They love getting their photos taken with them and feeding them. They are the most special and gentle animals and it is lovely to share such a celebrated Scottish animal with our visitors!”

To ensure that the next trip to Scotland is udderly moo-velous, there are various opportunities to get up close to these beautiful beasts. These include: 

• AikensHill House, Aberdeenshire. Get to know the herd with a stay at Aikenshill House and Farm B and B, located just 20 minutes from the city of Aberdeen
• Highland Cow Coastal Stays, Fife. Highland Coo experiences available to guests staying at Clover Cottage. The coos can be seen from the nearby Fife Coastal Path.
• Long Island Retreats and Larder, South Uist. Enjoy stunning island scenery and get up close to the resident Highland coos at this idyllic croft retreat in the Outer Hebrides
• Kitchen Coos and Ewes, Dumfries and Galloway. Hop on an educational buggy tour of the farm where you can see cows happily grazing across the beautiful hills of south Scotland
• Drumbuie Farm, Highlands. Available until the end of November - get up close to a friendly herd of Highland cattle overlooking Loch Ness.
• Newton Farm Holidays, Angus. This family run working farm offers a Highland cow experience where visitors can meet and groom the coos.
• Rothiemurchus, Highlands. For a guaranteed sighting, visitors can join one of their knowledgeable countryside rangers on a Hairy Coo Safari.

More information about seeing Highland coos can also be found here: Where to See Highland Cows in Scotland | VisitScotland

ENDS