What's #coosday?

Coo-me and visit!

#Coosday has been a social media staple on our website since 2015. These are posts of adorable Highland Coos, which we share every Tuesday. So far this year our Coosday posts have reached people over 16 million times across Facebook, Instagram and  X (formerly Twitter).

And it seems that these farm favourites are also helping attract visitors to Scotland from across the world.

Recently, a local herd donning cycling jerseys hit the headlines. They caught the attention of cameras covering the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

We’ve also been hearing from agritourism businesses of a growing interest in experiences to see the native breed. Our Highlands Coos are famous for their hardy appearance and overgrown ginger fringe.

Highland cattle at Kitchen Coos and Ewes. Image credit VisitScotland / Kenny Lam.

Kitchen Coos and Ewes in Wigtownshire, Dumfries & Galloway

Neale McQuistin of Kitchen Coos and Ewes, offers several different coo experiences. Their visitor numbers for 2023 look set to double. In 2022 Neale and the team welcomed more than 2,000 visitors to their farm.  In 2023 they passed the 2,000 visitor mark in July and look set to reach almost 4,000 visitors this year.

As well as visitors from the UK, they get a lot of visitors from the US coming to see their coos. Many book months in advance when planning their trips to Scotland. One couple from Los Angeles, on the spur of the moment, took three flights to join their friends on a tour before returning to Los Angeles the next day.

Newton Farm Holidays in Angus

Louise Nicol, of Newton Farm Holidays introduced a Highland Cow experience in 2021, allowing visitors to groom the animals.

Newton Farm have interest in their Highlands Coos from both local and international visitors. For their US visitors, the Highland Coos have become something they seem to associate with Scotland.

Newton Farm offers the chance to get closer to these farm favourites than you normally would. Their tours have been selling quickly with more enquiries from international visitors keen to visit a farm as part of their trip.