chunter@thekmgroup.co.uk

No storm-lashed, midge-blighted, woebegone moor and mountain for these hardy highlanders. Bred for rugged terrain and torrid weather, they’re enjoying the equivalent of a trip to Provence, with a summer spent grazing the lush fields of Manor Park in West Malling.

There is a downside of course - the holiday’s probably going to end next to some horseradish sauce on a plate in a Kentish gastro pub.

Apart from that, it’s good news all round; the Highland cattle - owned by Sutton Valence-based Roundoak Farm - are noted for their ability to conserve grassland and parkland through their voracious grazing, and the six new calves are the off spring of some of the older cattle that grazed the park during 2011 (pictured right).

Roundoak Farm is now home to some 60 Highland cows, calves and bulls and over 500 Hebridean sheep, which can be seen grazing at sites around Maidstone and West Kent - including Teston Country Park, Medway Valley Countryside Partnership land at Yalding, Loose and Ulcombe.

Roundoak has also just formed an association with Ashdown Forest - where the farm’s Highland cows can now be seen grazing on heathland.