The cow's helicopter trip

In the late 1980s a cow belonging to Roddy Bain slipped into a gully near Greary, Waternish and was unable to get out on its own. A group of men stayed with the animal until the local vet Neal Stephenson tranquilised her. After this, a helicopter crew working in Kyle of Lochalsh were contacted and came to the rescue. The sedated cow was secured in a net bag and winched to safety.

One hundred years before this, a similar incident happened nearby. There were no helicopters in those days. As a result, every able-bodied person in the village turned out to help. These included the great grandparents of a Waternish resident. They left their two boys in charge of their baby sister. Furious at missing out on the excitement, they decided to take their young sister outside, putting her under a creel for her own protection.

She lay there as the two boys headed out to the rescue, observing all that went on. Fortunately, their stay at the rescue would have been very brief. Both baby and the cow were none the worse for their ordeal.

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