High on a hill was a lonely goat… heard about it?
It has been months since all but one member of a Bagot goat herd were moved from their grazing spot on Cromer’s seaside cliffs for their annual winter break.
The male is, as they say, ‘on the lam’, and remains at large despite the daily efforts of North Norfolk District Council's (NNDC) chief goat catchers to bring him to heel.
But Tim Adams, leader of NNDC, said there was no need to be concerned about the animal, which was not 'getting anyone's goat'.
Mr Adams said the creature simply had a stubborn personality, and they did not want to make him a 'scapegoat' for causing the extra trouble.
He said: “I understand why people are concerned to see a goat on its own after we’ve taken the herd away for overwintering.
“We’ve had a vet out to have a look at it, who wasn’t able to get up close. But the goat is perfectly happy - it is just very stubborn.
“It has been a bit of a nuisance because there are two or three members of staff who have been putting quite a bit of time into it and going to see if they can get it off every day. But the cliffs are full of trip hazards, and they can’t round it up very easily.
“There were also concerns over whether it would be okay with the New Year’s Day fireworks, but I understand it wouldn’t have come to any concern as a result of fright.”
The district council first started bringing the goat herd to the cliffs in the summer of 2016 in an effort to control the vegetation.
In turn, the council hoped this would cut Cromer’s large rat population, which uses the cliffs for shelter and feeds on plants that grow there such as Alexanders weed.
The goats are brought in every year in May or June and are rounded up in September to spend the winter elsewhere.
This year, however, three of them proved too flighty to catch, with the final one still evading capture.
Mr Adams said the herd had “taken on a life of its own” and become an attraction, spawning a range of ‘goats on a slope’ merchandise including tea towels and fridge magnets that can be bought from the local tourist information centre.
But he added: “They’re not the most straightforward animals to take care of."
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