The local Kashmiri goats that reside on the Great Orme in Llandudno have been making a stir recently. The troublesome animals have become worldwide news after they descended on the town and began feasting on the local business’ and residents’ hedges!
The story first broke when local Andrew Stewart posted about their activities on Twitter. He posted videos of them running down empty streets, like a group of kids. Mr Stuart then rang the police after he noticed the goats were not practicing the social distancing rules, and staying two metres apart.
The police ushered the goats out of the town centre, but they quickly returned, making a new home at Trinity Square. In particular the goats were very fond of 16 Trinity Square, a coworking and office space. You can find a video of the owner and manager of 16 Trinity Square talking about the goat aftermath and clean-up here.
Where did the Llandudno goats come from?
The story of how the goats came to live in Llandudno is an interesting one indeed. During the early 19th Century, Squire Christopher Tower found a rather large herd of goats which had been imported from Kashmir, India to France. The goats were imported for the wool industry but Tower was fond of the creatures, so decided to purchase two.
The goats lived in a park in Brentwood, where they flourished, produced kids, and eventually provided for a cashmere shawl. George VI was fascinated by this, and accepted a pair of them as a gift.
This pair started the windsor herd, which grew quickly. During Queen Victoria’s Reign, cashmere shawls became the height of fashion. Some believe Victoria was gifted the goats by the Shah of Persia. These, however, could have just added to the existing herd.
Later in the 19th Century, Sir Savage Mostyn obtained two goats from the Windsor herd, and kept them in the grounds of Gloddaeth Hall. This wasn’t suitable for the goats, and could have been why they were moved over to the Great Orme. They are often seen wandering around the narrow ledge, and climbing around the limestone cliffs
The goats are travelling into the derelict streets of Llandudno whilst the residents abide by the isolation rules, but seeing the goats off the Orme is nothing new. The hairy bunch often wander down to the outskirts of town during bad weather and have become common visitors.
