Irish woman moves to Scotland during Storm Gertrude to be with her man - and brings her cows

It was the cows or Scotland, so Valerie chose both.

Irish woman moves to Scotland during Storm Gertrude to be with her man - and brings her cows

A young farm lass from Ballygowan, Co Down, had a difficult choice to make recently.

Valerie Orr first met her Scottish boyfriend James Cameron in 2012 at the Castlewellan Show where she was showing her cow, Knowehead Jane, apparently an Irish Moiled breed.

James was a judge at the event and something sparked when their eyes met over the judging ring that day, so when they met again two years later at the Stirling Bull sales, the rest, as Valerie said, is history.

Valerie and James at the Castlewellan Show in 2012. Pic: ChrisMcCullough
Valerie and James at the Castlewellan Show in 2012. Pic: ChrisMcCullough

James moved from Perthshire in Scotland to the North in June 2014, but was unable to find work there as a beef stockman, so he moved back to Scotland the year after.

Their relationship blossomed, but the long haul from Northern Ireland to Scotland was becoming a bit much.

Valerie said: “He decided to go back to Scotland to find work while I managed our herd back home.

“Long distance relationships can be very hard work and with both of us working on farms getting chances to get away to see each other was very difficult."

Fate seemed to be working in their favour, however, as Valerie applied for a job as an Agricultural Officer with ScotGov, which she got.

A delighted Valerie said: “Over the last year things have gradually developed with opportunities coming our way that just seemed to be right."

As Valerie’s cows meant the world to her she could not be without them so she was in a bit of a dilemma, but she bit the bullet and decided to bring the herd with her.

She said: “We shipped over 25 cattle in total which was all our Shorthorns and a portion of the Irish Moiled herd."

Unfortunately, Storm Gertrude hit the day they were to ship the cattle over to Scotland which nearly scuppered everything.

Valeris said: “In the end we had to delay the move by around six hours until the weather had calmed enough to allow livestock to sail. It worked out well though because it meant we were able to load the cattle in the sunshine as opposed to the pitch black of 5am!"

Thankfully, the cows arrived safely at their Scottish farm a little tired from the journey, but glad of the deep straw beds to lie on.

Some of Valerie's cows at their new home in Scotland. Pic: ChrisMcCullough
Some of Valerie's cows at their new home in Scotland. Pic: ChrisMcCullough

Moving wasn't an easy decision for Valerie, but in the end she followed her heart.

She said: “I have worked hard on the farm for five years to build up the cut flower and Christmas tree business along with my family.

“However, I knew I had to literally follow my heart and that is with James and our herd of cows (not forgetting our dogs Jude and Gyp).

“Home will always be home but I love Scotland too and we see the opportunities in farming here to be much better for us.”

Thanks to Chris McCullough for sending us this story and all the photos.

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