Bif to abattoir

Hurrah! We got him there safely. We got there nearly an hour before they opened, they opened a little bit early, and we were out of there just on when they were supposed to open!
My driving of the giant horse vehicle (horse box behind 4x4) in a confined space got a little bit stressed as we were going out, but was basically awesome.

His last moment in the field with his friend Lismore

Leading him to the van (the blue rope is tied to a tree so any advances are not set back if he got nervous). He went in pretty easily, much easier than the highlands when we were taking them to the bull.

Arriving at the abattoir. They have a very efficient system

Each animal goes in to a stall.

Then we have never seen the end but we hope it is as quick and efficient as the rest of their operation.
I felt pretty sad, nearly a bit tearful as he was a good cow. However the relief at having managed to get him there and the worry about the freezer space over shaddowed that!

Doug will hopefully get the skin when he picks up North Uist (taken in last Wednesday and hung for a week - it was touch and go whether Doug caught him, thankfully he did!) packed neatly in boxed (but not his skin as we have others still waiting to be cured).

We will then get the meat back on the 26th of July (9 days hanging). We have very little idea how much meat there will be (150kg? 200kg?) but however much it is, it is not likely to fit in our frankly ram packed freezers. Although a friend will give us some freezer space we are concerned even that won't be enough so we have panic bought another freezer. My calculations suggest if there are 200kg of meat even that will be touch and go (including with our friends freezer).
Any one who wants to buy some give me a shout (shipping abroad may not be practical!).