Amid extreme weather events and a cost of living crisis, the people of South Lopham don’t wait for a boring old Fairy Godmother to turn up. They have a Fairy Cow.

Local Norfolk folklore tells that in times of great hardship the cow will appear in South Lopham and stay until the cloud of distress lifts from the village. Once there was a deadly drought, not unlike the scorching hot summer of 2022. Crops withered and people went hungry. Until the Fairy Cow appeared, and offered her sweet creamy milk freely. When rains came at last, the magical beast stamped down on a slab of sandstone, burning the imprint of her hoof in the rock and vanished without trace.

Apparently the stone used to stand upright in a field on Oxfootstone Farm but has now been moved to private land. Alternatively, according to a 1893 ballad, a drunken juggler, or maybe a witch (take your pick, that’s how folklore works!) sneaked into the cow shed one night and milked an ordinary, non-magical cow dry trying to catch the milk in a sieve, only stopping when her blood began to run. The cow cried out in pain, kicking her hoofmark into the stone. Shame she didn’t kick the juggler!

It you’re in South Norfolk, head to the dog-friendly White Horse (so many animals!) for some great village pub food and drink. Maybe order a glass of milk. Who knows, it may have come from the Fairy Cow.