19/08/2026
🐮 WHY THE HIGHLAND COW? 🐮
One of the questions we’re asked most here at The Mary Tavy Inn is… why the Highland cow? So we thought it was about time we told you the full story behind our much-loved logo. 🤎
When the Brice family took over The Mary Tavy Inn five and a half years ago, they knew they needed a logo. They didn’t want something generic — they wanted something memorable, something with a story behind it and something that people would instantly associate with The Mary Tavy Inn.
Not long after moving here, the owners, Kim and Sean, went out for a drive looking for some inspiration. Being completely new to the area, they headed up towards our neighbouring village of Horndon — and very quickly learnt just how fast the weather can change on Dartmoor!
Within around 10 minutes of their journey, thick fog descended around them. Visibility quickly dropped to almost zero, forcing them to pull over and wait for it to clear.
Then, suddenly, the fog lifted.
Standing directly in front of their truck, glaring through the windscreen, was the biggest Highland cow they had ever seen! 🤣
Kim screamed. Sean laughed. 😂
And within seconds, the fog descended again and the Highland cow completely disappeared from sight.
Around two minutes later, the fog lifted once more… but the Highland cow was nowhere to be seen.
Kim and Sean looked at each other and said:
“I think we’ve got our logo!”
And, as they say, the rest is history. 🤎
It made even more sense because when they first moved here, Brentor, which you can see from our pub garden, was home to a beautiful herd of Highland cows. They didn’t want just a traditional cow for the logo — it had to be a Highland cow. Something full of character, something that represented their first experiences of Dartmoor and something people would remember.
The idea became simple: wherever you are in the world, if you see a Highland cow, we want you to think of The Mary Tavy Inn! 🐮❤️
Over the past five and a half years, we’ve worked incredibly hard to bring our Highland cow theme to life. You’ll spot them throughout the pub, on our business cards, on the postcards in our B&B rooms and, of course, on our much-talked-about Highland cow coffee tables! We’re always being asked where those came from and, unfortunately, there’s no exciting secret supplier… they were from Next! 😂
And we couldn’t talk about our Highland cow theme without mentioning Trevor! 🐮 Trevor is our Highland cow head made from sticks who proudly sits in our restaurant, greeting everyone who comes through the doors. He’s another one we’re constantly asked about — “Where did you get him?!” Again, there’s no exciting story behind this one… Amazon! 😂
What makes the whole theme even more special to us is how much our customers and guests have embraced it too. Over the years, we’ve been incredibly lucky to receive Highland cow gifts, cards and little keepsakes from people who have drunk with us, eaten with us or stayed in our B&B rooms.
We are so thankful for every single one. The fact that someone can be miles away, spot something with a Highland cow on it and immediately think of our little pub in Mary Tavy really is amazing. 🤎
We also absolutely LOVE receiving your photos of Highland cows you’ve spotted on your travels. It means that the logo Kim and Sean chose on that foggy Dartmoor afternoon all those years ago has become exactly what they hoped it would.
So yesterday, the person behind our social media and one of our managers decided it was time to go and find our first Highland cows of the year! After driving around 25 minutes away, they came across this absolutely beautiful herd, and this photo was taken at around 4pm. 📸🐮
And we think it might just be one of our favourite photos yet!
We should add that we kept a very respectful distance and did not approach the cows. With calves in the herd, we know just how protective Highland cows can be, so this gorgeous moment was admired safely from afar.
Five and a half years later, it’s safe to say the Highland cow has become a pretty special part of The Mary Tavy Inn — and thanks to all of you, it has become so much more than just our logo. 🐮🤎
So now we want to know… when you see a Highland cow, do you think of us? 🐮
