Sunrise with the Goats: a fox joins the Shepherd’s Dawn Walk
- Katherine Henderson
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
There is a particular kind of quiet that belongs only to dawn.
Before the roads begin to stir, before the valley fills with heat, the mountains hold a brief hour of stillness. The air is cool, the light is soft, and even the goats seem to move differently — less distracted, more purposeful, as if they know exactly where the morning is leading.
This is the hour that inspired our new Shepherd’s Dawn Walk.
As summer arrives in the Quiet Costa Blanca, the rhythm of life on the farm changes. The work begins earlier, the goats head out sooner, and by mid-morning the heat is already gathering on the terraces. Rather than push against that seasonal rhythm, we decided to create a walk that works with it — a gentle sunrise experience that allows people to experience the mountain at one of its most peaceful and beautiful moments.
And recently, on one of those dawn walks, something rather special happened.
As we climbed slowly through the early light with the goats, a wild fox appeared on the hillside beside us.
It wasn’t startled. It didn’t rush away. It simply moved quietly through the landscape, keeping a respectful distance but walking alongside us for a while, as though it had decided to join the morning procession.
It was one of those moments that is difficult to stage and impossible to forget. The goats remained calm, the valley was still half-asleep, and for a few minutes the walk felt less like an activity and more like a glimpse into the older rhythm of the mountain — animals, paths and daybreak all sharing the same space.
Of course, wildlife can never be guaranteed, and that is part of what made the encounter so memorable. The fox was not there for us. It was simply following its own route through the dawn landscape, and we happened to be passing through it too.
But perhaps that is exactly what the Shepherd’s Dawn Walk is about.
It is not a performance, and it is not a petting experience dressed up as a trek. It is a quiet, early-morning walk through the waking mountain in the company of our goats — a chance to experience the valley before the day begins in earnest.
We meet before sunrise and walk at a gentle pace as the light changes over the hills. The route has been designed for families, photographers, and anyone who enjoys being outdoors without needing to move fast. It is a sociable, relaxed walk rather than a strenuous hike, with time to pause, look out across the valley, and simply enjoy the atmosphere of the morning.
At sunrise, we stop for coffee, tea and croissants while the first light reaches across the terraces. It is one of those simple moments that somehow feels far more memorable than it ought to — goats grazing nearby, bells sounding softly in the background, and the whole mountain slowly waking around you.
The Shepherd’s Dawn Walk is one of two sunrise experiences we now offer during the warmer months. While our Shepherd’s Dawn Trek is designed for those wanting a more immersive mountain route and a quicker pace, the Dawn Walk is the gentler option: easy, atmospheric and designed to be shared.
For us, that recent fox encounter captured something important about these summer walks. They are not simply about “doing an activity” before breakfast. They are about stepping briefly into the valley’s own timetable — moving through the landscape while it still belongs to birdsong, goat bells, cool air and the occasional surprise visitor from the
wild.
If you are visiting the Costa Blanca this summer and looking for a calm, memorable outdoor experience, the Shepherd’s Dawn Walk offers a very different way to begin the day.
You can find more information about our sunrise walks here:
And if you’d like to read more about how summer changes life on the farm, you may also enjoy our article .
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