The Square - Southdown Cross - Kitcot Cross - The Square

Distance: 2¼ miles   Time:  approx 45 mins

Leaving the Square behind you cross over the B3137 and walk up Southdown Hill - this is a very steep hill and you will need plenty of puff!  Continue walking past Southdown Farm and up to Southdown Cross, which is not signposted.  After taking in the view from up there, turn right and continue walking past the red letterbox opposite Chapel Cottage.  A little further down the road you will come to Hillside Cross, signposted. Turn right there and walk down the hill.  Note the stunning mossy banks on either side of you.  Carry on along this road for a while and you will come to a right turn (you will see the Kitcott Cross signpost up ahead of you) - take the right turn and start walking back towards the village.  Before you start your descent down quite a steep hill, take a moment to view the village from this vantage point.  The road will take you down past Lower Kitcott and the Meshaw Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Take care when crossing the B3137 back to the Square - the corner is blind and the cars come quite fast!

The are two variations you can take on this walk, depending if you want a shorter walk or a longer walk than the one described above.  

Variation 1:  A short way up Southdown Hill, you will see a Bridle Path sign on your right.  If you take this path you will cut right across the fields above Kitcott Lake.  When you leave the gated path, walk straight ahead of you to the left-hand corner of the field (there are sheep in this field so dogs should be kept on leads) and it will cut behind the Meadowside Holiday Cottage and come out onto the road where you turn right again and follow the road as far as Kitcott Cross but turning right just before that and it will bring you down to Lower Kitcott again.

Variation 2:  A longer walk - instead of turning at Hillside Cross, continue until you reach Odam Moor Cross (I'm not sure if there is a signpost but it is marked on the OS map) - turn right there and the road will bring you to Higher Kitcott and finally Kitcott Cross.  Here you should turn right and then almost immediately left and you will follow the same route as the other walks to Lower Kitcott and back to the Square.