We are starting to be able to get up to a 2 mile walk now with Digby, whilst this is still a little small for me, it is plenty for him so I am adapting until he's a bigger boy. However, what I do love to do is take Digby on new walks to get the new sniffs and, this one also introduced Digby to cows for the first time.
As short dog walks go this one is great, there is a car park at the foot of the hill next to Handlebar cafe so a nice place to grab some refreshment after.
You can do the circle walk around the hill before going up to the summit, each turn affording you a high up view of the city of Winchester and the South Downs. There are cows grazing so I did have Digby on the long lead for this.
At the summit of the hill is a small maze and a wooded copse just to add more variety for the walk, where you can sit on the logs and take in the views and watch the rooks that like to roost in this area.
Now, if you want make this walk longer you can add this to the Itchen Navigation Trail this sits at the foot of the Hill that can take you in either direction, upstream or downstream; or you can walk the Water meadows into Winchester itself, both of these I have done and you can find more information on these in these blog posts:
Itchen Navigation Trail Bishopstoke to Brambridge (could combine these two for a longer walk)
But if like me you need to keep it short but sweet for now, head back to the car park, deposit any business done in the bins provided (there are none in the nature reserve on St Catherines Hill) and head to the cafe for a warming hot drink and a tasty treat.
