Totteridge Farm
This is one of the two classic walks you can take from Totteridge Farm, taking in stunning views of the Vale of Pewsey. This walk takes you up the hills on the south side of the vale, as opposed to the Martinsell Hill walk on the north side. If you walk from the farm, you should count on about five miles, but like the Martinsell walk, you can add on more if you want to carry on to Pewsey or elsewhere. If you're feeling very athletic, you could do both in one (long) go!
Head out of the farm drive, or down the leafy lane by the caravan site, to the crossroads at Milton Lilbourne. Go straight across, and carry on down the village street, going past the Village Hall on your left, the Manor on your right, and the church. At the bottom of the village, keep going straight ahead, leaving the houses behind you. The road gets progressively rougher, and after a quarter of a mile, you pass by an electricity pylon, and the road starts to rise up the hill, As you emerge from a small wooded area, you begin to be rewarded by views, firstly across a bowl to the hill itself, and then of the whole Vale of Pewsey westwards, and Martinsell Hill to the north. That's why we say it's 'Wiltshire at its Best!'
(If you've had enough already, you can take a path off to the left, about 200 yards before you reach the top. This will lead you back down a leafy path, which, very conveniently, crosses the B3087 right by the Bruce Arms, where you can rehydrate, recuperate, and take the 20-minute walk back to the farm. You'll have covered about 4 miles in all.)
For those who are after the big views, the road peaks about a mile out of the village, and then leads on to a few trees, where it comes to an end. From here you can choose two onward tracks: the first, straight on, passes a black barn and heads out towards Salisbury Plain -this one's for serious trekkers only, and you'll need a map! Do it another day.
Take the right hand track here, up a tree-lined brow, and keep going for nearly 600 yards. A track leads off to your right at an angle, and you will soon pass a dozen newly-planted trees in cages, which commemorate the men of Milton who fell in WW1. At the end of the line of trees, you arrive at the sharp end of a triangular clump of trees, where you have the option of turning right (along path MLIL 17) back to Milton Lilbourne, with huge views across the Vale before you descend.
Milton Hill Trail
If you still have the stamina for more, keep going, with the wooded area to your right (Path MLIL 20A), and after a little right-and-left dog-leg, you will come to the 'Giant's Grave', and a great view over the bowl of Fyfield Down.
(The brave and hardy can carry straight on here, and you can eventually drop down into Pewsey to seek recuperative hostelries and cafes. Passing through the village High Street, you can turn left towards Knowle, and eventually pick up the Kennet & Avon Canal westwards back towards the farm)
Alternatively, you can turn right, back on yourself, following Path MLIL 18 around the rim of the bowl, and back down the hillside, following the track to the hamlet of Fyfield. Here, you eventually rejoin the tarmac, and pass through the hamlet, and up to a crossroads on the B3087.
Cross straight over here (with great care!!) towards New Mill. After 400 yards, just past the wood on your right, there's a wide gap into the field on your right. Nip in here, and continue parallel to the road for 20 yards, and scramble through the gap in the fenceline into the next field. Welcome back to Totteridge Farm! You can go clockwise or anticlockwise according to your mood, but for simplicity, go clockwise and you'll soon see the bungalow (The Totterells) at the end of the farm track.
If you've come this far, you don't need any further instructions! Another 10 minutes, and you can rest those weary feet.
