Crossword Genius

Line of walkers crossing cold ground that's familiar (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

patch

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'familiar' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I can't see how they can define each other.

'line of walkers crossing cold ground' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'cold' could be 'c' (eg on taps) and 'c' is located in the answer.
'line' could be 'path' (path is a kind of line) and 'path' is found within the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'that's' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for patch that I've seen before include "Piece of land, of mending material" , "Mend by adding fabric" , "Plot - piece of cloth - period" , "Mend with piece of material" , "Court plaster" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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