A TUNNEL OF SEASONAL COLOUR

Halnaker Tunnel, Sussex

To stand at the entrance of a sunken lane enclosed by a tree tunnel is to experience that loin-liquefying giddiness we once felt peering down a rabbit-hole or reaching through the clothes to the back of granny’s wardrobe. What land of wonder or snow queen might we find ourselves in if we begin this journey? And will we be able to find our way back? There isn’t a more magical place for a walker to anticipate the analogous plunge through autumn into winter than this leaf-raining holloway in the hamlet of Halnaker ( pronounced Ha’naker) on the southern edge of the South Downs. Carved by thousands of years of footfall, and part of a Roman road linking London and Chichester, you can add your own by combining this kilometrelong time-tunnel with an ascent of the windmill-topped Halnaker Hill. You can make a day’s walk of it by linking your choice of connecting paths in this beautiful stretch of chalk downland, including the National Trust’s vast Slindon Estate (route 6, Oct 17 issue).