Here’s an autumn treat that can be comfortably done in an afternoon with a visit to a pub or coffee shop to round off crunching through the leaves. It’s amazing what gems lie just off those main roads that you use to get from one town to another. If you take the high road from Worthing to Chichester and turn right at the Tangmere roundabout you hit the village of Boxgrove. Turn right at the junction with the A285 after passing through the village and head north-east a short distance and you get to the entrance to Wearhead Farm. Here you can park up with room for up to ten cars at a guess and take the footpath up the appropriately named Mill Lane which tracks the old London to Chichester Roman road, Stane St.
Early on a flint cottage looms to the left, a fitting introduction to the magical Halnaker tunnel of trees that tubes up onto the downs and then to Halnaker Windmill. Who might live in this medieval like dwelling, the guardian of the tunnel? Gandalf the wizard? Perhaps one of the Hobbits? Soon we are in the tunnel, an ancient drove way carved by the feet of thousand of humans and animals and shaded by an arc of greenery that seems to have arranged itself in the most alluring fashion, trees on either side thrusting upwards and then branching over towards the middle to meet boughs from the opposite side. A sea of fallen leaves covers the sunken footpath and leak up the banks that cosset this special spot. The autumn sunlight piercing through the branches adds a special magic to the scene.
The day I visited at least four photographers were loitering in the tunnel looking for the best shots. I felt a mere rookie with my simple Samsung camera phone. This must be a daily occurrence when the weather is good, photographers descending for the perfect autumn shot like bees to a hive. If you see one or two ‘bodies’ in the photos, those are leaf peepers sporting a Leica or whatever. This tunnel has ‘atmosphere.’ If a ruddy cheeked chappie wearing a leather jerkin, a red hat, pointy shoes and smoking a three foot long pipe sauntered down the tunnel you would not think him out of place, perhaps with a giant rabbit or goat dressed as a human on its hind legs bringing up the rear.
Once you get to the other end of the tunnel there is a divergence, with a path to the right heading down to Seabeach House, apparently a fine bed and breakfast establishment about which I spotted some delightful reviews. The path ahead carries on upwards and leaves the evocative tunnel to head up north onto the downs. Follow the path as it traces the hedge to the left and after a relatively short walk you reach a circular field at the crown of Halnaker Hill encircling the Halnaker windmill, at present cordoned off for repairs. You‘re rewarded with a fine 360 degree view over downs and sea after what overall is a pretty easy walk from your car, more of a Sunday stroll than a heavy duty hike. The view is expansive, exactly why I guess second world war installations are scattered around the site. There is a World War Two observation post with what looks like the tracks for an anti air raft battery, whilst in an adjoining field another set of tracks arise out of the stubble. The view is unencumbered by gentle rolling hills, woodland and seascapes. It’s not difficult to imagine standing here during the Battle of Britain with a front of house view of the Luftwaffe scrapping with Spitfires and Hurricanes from nearbyTangmere and its associated airfields at Westhampnett and Merston.
There is an alternative route to reach the summit here, but you miss the tunnel fun. You can walk up from the entrance to Seabeach House, a little further on up the A285 to the north west, coming from the opposite direction up Stane Street, and then turning right onto the track up to the windmill. There is a fair sized lay-by by Seabeach House as well. Another idea is to walk from Eartham Wood which is even further out along Stane St. but a better bet for more serious walkers. There is a parking and picnic stop here to serve as base and which is accessible from the A285.
Hope this wets your appetite for a South Downs hobbit experience!
