A sunken old lane near Chichester where the trees arch overhead into a long green tunnel, climbing to a hilltop windmill
The tree tunnel is a holloway — a lane worn so far below the fields by centuries of feet, hooves and cartwheels that its banks rise well above head height. Here the trees on either side lean in and meet overhead, and in full leaf the effect is a long green tunnel, which is why photographers keep coming back to it. The path follows the line of Stane Street, the Roman road that ran from Chichester up to London, and climbs steadily to Halnaker Windmill on the hilltop, a restored tower mill with a wide view over the coastal plain. It’s a public footpath but steep in places near the top, and the chalk turns slippery after rain. This is a quiet corner of the South Downs; The Trundle, an Iron Age hillfort, tops the next hill west.
