Starts to walk to the clearing (4,5)

I believe the answer is:

open space

'the clearing' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'starts to walk' is the wordplay.
'starts' becomes 'opens' (opening is a kind of starting).
'to walk' becomes 'pace' (pacing is a kind of walking).
'opens'+'pace'='OPEN SPACE'

'to' acts as a link.

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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