Crossword Genius

Thomas Mann loses head and travels around Lech in a deeply groovy way. (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

channel

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

'way' is the definition.
(I know that channel is a type of passage)

'thomas mann loses head and travels around lech in a deeply groovy' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is present in the answer.
'around' could be 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa') and 'c' is found in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'hel' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for channel that I've seen before include "Watercourse and frequency band" , "Narrow body of water linking two larger bodies" , "Water passage; TV station" , "BBC1, say" , "Medium of transmission" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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