Visitors to the fascinating design that appeared near Marlborough on the 28th of July, experienced quite a number of camera and electronic malfunctions. Even Steve Alexander who took the overhead, experienced problems with his cameras when he flew over it. Spread over an area of around 200ft, this complex and somewhat bewildering pattern, consisted of nine squares out of sequence with one another.

Photo 7 - Savernake Forest, Nr. Marlborough, Wiltshire 28th July

Another eye-catching design appeared a couple of days later at West Kennet, close to the Longbarrow, and consisted of four labyrinths set within an eight-pointed star. Many thought that because the lines appeared wobbly that it was a little suss, but if you then compare it with ancient labyrinthine rock carvings, you'll probably come to my conclusion, that for some reason, it's deliberate!

Another "insectoid" of sorts, that first arrived at Tan Hill on the 28th of July, took another three or four nights before it developed into the formation you finally see below! Formations that morph, or receive additions at a later date, have long been wonderful ammunition for sceptics. They seize upon this as evidence to support the idea that the "corncrushers" had simply run out of time, and had to come back the next night to finish off the job! The fact is, that morphing is a fairly common aspect of this phenomena, and as such has been happening for years. Formations that receive additions become quite an attraction, for as you can imagine, many have been known to camp out close to them, on the off-chance that another addition might form. It goes without saying that nine times out of ten an extra bit arrives, and as per usual, no one sees or hears a thing!

Photo 9 -Tan Hill, Nr. Stanton St Bernard, Wiltshire 28th to the 31st July

Kent was on the receiving end of a couple of formations this year and on The 31st of July a spectacular trefoil design appeared high above the Nashenden Valley. It was little visited, but whilst it may not have attracted many visitors, it certainly would have been noticed by many thousands daily as they sped along the nearby motorway.

Photo 10 - Nashenden Farm Borstal, Nr. Rochester, Kent 31st July

The most spectacular formation of the year arrived on the 2nd of August, but wasn't complete until further additions appeared on the 3rd. Distinctly Mayan in character, here we have a groundbreaking formation that certainly took "messages found in crop circles" up to a new level. Viewed by many as a "calendar-timepiece" (complete with spiralling hands that possibly indicated units of time) there was much to learn from this intriguing glyph. The media rather unfairly dubbed it "The Doomsday Formation", but I could clearly see where they were coming from. This cleverly engineered design, indicated through its symbolism and use of number, the end of an age. It strongly indicates the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar, which many believe, ends upon the Winter Solstice of 2012.

All in all it could be saying it all!...It could well be saying that we're poised at a period in time, that's set at 359 degrees of its cycle, and staring at a clock that's at one minute to midnight!...And could that really be what crop circles are all about? Time and time again they relentlessly place before us much spiritual truth. They let us know in a very positive way that other realities exist, and I'm sure that throughout all such forthcoming changes, we've really nothing to fear.

2nd to the 3rd Aug Photo 11 (above) - Silbury Hill, Nr. Beckhampton, Wiltshire Photo 12 (right) - View of the formation incl. Silbury Hill

End notes

1. Overhead photographs of Icknield Way & Nashenden Valley formations, used by kind permission of Andrew King © 2004.

2. All other photographs used by kind permission of Steve Alexander © 2004.

Steve is a professional crop circle photographer who produces a beautiful yearbook illustrating the season's events. Details to be found on his homepage at: http://www.temporarytemples.co.uk/