Although we were off to a really slow start this season due to the wettest winter/spring on record, the first UK formation appeared within a Hampshire rape field on the11th of May. After that events began to slowly unfold, and as if to somehow reward us for our patience, "The Circlemakers" began placing before us some really outstanding designs.

Photo 1 - Barrowden, Northamptonshire 3rd June

On the 3rd of June at Wakerley Woods, Barrowden, Northamptonshire, researcher Nick Nicholson discovered a truly remarkable formation placed in barley. Resembling, as a few suggested, an Aztec calendar or Mayan wheel, it had a remarkable freehand feel about it - almost as if it were chiselled out of stone! If you look closely, you'll also see that some of the lines that help make up the design are very fine, indicating that they must have been only a stalk or so wide!

Photo 2 - Berwick Bassett, Wiltshire 9th June

Another interesting formation arriving early on was this beautiful geometric pattern found at Berwick Bassett, Wiltshire on the 9th June. The design itself was based purely upon rotating convex triangles making up the standing crop, whilst the others were created within the laid crop. This in effect produced a truly remarkable and mesmerising toroidal design. With each new season usually an underlying theme evolves, and the geometric convex element seen here became a feature found in many subsequent formations.

Photo 3 - Hill Barn, Badbury, Wiltshire 17th June

Just over a week or so later at Hill Barn, Wiltshire on the 17th June, an intriguing formation appeared that depicted a coiled serpent with its tail between its jaws!

Figure 1 - The Ouroboros

In alchemy, a serpent illustrated as eating its own tail is known as "The Ouroboros". By feeding on its own body, it's said to recreate itself, and this became the known symbol for transferring matter, which in ancient times was common alchemic practice.

Because we're also presented with a three-dimensional centrepiece (not unlike last year's Windmill Hill eyepopper) were "The Circlemakers" suggesting the imminent transference of matter from the third to the fifth dimension?

Photo 4 - Alton Barnes, Wiltshire 21st June

On the 21st June an appealing pyramidal design arrived at East Field, Alton Barnes, which once again is in Wiltshire. East Field has played host to many circles over the years and as such is firmly etched in "croppie folklore". Because it's been hit on such a regular basis ever since the 1990 Led Zeppelin album cover appeared, it attracts many night watchers to its nearby hillside. Being solstice night quite a few crop-watchers were around when the formation arrived, and most were there for the sunrise. It goes without saying that no one saw or heard a thing and many were surprised by the 250 feet stunner that dawn's early light revealed! A few researchers were unhappy with the formation though, and for good reason. When they visited it they were confronted by a very messy floorlay. That alone though doesn't necessarily qualify it as a product of plank wielding crop artists, for there's simply so much more that has to be considered.

Many visitors in this formation experienced camera malfunctions when it was freshly laid, and this became a common experience in a few of the early formations. I was by no means immune from attack, and I personally suffered a battery drain that just about got me to the end of the roll!

Late June, through to mid July, were peak times with many extraordinary formations arriving almost on a daily basis ... Who could have foreseen though that many of the designs arriving so far, had began to surpass even last year's fantastic formations? But if that wasn't all, on the 25th July, a stunning crop circle event took place at the Gog and Magog Hills in Cambridgeshire, for there beautifully etched in wheat, amid idyllic and enchanting countryside ... an angel had appeared.

Photo 5 - Gog & Magog Hills, Cambridgeshire 25th July

Accused of taking people's breath away, this very simplistic but beautiful design was executed with a finesse that's rarely encountered. The 70 or so radiating lines were laid with such precision, that they were absolutely straight and showed no signs of wavering or deviation whatsoever. This was indeed a superb formation that many researchers considered to be nothing less than state of the art.

Graham Tucker © 2001

End notes

1. Aerial photograph of Barrowden formation used by kind permission of Nick Nicholson © 2001.
Nick is editor and publisher of "The Circular Review" - an informative quarterly review of the phenomenon.
email: circular99@lineone.net

2. Aerial photograph of Hillbarn formation used by kind permission of Stuart Dike © 2001.
Stuart is co-webmaster of www.cropconnector.com, which is an absolute must for all dedicated croppies. Daily updates of what's landed where, homepages, articles and links etc.

3. All other photographs used by kind permission of Steve Alexander © 2001.
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.cropcircleconnector.com/temporarytemples/books2000.html

4. Diagram & text are by G Tucker © 2001