Whenever we hear of a formation in Hampshire, and we have an opportunity to visit it, we just look at one another, and wonder about it accessibility. You see the county of Hampshire is very different to the landscape of Wiltshire. You have miles of high countryside hedgerows that mask off potential fields, which obviously makes life very difficult to find and spot new formations. If the area in question is not a known place for crop circles, you tend to be sent on a wild goose chase across miles of countryside, that you can’t even see. Very frustrating, but thankfully this location was known to us, but not the exact field itself. This is the first time a formation has appeared in this field, and from the countryside surrounding it, you could tell immediately that this was not Wiltshire.

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As we drove through a wooded glade with trees either side of the road, we knew that Upham wasn’t far from us. Trees shade the landscape around the village, so we knew we weren’t far from the formation itself. As we exited the glade itself, a very impressive sight confronted us indeed. There it was, set high on the hill, parallel with the road itself, it was quite magnificent and one of the best to have appeared in Hampshire this year.

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The crop itself was Oats, not a medium the Circlemakers use very much, and this was my very first major formation I have visited in this type of crop. This gave me an opportunity to see the quality of the floor construction, but also to witness how tall this crop actually is, which was quite unexpected. A very unusual feature was recorded not far from the formation, as we walked down the tramline towards it. A small area of crop was flattened in a square like fashion, completed isolated from the tramline itself. We took some pole shots of this feature, but unfortunately it was too far into the crop to make any notes, as there were no signs of entry.

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The formation itself was extremely impressive I felt. Not may people have visited the formation, as the crop was still flattened on a 30-degree angle. There were some incredibly beautiful features, within the outer semi circular sections of crop facing outwards towards the surrounding semi-rings. Each section had its own center , but were swirled in the traditional fashion, but oblong in appearance, so to accommodate the circumference outer wall of the formation itself. From the aerial photographs you can clearly see that the entire formation is made up of circles, in flattened and standing crop.

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Truly a worthy formation for such a location, and at the time was regarded as the best in Hampshire. It certainly impressed all of us, on a day of unimpressive weather.

Images and Report Stuart Dike Copyright 2000