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MILLING AROUND AT WILTON
The picturesque village at
Wilton became the latest
home to this formation, which has sparked a debate on how this formation
formed.
Set high up on the
slopes overlooking the fields just outside of Wilton, is its famous
Windmill, a setting befitting a formation of what occurred on the morning
of the 7th of August. From first glance, down the tree lined road towards
Wilton, the formation resembled events we have all been accustomed to
seeing. A well formed design, in the biscuit coloured crop, at the
beginning of August, which appeared to mimic the Windmill, with regard to
its design. But this event in the idyllic setting brought up a few
surprises.
From the first aerial
shots, taken on the Saturday evening of the 7th of August, the formation
appeared to be extremely well made. A crisp well formed shape, with a
glorious spiralled knotted central circle, which is the first of its kind
in Wiltshire. Details of this kind, which could be easily seen from the
aerial shots, indicated an intriguing visit was on the cards for Sunday.
After a 20 minute drive
from the Wiltshire Crop Circle Conference in Alton Barnes, on the 8th of
August, we arrived at the location, taking it easy in the blazing heat of
the day. Mr Lemon (the Farmer) met us at the bottom of the field, and
kindly allowed us access. I could easily see the photographic poles of
our foreign contingent from
Europe, already recording the event from the air and ground. In fact it was
great to see us all in one place, and suitably working on our areas of
expertise. However, on closer inspection of the floor pattern, there
appeared to be a little uneasiness from the researchers. There certainly
was a difference of opinion of the quality of the formation, with regard
to its floor construction. From experience, I know formations can look
rather messy in older mature crop, at this stage of the season. I was
however surprised at the lay of the crop, as I certainly have seen
better, but the central circle was an absolute delight! Extremely well
formed knotted (rope) construction of the plants in a spiral, which is a
new development from the centres of the past year. It was formed in a
similar way to what we have seen from the nest centres of West Stowell,
and The Klondike from 2003. A raised section of crop, twisted round, to
create the illusion of a snake uncoiling itself from the centre.
The rest of the
formation's floor construction was nothing ground breaking. In-fact it
appeared to be a little messy in places, but we mustn’t forget that older
crop can be difficult to use in August. Within the outer triangular
sections of the design, there were two directional lays, each one coming
out from the outer perimeter of the design, which included a small outer
ring. Positioned on the ring were a series of circles, with each one
sectioned by a small triangular piece of crop, pointing away for the
formation. However, from the air the formation appeared to be born out of
the crop, without the outer ring providing a natural frame.
The presence of all the
current researchers in one place, could only mean that this formation was
having a comprehensive ground inspection. On visiting one of the outer
triangular sections, a small sapped stick was found on one of the
corners. This of course caused quite a stir within the formation, and
sparked a debate. I personally felt it wasn't conclusive proof that it
was a marker of some kind, but felt it was certainly worthy of a mention
within the report. I feel we have to be very careful at jumping to
conclusions on whether this was a genuine event of not. We may not have
been the first visitors to this formation of the 8th of August. Based on
the evidence found here, it is hard to say, but it is not something we
are used to finding within formations of this type.
Overall a very
impressive looking formation, at a beautiful spot in the Wiltshire
countryside. A location which hasn't seen formations before, but it
certainly brought a welcomed surprise to a great weekend.
Report by Stuart Dike. |
