As rains subside, variety of ‘alien’ art formations appear in fields (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

As rains subside, variety of ‘alien’ art formations appear in fields

3:32pm Tuesday 31st July 2012 in Marlborough

The crop circle at Hill Barn described as a ‘showstopper’

After a slow start to the season, caused by the unseasonally wet weather, the number and quality of crop circles appearing in fields in Wiltshire have grown exponentially.

There was great excitement among crop circle investigators last week when a very unusual formation appeared in a field at Hill Barn, near East Kennett, last Thursday.

Though the design is difficult to describe, it looks like two giraffes breast to breast with diamonds in between them.

Matthew Williams, who took these aerial shots, said: “I consider this one to be a season show stopper... a really nice piece of art.”

On the same day a formation resembling a horseshoe crab was discovered in a field at Oliver’s Castle, Roundway Down, and the day before a comet with a long tail appeared in crops at Windmill Hill, near Avebury.

The origin of these formations is still up for debate but others are less uncertain. The formation looking like the children’s character The Very Hungry Caterpillar that appeared at Boreham Woods on July 5 is fairly likely to be made by someone with a sense of humour.

And the pretty floral pattern that turned up at Juggler’s Lane near Yatesbury is clearly a locally made work of art. A notice from farmer Rob Pickford said: “This circle has been man-made by the Frome Community Learning Partnership in conjunction with the Rook Lane Arts Trust and Wiltshire Heritage Museum.

“It is part of a combined Maths and Arts education programme called ‘Measuring the land’; find out more at www.break3.org.uk. Please do not walk in the fields as more crop damage is done by visitors’ feet viewing the circle afterwards, than the act of making the crop circle itself. Please do not access the circle by walking over or driving on my neighbours’ property, they will call the police.”