Happy New Year 2019 – January 2019

A big 2019 welcome to you and a big welcome to 2019 worldwide.

I do not know how 2018 was for you? I found it to be a real roller coaster of a year; testing and quite devastating at times, and then wonderful new friendships appearing out of the blue with unexpected and extreme kindness. A year of learning and counting one's blessings.

I found this little anonymous poem:

Life is a book in volumes three –
The past, the present, and the yet-to-be.
The past is written and laid away,
The present we’re writing every day,
And the last and best of volumes three
Is locked from sight — God keeps the key.

If one looks at numerology, 2019 adds up to three. I love number three.

It represents the Holy Trinity, and Daniella Schoeman tells us each number is unique in its specific vibration.

The Pythagoreans taught that the number three was the first true number.

Three is the first number that forms a geometrical figure – the triangle.

Three was considered the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding.

Three is the number of time: Past Present Future

Three is the number of the divine.

It is considered a sacred number in almost all ancient cultures and even most modern religions.

So even when things look bad - and certainly in the UK, we are in a mess with the endless Brexit debates - I believe we might consider the symbolism of when the sun lurking behind the clouds is all ready to shine through at any given and unexpected moment, shining light and banishing the darkness. Light always wins in the end.

It is hard to believe Christmas was less than a month ago. I had a particularly joyous one as my elder son from Sydney came over and spent a couple of weeks with me. His lovely girlfriend Celeste joined us and we spent a very happy time with my sister for two nights. Our traditional Christmas always has a few unexpected twists to it and this year was no exception, causing great merriment and jollity.

I am going to tell you about a magical experience. One day when I was out, my son was sitting at the kitchen table when he was startled by the sound of a tremendously loud bang; looking towards the window he could see that something had hit it; so loud was the bang that he felt sure that the impact should have shattered the glass. He went outside and found a falcon (it turned out to be a merlin, which are seldom seen these days) lying unconscious on the ground. He has a special and unique affinity with birds and he gently picked it up - and was surprised to find it was no bigger than a blackbird - and he laid it on a cloth on the wooden garden seat. He managed to take some photographs (see below). He watched it come round, and all of a sudden - whoosh - it had flown away; thankfully uninjured. Sloane thinks that it had probably been following a smaller bird which had been able to swerve away before hitting the window, but the merlin hadn’t.

As the days get longer, so the birdsong changes and you see birds starting to pair together in preparation of bringing forth their annual brood of chicks. It is also approaching the Celtic Festival of Imbolc celebrated on the 1st/2nd February.

We are told that it is '...associated with the coming again of light and life, Imbolc (pronounced ‘im’olk’) was important to the Celts. For them the success of the new farming season was of great importance. As winter stores of food were getting low Imbolc rituals were performed to harness divine energy that would ensure a steady supply of food until the harvest six months later.

Like many Celtic festivals, the Imbolc celebrations centred on the lighting of fires to celebrate the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months. Originally, the fires were then used to burn the Yule decorations and other discarded items (from this we get our tradition of spring cleaning). We now remove our Christmas decorations after twelve days but in earlier times, celebrations lasted from Yule until Candlemas. Torches and candles were lit from the Yule Log and carried in procession around the community. It was also the holy day of Brigid (also known as Brigit, Bride, Brid) the Goddess of fire, healing and fertility. Christianity changed this to St Bridget’s Day, and Candlemas became the Purification of the Virgin Mary, when worshippers offer lighted candles in her honour, blessed and sprinkled with holy water and carried in procession.

Imbolc is still a special time for Pagans. As people who are deeply aware of what is going on in the natural world they recognise that there is strength in cold as well as heat, death as well as life. Many feel that human actions are best when they reflect the actions of nature, so as the world slowly springs back into action it is time to carry out the small tasks that are neglected through the busy times of the year. Rituals and activities might include the making of candles, planting spring flowers, reading poetry and telling stories.'

It is also a time of thinking about the forth coming summer; crop circle tours etc. In addition, I hope to be able to arrange helicopter flights for those who would like to share the experience with me.

The crop circle tour days are the 23th July and the 1st August. The tour on Tuesday 23th July ends with the optional extra of the wonderful private entry evening visit to Stonehenge. This is memorable in every way; getting up close to - but not touching the stones (which is prohibited) - is a magical experience as you soak up the energies of the giant megaliths and see the majestic sight of the sun setting behind the stones.

The tour on Thursday 1st August ends with an equally but totally different experience - flying over the circles we have already visited on the ground earlier that day and including some of the most important sacred sights such as Silbury Hill and the famous Avebury stone complex.

My exciting forthcoming book, written with scientist Jim Lyons, is just about going to print and will be ready in June.

I still have a very few wonderful 2019 calendars left but if you would like one you do need to
order quickly. It is the only calendar to have a picture of the famous Martinsell Hill formation, courtesy of Nick Bull, one of only three photographers who managed to capture a picture of it before it was harvested out. It is a quite unique formation and as geometer Michael Glickman writes: 'I have been drawing the circles now for nearly thirty years and I was astonished by the skill and precision embodied in Martinsell Hill. It is, in my view, one of the top ten (maybe five!) formations we have received. But perhaps I am prejudiced!

 

 

It contains 28 pentagrams and 140 precisely formed isosceles triangles, each with a prime angle of 36 degrees, which automatically generates the golden section.

Any suggestion that this meticulous and majestic crop formation might be man-made is bizarre to the point of lunacy.'

I wonder what will arrive in the fields to delight and thrill us summer???

With my love and best wishes to you,
Lucy.

Happy Festivities

As always I am very conscious that Christmas may not be a happy time for everyone and indeed it can be a very difficult and sometimes stressful period for many people. Maybe it is becoming over commercialised and little or no time is given for reflecting upon the true meaning of our Christmas celebrations and those less fortunate or lonely. Thankfully, where I live the lonely are well catered for and remembered and I like to think that hopefully this is something that prevails throughout all the towns and villages and we have time for thinking about the meaning behind this special event.
This is one of my favourite poems by Christina Rossetti.

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine,
Love was born at Christmas,
Star and Angels gave the sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
Love Incarnate, Love Divine,
Worship we our Jesus,
But wherewith for sacred sign?
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.

An excerpt from one by Maya Angelou;

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder…

And on a more down to earth, note sent out as the cover image for their Christmas magazine edition by two of the small local churches close to where I live.

Steep is one of the two churches that sent out the above message. It dates back to the late Norman period, when England was ruled by King Stephen, brother of Henry de Blois, otherwise known as Henry of Winchester. The church was a chapel of ease under the great ecclesiastical manor of East Meon, which itself was under the patronage of Henry de Blois.

It was a period of time when there were effectively two rival courts in England, as King Stephen and King Henry I’s daughter Matilda fought for the throne of England. It was to be a bitter few years as loyalties switched from side to side. King Stephen’s reign brought to a close the rule of the House of Normandy in 1154, by which time All Saints Church Steep would have been complete.

Stroud is modern in comparison having been built as late as 1896.

I know it is still very early days, but as so many people have already written to me regarding my ever popular crop circle tours, I can now give you the dates. The first tour with an optional extra of the wonderful private entry evening visit to the Stonehenge when we are allowed right up to the stones, is on Tuesday 24th July. More about my tours

The second tour with the special and much loved optional extra of a flight over the circles and surrounding sacred sites is on Wednesday 1st August. For both tours, you will experience the wonder of the circles in a happy, friendly and relaxed way.

I also take a few private tours at different dates as requested.

Picture © Nick Bull. (This crop circle contains 28 pentagrams and 140 precisely formed isosceles triangles, each with a prime angle of 36 degrees which automatically generates the golden section. Michael Glickman.)

Finally, as we are getting closer and closer to the final postage dates for goods to arrive in time for Christmas, please may I suggest and urge you to try and place your orders just as soon as you possibly can, especially as there has been a big rush on the calendars over the last few weeks.

Lucy Pringle's 2019 Calendar

I will be sending out orders promptly right up to the last posting. Although maybe not quite so fast as usual whilst my elder son from Sydney is staying with me. My younger son and his lovely family are remaining in Bangkok.

With my love and very best wishes,

Lucy

Falling Leaves

We have been enjoying one of the most spectacular autumns I can ever remember; almost rivalling the autumn colours in New England, America. Sadly due to pressure of work on my forthcoming book and preparing for my annual Petersfield talk, I just missed taking my camera out in time to catch the acers before they lost their leaves; what a fantastically glorious sight they made; breath-taking reds, yellows and oranges, shining with spiritual radiance. However, I did manage to sneak out earlier this week to take a few pictures before we had a bucket load of rain and swirling winds stripping the leaves off the branches. As always, the camera so often frustratingly fails to see what the eye sees.
There is a wonderful narrow lane close to where I live that at this time of year is a blaze of trees turning colour. These are ancient beech woods dating back some hundreds of years. In Celtic mythology, Fagus was the god of beech trees. Beech leaves were thought to have medicinal properties and were used to relieve swellings, and boiling the leaves could make a poultice. Forked beech twigs are also traditionally used for divining, as are hazel twigs.

Beech woodland makes an important habitat for many butterflies, particularly in open glades and along woodland rides.

The seeds are eaten by mice, voles, squirrels and birds and if you are lucky you might find the much sought after culinary delicacy, the native truffle fungi growing in beech woods.

As these trees live for so long (up to several hundred years) they provide habitats for many deadwood specialists such as hole-nesting birds: woodpeckers, owls, and nuthatches with their smart apricot chests - also wood-boring insects.

Leaves falling from the trees represents the hundreds of thousands of brave young men who fell in the First World War never to rise again - the War to end all Wars, they said. I like to think that they did not die in vain and that maybe one day, our human race will see sense and understand the futility of conflict, and we will see permanent peace on this precious and wonderful planet.

The book that I am writing with my long-time friend and scientific guru, Jim Lyons, has at last got a publication date. It will be on sale in the US from the 22nd June 2019 and very shortly afterwards in the UK. I will have it for sale on my website. I do hope you will enjoy it. It covers different aspects of this phenomenon not previously discussed and I believe it will bring a new and much needed level of understanding and credibility to the subject. Also it will include many of my photographs.

The Energies of Crop Circles
The Energies of Crop Circles

As always the time seems to hurtle by at a most alarming rate and before we know it, Christmas will have arrived; so please don’t forget to order your calendars whilst I still have some in stock; they are selling fast and always make fantastic and unusual presents with thought-provoking quotations and plenty of room to make notes in the calendar page. In addition, it is the ONLY calendar containing the fabulous Martinsell Hill Formation.

Lucy Pringle's 2019 Calendar

Thinking even further ahead, I will soon be putting up dates for my 2019 crop circle tours as I have had confirmation of my private entry evening booking from Stonehenge. The tickets are like gold dust to obtain but luckily as a regular customer, I am allowed advance early booking, but I need to apply in August/September for the next year.
I will write again before Christmas.

With my love and best wishes
Lucy.

PS. I have had a request from a member living in Mid Coast, Maine. US, who is not able to get around as he once did. He would love to get in touch with anyone who is interested in this or other unusual subjects who are living in the area. If you know of anyone who might fit the bill, please let me know and I will give you his address.

Hidden Treasures

Not only crop circles have been appearing in our fields this summer. Indeed parts of our long lost island landscape seems to have come mysteriously alive again revealing its forgotten ancient treasures. I am going to show you a selection; indeed these archaeological wonders are one of the reasons why many people so enjoy flying with me as not only do we see the crop circles and historic monuments such as Stonehenge and ancient stone complexes like Avebury, but after a spell of very dry weather, such as we have had this year, these wonderful marks of times long ago show their faces once more. Some even resembling crop circles of earlier years!

A triple-ditched bronze age burial mound and prehistoric pit alignment in Scropton, Derbyshire
A triple-ditched bronze age burial mound and prehistoric pit alignment in Scropton, Derbyshire
Prehistoric Ceremonial landscape, Eynsham, Oxfordshire
Prehistoric Ceremonial landscape, Eynsham, Oxfordshire

Others also of interest were:

Remnants of Roman Castle, Nr Caistor, Norfolk
Remnants of Roman Castle, near Caistor, Norfolk
Prehistoric or Roman Farm, Nr Langstone, Newport, S.Wales
Prehistoric or Roman Farm, near Langstone, Newport, S.Wales

Now that the Crop Circles have come to an end for another year (maybe another one will arrive just to prove me wrong!) we can look back and take a quick look to see what has taken place over the summer months. According to the excellent Crop Circle Connector website we are told that there have been 37 crop circles world-wide; a huge reduction from previous years. In addition to the UK, crop circles this year have appeared in Sarraltroff, near Goerlingen; Moselle, France. Uster, Zürcher Oberland, Switzerland,(a really beautiful circle containing radiating circular lines); Sokolovskaya, Gulkevichsky, Russia; Bohdankov, Liberec, The Czech Republic; Quebec, Canada. Two in Brazil located at Jesuino Marcondes, near Prudentopolis, Southern Brazil; Pirai do Sul, near Prudentópolis, Brazil. However, certain countries such as the US and Canada have different time zones so maybe we will get further reports?

Why have there been so few? It is hard to tell - could it be the circles know that they are no longer as welcome as they once were, as the majority farmers now automatically cut them out as soon as they realise they have one on their land? Could there be an interaction between the crop circles and and the farmer's reactions? We have so many instances of crop circles appearing in an almost identical form to ones thought up after group or single meditations that this is an area that we cannot neglect. If indeed this is so, maybe we should take this a step further and ask if there is a Consciousness inherent in the crop circles that links itself to the human mind or vice versa? To me the answer is a resounding ‘Yes’ as I believe that there is Intelligence behind this phenomenon. We are all part of the Universal Consciousness which is multidimensional and multi-interactional. This being so, we have to take on board the awesome fact that in this we are all indeed part of each other. So what is the future for the crop circles? That is a question, I cannot answer; but I have a feeling that they came for the purpose, to teach us more about Universal Knowledge, our Cosmos and our wonderful planet on which we live, how we should nurture it and ourselves for the good of all. Not everyone will hear that message and maybe there will be other ways in future to convey this communication? Someone once sent me an email saying that the word ‘didactic’ came to her when looking at pictures of the circles and not knowing what it meant she looked it up and found that it meant ‘designed or intended to teach’ – ‘intended to convey instruction as well as pleasure and entertainment’. Whether they are ‘finite’ or ‘infinite’, it seems to me that we still have a long way to go in this School of Life.

Great Excitement! My wonderful new 2019 calendar is currently being printed and will be with us earlier than usual, by the third week of September. It is stacked with fantastic pictures, thought provoking quotations and plenty of room for you to write in your appointments etc. It also has the rare exception of having the famous Martinsell picture included courtesy of Nick Bull, one of only three people with drones to capture this transitory crop circle before it was harvested out by the farmer at 8.43 am on the morning it appeared. No one else managed to get a picture of it. Despite being cut out, we conducted our scientific tests and other research with the farmer’s permission in this circle and the results were extraordinarily exciting. I will be writing a full report in my annual article. I have long been a believer that just because the standing crop has been cut, it does not mean that the ‘force’ or ‘energy’ is not still present and so indeed it would seem to be the case from the results. Anyone who would like to join us and help with our scientific research would be most welcome and you can always write to me with your details.

My annual talk is on the 20th October. All details on the flyer beneath. I will also be revealing the scientific test results at that time.

A review of the 2018 formations and latest research with stunning photographs. Tickets £10. Details from Lucy Pringle. Tel/Fax 01730 263454
Doors open 6:45pm for 7:30pm - prompt start

The trees have not started to change colour yet despite the colder nights, so maybe autumn is still a little way off despite the weather forecasters telling us that meteorologically it is with us already.

Hidden Britain by Drone

To my horror, I see that the last time I wrote was at midsummer - where has the time gone, I constantly lament??  Here we are at the beginning of August and very nearly at the end of the crop circle season. Having said that, many has been the time that the most spectacular event of the whole summer has suddenly appeared  just as we thought everything was finished, surprising us all and taking our breath away with its degree of complexity and size.

The fields are being harvested daily as I write and you can see the seed heads are hanging heavily on the stalks, showing that they are ready to be reaped, all the life having gone out of the stalks and into the heads. Sadly, due to the lack of rain and scorchingly hot weather we have had, farmers are in a bad state as not only is the grass burnt and scarce but in many cases they are having to give their animals the feed that they normally would have kept for winter. Also, in many cases, the seeds inside the seed heads are wizened and probably only good for animal fodder.  A terrible year for farmers.

Since I last wrote, circles have been appearing. Maybe not as often as in some previous years, but nevertheless, they certainly have not abandoned us as many feared they might.

The last circle I wrote about, in my previous letter, was the second one to appear at Hackpen Hill. Near Broad Hinton, Wiltshire.

I have to tell you that this has been quite one of the most special circles I have ever visited.  I have taken people into it at least four times and each time as we visited it, as one walks towards it, one feels as though it is stretching out it arms to welcome you. It has retained its energy longer than any circle I have known during my 28 years of crop circle investigation - quite exceptional. After spending time inside it everyone has told me (with one exception) how peaceful, relaxed and happy they feel; as though all the cares in the world have been washed away. Each time I have had to drag the visitors out as it seems that they could have stayed there forever. One time, I was taking my goddaughter (over from New Zealand) and friends; and by then it was four weeks old. As we came out, we were told that we had been in the circle for one and half hours - not possible but yes!  We had no idea!!! A loss of time that happens with regularity inside certain crop circles. Another interesting feature is that if a circle is manmade you will find that it is trashed easily and quickly but - if the circle is genuine, people quite unconsciously treat it with love and respect, thus preserving it.  

Circles have abounded since my last letter. I am going to give you a quick snapshot of some of them.

Yarnbury Castle close to the magnificent Hill Fort. We are told that ‘The main earthworks are thought to date from around 100 BC, with the earlier inner circuit being from about 300 BC, according to pottery finds from early iron age through to Romano-British, including for Samian of around 160 AD.`

Iron age pottery and Roman coins, and burials of human remains have been found. It also would appear to have been inhabited over a long period with evidence of an extensive settlement.

A weary ‘dragon fly’? came to rest at the very top of Waden Hill, part of the ancient landscape surrounding Silbury Hill; Avebury; Windmill Hill; the Sanctuary and East and West Kennett Long Barrows.

Coney Hill, close to Stonehenge.  As you will note all these events seem to lie close to or in close proximity to ancient and sacred sites. This is not unusual as the energy lines on which these places lie play a significant part in the crop circle appearance.

Joy of joys, a circle was found on the A272 close to where I live in Hampshire. The lay inside the circle was interesting with fine arcs of crop underlying the top layer in an intricate and delicate manner.  When a friend of mine managed to track the farmer down, he had no idea it was there! He was most intrigued!

Kingweston, Near Glastonbury produced one of the most stunning and complex events of the year to date. A series of circles resting on slender arcs around an elaborate centre. You will also notice the fine weaving of the crop in the close up image. Sadly it was harvested just before the Glastonbury Symposium; which, as usual, was well attended. The diversity of talks and subjects including crop circles was excellent and just as enjoyable as ever. This is a Symposium that has moved with the times, producing speakers of quality and renown.  I particularly love going there as I meet friends of old, going back to the early 1990’s – swapping stories and reminiscing. Such a happy time.

I have taken my usual two crop circle tours this summer. The first one ending with an optional extra of a private entry visit to Stonehenge. We were blessed with a most glorious sunset behind the stones which depicted them in all their majesty and splendour. We had hoped for a new circle and lo behold one appeared at Fovant, not far from Shaftesbury. Sadly we did not know who the farmer was nor the exact location so were not able to visit it. To many this formation is the most significant and symbolic of the year. What a noteworthy circle, saying different things to each of us! What does it say to you, I wonder?  A door opening up to new and exciting opportunities; or a door door giving us access to other dimensions? So many possibilities!  

In my last tour there was an optional extra of flying over the circles. This is an incredible way of seeing circles in all their majesty from the air, together with the surrounding countryside, which - depending on where the circles are - might include flying over the famous stone complex at Avebury and the sacred Silbury Hill; the largest man-made hill in Europe.

 

Whilst at the airfield and people were flying, I chatted to Susan Dury who was part of my group. She had an interesting story to tell. ‘We made a wish to the crop circle makers for a door or window (as I want to move house). Very whacky suggestion and the next circle to be made was a circle with a door in the middle!”

Our scientific research day was held on Sunday 15th July - St. Swithun’s Day best known for a British weather lore proverb, which says that if it rains on St. Swithun's day, it will rain for 40 days.  It was a scorchingly hot day and after conducting our tests in Avebury at the excellent Sports and Social Club, we made our way to the bottom of Martinsell Hill above Oare. The formation had appeared on 7th July and had been harvested out by the farmer at 8.43 am, shortly after it had been discovered. Please do not copy this image as it is not mine and is copyright Jane Barford  https://cropcirclephotographs.co.uk/july-2018-crop-circles-lucy-pringle-crop-circle-photography-uk/#jp-carousel-11664.

Surely one of the most complex formations we have seen, a fractal image consisting of a series of pentagrams. “It consisted of 27 smaller pentagrams (16 pentagrams of standing crop and 11 pentagrams of flattened crop). These 27 pentagrams relate to an important number, namely 27 × 5 = 135, because 135 is also the exact number of segments of the formation.”

I traced the farmer, who after I had described our reason for entering, seemed interested and kindly allowed us to use his field. He met us at the entrance and showed us how best to approach the harvested circle. Despite this extraordinary complexity he was convinced it has been man made and word got around accordingly!  Where was the evidence?

I maintain that just because a circle has been harvested, taking off the standing crop, does not mean that the crop circle force is not still present in the ground. We conducted similar tests in the beautiful harvested Forest Farm only a few minutes north of Marlborough with most interesting results https://cropcirclephotographs.co.uk/lucy-pringle-article-puzzles-a-plenty/

The Parkinson research results have just come through and show most fascinating and potentially significant differences between the preliminary tests at Avebury, the identical tests in the circle and second identical control tests taken some way outside the circle. I will write these up in detail in my annual article plus Hazel Drummond’s results - not yet analysed.

Finally, I have a couple of dates for your diary.

My talk at Petersfield Community Centre in Petersfield, Hampshire will be held on Saturday 20th October starting at 7.30 pm in which I will discuss this year’s events and intriguing research results.

I have heard from Windfall Films regarding the Hidden Britain by Drone programmes, with the information that the crop circle episode, in which I make a brief appearance, will be shown on the 26th August 2018. There are going to be 12 interesting and varied episodes starting on the 5th of August.

A few are as follows Nuclear Bunker – Dounreay; Bats; Goonhilly; Crop Circle; Blackpool; Willington power station; Plastic on beaches plus save the whale; and Scotland.

I send you my love and best wishes,

Lucy.

Midsummer Madness

At last I have a moment to draw breath and am putting pen to paper. My life seems to be early to rise and late to bed at the moment and even then I have not managed to do all the things that are on my list!!!

The summer solstice has just passed and gatherers at the ancient and prehistoric site at Stonehenge enjoyed a splendid and memorable sunrise, so often denied them due to bad weather.

This is the time of the year when we enjoy the longest hours of daylight as the sun reaches its highest altitude in the northern latitude as seen from the geographic pole. A time of joy, celebrated by rituals and festivities.

On clear evenings I can wander around my garden until late watering the plants.

The earliest I had to get up this year was at 4:30 am, last week, on the 19th June. Producer Jo Woolf of Windfall Films had been in touch with me at the beginning of the year. They were shooting films of 12 episodes for a programme called Hidden Britain by Drone presented by Tony Robinson and is due to be shown on Channel 4 later this year. Crop circles were considered to be an intriguing subject and worthy of inclusion. However this was a completely new venture for the producers as first and foremost they were surprised that we could not set a definite day ahead — this baffled them for starters until I explained that crop circles have a habit of appearing when they want and will not be at the beck and call of a film crew or permanently stand still for them such as Nelson on his column. All this was a hard learning curve for them and to give them a quick course on the subject made me realise just how much there is to know about this very idiosyncratic, wayward and often bewildering subject! They were fast learners and keen to take on board as much as possible in a very short time including the brutal fact that as all the episode filming had to finish by mid-June, that if there were no suitable circles, there would be no crop circle episode! QED.

We kept in constant touch and with the crew on standby and one week left, a circle fortunately appeared at Hackpen on farmer James Hussey’s land. So, it was decided that with James Hussey’s permission and despite it being a few days old, that this would be the one selected for filming.

The day was to start from Heli Air at Thruxton Airfield from whence they would film me flying over a circle in a helicopter. All of a sudden-- great excitement, as a circle had just appeared at Winterbourne Stoke Down, Near Stonehenge, Wiltshire within the past 48 hours. Perfect, what could be better?

However on closer scrutiny it was found to be lying inside the Salisbury Plain Training Area, on top of which they were due to start exercises later that morning. Salisbury Plain is the UK's largest training area, with live firing taking place an average of 340 days a year. It covers 300 square miles and is used extensively by the Army for ground, air and tank training. Aerial entry is strictly forbidden during those periods and I can assure that in no way would I like to tangle with them as they use live ammunition firing up to a height of several hundred feet. However the previous evening, they had agreed that if we could lift off by 7am and be out of the area by 8am, then we could enter their space.

I set my alarm for 4.30 am and whereas it was completely light and a magical time of day with the animals rubbing the sleep out of their eyes and the birds fluffing up their feathers, any vestige of sun was nowhere to be seen.

I am a born optimist and as I was driving over to Thruxton I felt cheered by glimpses of sun and patches of blue, only to find my hopes dashed as the clouds were thick over Thruxton and not a scrap of blue. Hoping that the weather might clear, pilot Jim Hughes and I were interviewed. The film crew were all there, director Johanna Fry, deputy director and cameraman, Jonathan Hanney, Martin and Toby in charge of drones and David, the invaluable runner.

Also, in order for the drones to fly over an airfield, they had to get permission to fly when the airfield was closed before 9 am or after 5 pm. Paper work galore, telephone calls and lots of cups of coffee before we eventually gave up and decided to remove to the crop circle in Wiltshire at Hackpen lying obliquely under the famous chalk white horse.

Chalk White Horse

As mentioned in previous letters, situated on the famous 5000 year old Ridgeway that stretches from Avebury in Wiltshire to the Chiltons in Hertfordshire, and reaching the end of it journey at Ivinghoe Beacon, near Tring, lies the Hackpen chalk White Horse. Thought to have its origin in 1883 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Victoria it stands proud on the edge of the Marlborough Downs overlooking the countryside below.

Hackpen Hill has longed been associated with the faery folk and legend has it that on certain nights of the year, the top of the hill rises up. Wonderful music is heard and those who venture in to join in the song, the wine and the dance may never be seen again, or if they do reappear it is said they are never the same again after their time with the inhabitants of the hill.

This area is also associated with the Knights Templar founded by Hugues de Payens or Payens (c.1070 – 24th May 1136) who was the first Grand Master. The Knights Templar was also thought to be connected to the Knights Hospitallers (The Knights of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem). At their peak they numbered some 15,000–20,000 members.

Though its original purpose was to protect pilgrims from danger, the Knights Templar progressively expanded its duties. They became defenders of the Crusader states in the Holy Land and were known as brave, highly skilled warriors. They fell into disrepute and the order ceased to operate in 1307.

On our arrival, the cloud base had lifted and the sun had come out and was shining brightly. The drones took over and flew over the circle and surrounding area for some considerable time. Next James Hussey, the wonderful farmer who opens his fields to all crop circle visitors was first to be interviewed. We are all only too happy to contribute to the splendid charity set up in memory of this lovely wife Gill who sadly died after a long and brave battle with cancer. The charity is to raise money to equip a breast screening radiotherapy unit to be built on the site at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon, as the closest unit was in Oxford and for Gill and others to have to travel many hours for a daily treatment lasting a few minutes each time over a period of six weeks was altogether too exhausting and draining. He is close to his target of £2.9 million as the charity has been sponsored by several events and businesses. This is a really splendid and worthwhile charity to support.

Next to be interviewed was Paul Jacobs who started a group called CGI (Core Group Initiative) some years ago. Paul realised that the farmers were having problems with visitors trampling their fields so when a circle arrives, he will arrange to come along and station his caravan at the edge of the field, collect the money donated by the visitors and show them down which tramlines they should walk in order to reach the crop circle; thereby preventing any additional damage to the crop. He then gives all the donations collected to the farmer concerned. Many farmers now get in touch with Paul and ask for his services. This is a thoroughly good enterprise without any recompense to Paul himself. Just the joy of living in the countryside and performing a really invaluable service which is welcomed by everyone concerned.

David talking to crop circle visitor

Then came my turn. Martin and Toby were instructed to fly the drone alongside me as I walked down the tramline and then into the field where they followed me around as I examined the crop. It was a distinctly un-nerving experience having a deafeningly loud drone flying right by my left ear as I walked into the circle and not being able to turn round and look at it — just ignore it!!

Sadly the circle was quite worn so there was no hope of finding any physical evidence but it was interesting nevertheless. Johanna Fry and camera man Jonathan Hannay joined me in the circle after the drones had departed and we conducted quite a long interview.

The crew than went on to interview Monique Klinkenberg who organises a really wonderful Crop Circle photograph exhibition which attracts enormous attention and gives great pleasure to everyone.

I made my way back to Heli Air at Thruxton Airfield where the crew joined me later. Eventually we took off in clear blue sky, with drones photographing the helicopter as we lifted off and gained height. Cameras were placed at different areas round the windscreen of the helicopter, plus we had audio connection so that Jim and I could be heard chatting to each other. We flew down to Keysley Down, near Chicklade, Wiltshire just along the A303 from Thruxton passing the wonderful Yarnbury Castle Iron Age Hill Fort on the way. As the circle had arrived on the 10th June it was very worn and you could see where people had been in and damaged it. This was a useful exercise as it showed why the farmers are so concerned for their crops and livelihoods. The circle was so worn that there was no definition remaining and the camera found it hard to focus. None of my overhead pictures were any good at all and this is the only one that shows the circle and you can see how the crop has risen up and the circle has lost its sharpness and clarity.

In this hot weather we can fly in shirt sleeves and it is wonderfully cool up in the air!

So ended a very busy but happy day. The crew were all marvellous and professional. We hadn’t had time to stop and have anything to eat but David had thoughtfully provided us with energy bars etc. and poor Heli Air at Thruxton is completely out of biscuits!!! I got home after 7pm and was glad to have an early night. I do hope you are not exhausted after reading all this; indeed I have only given you a potted version so as not to exhaust you more!!!

Since then I have been on another really special flight taking two people, Bob and Paula with me. It was a birthday present for Bob. They were so excited to be flying in a helicopter. We lifted off about 3.30 pm and flew over to the new crop circle at Hackpen just across the road from the first one! It was a glorious afternoon and Jim Hughes flew us with great skill.

On the way home we circled Avebury Stone complex and Silbury Hill. Both Bob and Paula were really interested not only in crop circles but in the landscape over which we were flying and it was a real joy to have them with me. As always I sent them several of my pictures and they were thrilled.

I received this lovely email from them.

“Hi Lucy
Bob and I want to say a big thank you for arranging the helicopter ride over the crop circles and other places of interest in the area yesterday. For us it was an experience of a lifetime which exceeded all expectations and it was a real delight to meet you. Please also pass on our thanks to all the guys at Heli Air, especially Jim the pilot who skilfully and safely got us close to the crop circle to allow us to take some great photos.
Bob has said he would love to do it all again for next year’s birthday so we may well be in touch again!

With best wishes,

Paula and Bob”

Glastonbury Symposium, the longest running conference week-end is taking place on 27-29th July. I can highly recommend it as not only will you hear interesting speakers on many diverse and fascinating subjects (including crop circles) but you will probably meet old friends. It is a MUST in my diary.

There are still a few places left on my tours. Also I have managed to get a couple more tickets for the private entry evening visit to Stonehenge on the 24th July.

With my love and best wishes,

Lucy.

Dorset Magic

How wonderful to be up in the air again. My first flight this year - what joy! Putting on the safety harness so that I can lean out of the helicopter safely, then walking out to the helicopter, getting in and clicking on our safety belts. Two friends came with me, one of whom had never flown in a helicopter before and was tremendously excited.

Up in the air and away! Looking down as the land falls away, leaving a wondrous tapestry beneath, green fields, houses, tennis courts, barns, farms, roads, rivers, villages and - less attractive - sprawling and expanding towns. We were flying down to Dorset, the county of Iron Age hill forts, over 20 in number, some of the main ones being Maiden Castle, Hambledon Hill and Badbury Rings. Over the years, I think I must have flown over most of them and am amazed at their vast construction often built as huge landscape marks to express the power and prestige of the local Durotrigian tribe leaders. Others were built as defensive man-made fortification structures to ward off other tribes. People did live in them, and some like Chalbury were very densely populated.

My heart always gladdens as I fly over the endless green fields stretching as far as the eye can see - no concrete to be seen anywhere! The very air seems different and surely it must be, away from pollution; just pure glorious fresh air! This is an ancient landscape and the wonderful hill forts serve as a constant reminder. It was a long flight to reach the crop circle lying just beyond the famous chalk figure, the Cerne Abbas Giant, etched into the hillside, dating back to the late 17th century. He has been likened to Hercules, a Saxon deity or some Celtic figure, but whatever he is he looked magnificent yielding his mighty club to ward off all attackers. Despite his splendour, he is nevertheless a relative newcomer in this historic landscape.

Buckland Down, Near Cerne Abbas, Dorset. 26th May 2018. Barley. c. 180 feet overall diameter (55m) A symmetrical design with circles and crescents. Despite only being two days old when photographed, the growing crop was already obscuring the design.

Sadly it was a hazy evening, and the crop despite being having been flattened only two days before when the crop circle appeared, had risen up quite dramatically, owing to the original sparse crop (shown in the overhead photograph) and the very hot weather, with the result that the circle no longer had a clear definition. Trying to capture circles in their perfect state is a problematic exercise as some are heavily laid, others very lightly as with Cerne Abbas circle; also one needs to fly when it is sunny, a pilot is available and before the circle has been cut out by unhappy farmers, or damaged by many visitors; so all in all several factors are involved which sometimes do not always work out!!

 

Crop Circle Tours
The time speeds by so fast and it is now the end of May. If you would like to join me on either of my tours, the places are filling up and there are four places free for the 24th July tour with optional extra of a special private entry evening visit to Stonehenge and three places left for the 1st August tour with the optional extra of a flight over the circles in the evening. Both will be happy and relaxed tours full of excitement and like-minded people. We will have a wonderful time. Those who maybe cannot walk as fast as others can come at their own speed.

If you would like the amazing experience of the private evening entry to Stonehenge, you can book separately without going on the crop circle tour, but I need to know before the 13th of June.

Sharing helicopter flights with me is another special excitement and I have quite long list already of people longing to come. It is often at short notice as I need to get up in the air quickly as previously explained.

Happy summer, with my love and best wishes,
Lucy.

Flying is very expensive, so I thank you so much those who have contributed to my work. If you do feel able to donate please visit my website's funding page.

The First 2018 Crop Circle

It has arrived - the first crop circle of the year! Lying between Crewkerne and Mere, just off the A303, it appears that it may have been there for some time as the flattened crop inside the circle is rising up. This image was taken by Nick Bull and he has kindly allowed me to put up it on my web site. Some people may have been worrying that the circles had left us but in 2013 we did not see a crop circle until the 2nd June in East Field, nr. Alton Priors, Wiltshire.

Once we get our first circle more seem to follow quite quickly, so will this happen this year?

Spring is really with us after another spell of gloriously warm weather. I have been driving down the little Sussex lanes, some so narrow that it is impossible to even open the car door to get out, so I take my pictures from an open window. Clumps of bluebells, ragged robin, stitchwort, primroses, and violets — what a joy!

There is nothing like a walk in the countryside to allow one's thoughts to see the world in a different light; a calm and peaceful place where nature reigns supreme; thus for a moment allowing oneself to came terms with life and all its ups and downs. To breathe the clean fresh air, to listen to the birdsong all around and the gurgling of the streams as they wend their serene way, ever going with the flow. I was brought up in the country and would find myself quite out of tune and breathless were I to live anywhere else for long periods of time.

In a previous letter, I wrote a little bit about the treasures found on Petersfield Heath. Twenty-one Barrows have been found, but, due to the cost and time only two have been excavated. The others consist of a mixture of different types of barrows.

Burial urn found on Petersfield Heath

May 19, 2016 | by Katherine West

'In this fourth season of excavations on Petersfield Heath two of the three sites excavated had points of particular interest. The most exciting find is a presumed burial urn found under Barrow 8 close to its centre. The urn was placed in a tightly fitting pit, and the archaeologists and volunteers had to painstakingly excavate it and lift it complete with its contents for laboratory micro-excavation. Its full story will only be revealed over the coming months, but it is already clear that it is a Collared Urn, a ceramic type dating roughly to 2000 – 1500 BC. Collared Urn burials are not uncommon in the Early Bronze Age, but the Barrow 8 example seems to have associated organic objects. These could be further rare and significant finds to add to the mineral - replaced wooden handle from Barrow 13 and the half tree-trunk from Site 24.'

Picture: Stuart Needham
http://www.peopleoftheheath.com/burial-urn-found-petersfield-heath/

This age-old island is full of ancient archaeological treasures many of which are still undiscovered or not yet excavated. Others are well known and frequently visited by people from all over the world such as magnificent Stonehenge, the wondrous stone complex at Avebury, plus the largest and a man mound in Europe Silbury Hill together with a host of other stone circles, mounds and iron age stone forts; ancient tracks and by ways known to our ancestors as they made their way over this sacred isle.

Back to Crop circles and the forthcoming season. What amazing circles will we see and where?

There are a still a few places available on my two tours. The first is on the 24th July with the optional extra of a once in a lifetime private entry visit to Stonehenge in the evening. The second tour, on the 1st August with the optional extra of a flight over the fields and sacred sites after the tour — will be a very special occasion. Please get in touch as soon as possible as the tours are very popular.

Still more excitement, if you would like to come with me and share the costs on one of my helicopter flights. The helicopter takes three people plus the pilot. It is so very helpful to me as the cost of flying, plus continuing with my important research currently focussing on the temporary relief of Parkinson disease, is so enormous that I was not sure if I could continue at all this year.

My love and best wishes,
Lucy.

April General Letter ~ Spring has Sprung

This email is to tell you that nothing has happened in the fields so far this year and that I am still in the land of the living and raring to go, despite two bouts of a particularly vicious `flu!

Being of an optimistic nature, and due to the fact that we had such a wonderfully warm and sunny day on Saturday, I decided that the time had come to check my cameras and charge their batteries in anticipation of some great event.

Surely this must have been one of the longest winters ever? At least, that is how it seems to me. Just when we think that spring has sprung, along comes another batch of snow!

This wonderful image of Silbury Hill and its surrounding countryside was taken by Simon Young on Sunday 18th March this year. It illustrates winter in all its wonder and I understand that he battled the freezing wind and snow to climb all the way up to the top of Waden Hill to look down to take this fantastic picture. Freezing, but my goodness it was worth it!

In order to assess what is happening in the fields, I chatted to a farmer this morning who tells me that nature has a marvellous way of adjusting itself, and as the weather forecast is for the mid 20’s Centigrade this week, the crops may suddenly start shooting up quickly.

If you would like to come on either of my summer crop circle tours, please remember to book as soon as you can. The first one, with the optional extra of a wonderful private evening entry to Stonehenge taking us right up to the stones, is on the 24th of July. The second tour, on the 1st of August, has the optional extra of flying over the circles after the tour. This is a fabulous way of seeing the circles from the air and includes flying over the famous Silbury Hill and the ancient Avebury stone complex. Both tours are filling up.

If you would like to share one of my helicopter flights please let me know. They often happen at quite short notice as I never know when a circle is going to appear. It is an experience of a lifetime and something you will never forget. I will write to you as soon as anything exciting happens.

My love and all best wishes,
Lucy