On the 30th May I was told about a new circle that had appeared somewhere south west of Blandford Forum in Dorset. I immediately booked a flight for the following day, which according to the Met Office was to have a cloudy start but with sunny intervals starting to appear from around six in the evening.
Indeed it was a cold, cloudy morning and afternoon until glimmers of brightness started to appear, and by the time I got to Thruxton Airport there were enough blue patches "to make a pair of sailor's trousers", as the old saying goes.
Hoping for the best, we set off on a very long flight. The wind was against us, slowing us down, but the lush green fields below, of all wonderful shades, captivated me and I thought "how enormously lucky I am to be doing this and living in this wonderful Isle of Albion".
We found the formation quite easily. It was in barley, that beautiful, luxurious crop which sways in the wind, billowing out across the field, ruffling the crop as it goes, like sails on a boat.
Due to the wind, it wasn't easy to take pictures, as the crop from certain angles was distorted by the wind and an arterial road running adjacent to the field prohibited low flying.
In addition, I had accidentally flipped off my autofocus on the wide angle lens camera. I didn't spot what I had done for several minutes and as I wrestled with a camera I thought it had broken, as does happen quite often when flying over circles. It is very expensive to fly so every lost moment is a financial loss, and it wasn't until we were flying away that I spotted what I had done and we returned for a quick circuit of the formation.
It just shows how rusty one can become and how the smallest error can be catastrophic. It is a matter of running through all the possibilities as quickly as one can to correct the malfunction without panicking!!! I wont make the same mistake again! Had I been at school, I feel sure my report would have read "Could do better".
The weather (which has been so cold it seems like winter all over again) is due to pick up by the end of the week, so hopefully we will see more circles. I will keep you posted.
The crop circle tour on the 30th July is fully booked but there still places for the amazing private entry visit to Stonehenge. I can take more people into Stonehenge than on a crop circle tour, hence the difference in numbers for that day.
I will have to close the Stonehenge booking at the end of June so please hurry if you would like to join me on an experience of a lifetime.
There are still a few places left for the August 4th Crop Circle tour with the optional extra of a wonderful flight over the circles.
Best wishes,
Lucy