Medway Crop Circle 2001 Page

Crop Circles in Kent of 2001........

THE BORSTAL BUBBLE RING

Borstal Nr. Rochester

June 25th 2001 - Barley

Perched upon a hillside that overlooks The Medway Valley this beautiful triple armed formation arrived on the 25th of June during the day! For according to several reliable and unrelated witnesses (dog walkers & rail-link workers, etc etc.) it simply wasn't there early on, but to their astonishment there it was a little later!

The formation was around 155ft across and consisted of a large ring, with tri-circular formed arms radiating from its centre. Curiously, all eleven circles that made up the design, acknowledged the number eleven when measured.

It was quite noticeable that the seedheads of the downed crop were well and truly aligned with their stems. And amongst the laid over crop were several interesting plant anomalies. Plants were discovered with leaves tightly spiralling around their stems. And as odd as that may seem, some stems were found "crimped" just below the seedhead!

Geometric analysis revealed "armorial shield-shapes", which became quite a common feature found within a number of 2001 formations. Could it be that "The Circlemakers" were hinting at an imminent reality shift, with lines that indicated warping or bending?

The formation occupied a field that borders on The Pilgrims Way and The North Downs Way, and was found in roughly the same position as a formation that came down previously in '99. Unfortunately on that occasion, because the farmer was of the opinion that "They're all made by mindless vandals", he swiftly cut it out!...(so if you slice through a large patch of unripened crop who now becomes the vandal?)

Diagram © Graham Tucker

Photo © Graham Tucker

Photo © Andrew King

Crimped Stem Leaf Spiral

Photos © Graham Tucker

Crimped Stem

Photo © Graham Tucker

THE BLUEBELL CIRCLE

Bluebell Hill, nr. Maidstone

JULY 2nd 2001 - Barley

Including a small grapeshot, this lightly laid triple cluster in barley was certainly placed in an idyllic setting. It arrived on the 2nd of July and left on the 4th! In other words, it was so lightly laid in young barley, that it didn't seem to take it long before it found its way back up!

Spread over six tramlines, some very strong dowsable energies were found inside the formation once you crossed its perimeters, but no energy alignments were traceable leading in or out of it.

This formation becomes more interesting though, when you take a look at my diagram of the main circle marked ABC. (See opposite)

On day one only the small ovals, marked "C" were standing. The outer ring marked "A" was laid firm to the ground, whilst the greater area marked "B" was very gently laid over in order to produce a chaotic "choppy-wave" effect. Obviously area "B" sprang back exceedingly quickly and showed no signs of damage apart from what may have been caused slightly on day one, when it was just possible to walk through it. When we visited it a couple of days after it had arrived, the perfect outer ring marked "A" still appeared flattened to the ground. And this outer pathway revealed a number of stalks that were crushed, creased or broken etc. Now, given that area "B" sprang up quickly, visitors would have used ring "A", and they alone could have caused the damage. Or maybe, as the farmer suggested, by someone driving round and round on a motorbike...

But hang on a minute!...who was it that very gently laid over the virtually undamaged crop that recovered so quickly in the first place? Surely not those corn-crunchers on Harleys that also left behind a dazzling dowsing display?

It's quite obvious that during this transmission "The Circlemakers" applied, and made good use of two types of pressure. Now how on earth would that be achieved with a stomping board?

It's unfortunate that we don't have an aerial of this formation, for I have a feeling that the floor display may have revealed something interesting when viewed from above. However because of its swift recovery, it's believed it would have been too indistinct to photograph, even after the first day or so.

Photo © Graham Tucker

Diagram © Graham Tucker

THE LULLINGSTONE EVENT

Lullingstone Castle, nr. Eynsford

July 19th 2001 - Wheat

This rather strange formation in wheat was practically invisible from any viewpoint around, and unless like myself you were looking for one that was rumoured in the area, you probably would've remained blissfully unaware of it!

It's best described as a circle with two "sticky-up" ears! From one of the ears was a 4-5 feet pathway that extended for about 15 feet into the hedgerow and the trees that bordered on the lower edge of the field. Much to everyones surprise, beyond that hedge we found the river Darent. This prompted Andrew King to remark that maybe this path was an "earthing" path for the circle-making energies!

The main body of the formation was quite small (no more than around 30feet overall) The central circle along with the semi-circular pathways that swept past the "ears", were all laid clockwise. Stalks were bent to the ground with only a few samples of breakage in evidence.

We believed it was probably a couple of weeks old and as far as I was able to tell it didn't appear to have had many visitors. We think the reason why it wasn't reported earlier was due entirely to its remote position...

And oh dear, you would not believe how many failed to find it!

THE SHOREHAM CIRCLE

Shoreham Nr. Eynsford

August 19th 2001 - Wheat

Just when we thought we'd had our quota for 2001, this little stunner popped up in a field close to Shoreham in mid-August. This overlapping figure of eight was discovered in an over-ripe wheat field that by then had turned to a beautiful beige colour. It was such a beautiful formation and was quite similar in shape to one that the Medway group had meditated for, just a few months previous!

As far as its lay was concerned, a sense of water running over rocks wouldn't be a bad description. and after a while we began to make more sense of its intricate flow. It also had a couple of exquisite off-centred tufts thrown in for good measure. The way they fanned and feathered out led most of us to remark that this was certainly "State of the Art" for 2001.

Owing to its out of the way, and somewhat hidden location, the formation didn't receive many visitors. Which in some ways is a pity, because to anyone that's seriously interested in crop circles, this was a definite "must see". The crop was so dry that when you walked upon it crackled like corn flakes...being inside it though we really felt privileged, for this without doubt was one of Kent's finest.

Shoreham itself is a small village made up of 17th & 18th century houses, whose features are little changed since those days. The surrounding corn and hop fields are dominated by a steep hillside, upon which a large chalk cross has been cut that's dedicated to those who fell in the First W. War.

This formation was only a couple of fields away from the monument and interestingly, this is the second time that "The Circlemakers" have brought our attention to a hillside cross. They did so at Lenham in '99, and what's more they chose the same date - August 19th!

The Shoreham Valley runs into the Darent Valley, and this whole area has been blessed with 3 or 4 formations over the past few years. The remains of Lullingstone Roman Villa (what a treasure!) are found within this valley, and there's also an awful lot of other evidence around this area that suggests there was a large Roman settlement here at one time. In those days under a more favourable climate, these sheltered hillsides supported vineyards. It's well known that under Roman rule wine production flourished.