Ground Report – Clays End, Nr. Tewksbury, Somerset, 17/07/05

Situated in a small field and on a slight hill, this unusual formation is nicely secluded, despite the fact that it lies next to a fairly busy road and can be seen from the opposite hill. The design comprises a small laid triangle surrounded by an incomplete ring, from which three ‘arms’ protrude, made up of 12 circles each.

The formation has clearly been well visited, ruling out any significant observations I might have made about the quality of the laid crop. However, there are some interesting features within the construction of the formation, as well as in the overall design itself.

The central triangle is equilateral, the sides measuring 26ft. The diameter of the surrounding ring is 87ft. Where the three ‘arms’ of the design join the central triangle the ring has a segment missing. Within this ring, the crop flows clockwise on the ‘left’ side and anti-clockwise on the ‘right’ side. At the base, where the crop begins flowing in opposite directions, around ѕ of it starts from the right tramline, the rest starting from the left. This can be seen in the image below.

The crop at the squared end of the ring on the left side of the formation appears to flow back on itself, so for a short distance the crop is laid in opposite directions. This is not evident on the other side of the ring.

The crop throughout the formation is laid clockwise, apart from the right side of the ring, where it flows anti-clockwise.

Within many of the circles which make up the three ‘arms’ of the design, there are nice standing tufts, surrounded by swirled crop. Most contain just a few standing stems, others slightly more.

In one of the circles, the standing stems in the centre appear to be ‘bisected’ by an underlying pathway. This creates the unusual effect of two standing tufts very close together.

These underlying paths run from the edge of the central triangle, all the way to the end of each of the ‘arms’. They are all underneath the crop laid clockwise in the circles, but are clearly visible in between each of the circles as they form a gap between them.

The diameters of the circles are an interesting feature of this formation. When viewed from the central triangle, either from the ground or from the height of the pole, they appear to be the same size. When walking into them it becomes clear that they are getting progressively larger the further you go. The diameters have been carefully considered in order that perspective creates this interesting effect.

In diameter, the circles measure 28ft at the far end of each ‘arm’, down to 6ft adjacent to the central triangle. Each circle is 2ft smaller than the previous one, although there is some variation, with differences ranging from 1.5ft to 3ft once or twice. There is also variation between the ‘arms’, but generally the sizes of the circles follows the same pattern.

There is some damage to the stems throughout the formation, although not obvious, and there are also areas where the crop shows no sign of damage at all.

The crop often flows quite fluidly through the formation, often appearing to follow the curve of the design. At many of these points there is little damage to the stems.

Further up the hill there is a fairly large ‘grapeshot’ circle, with a very clear path leading to it, presumably caused by visitors. Although it is situated very close to a tram line, I did not go into this circle but from the pole shots, the lay looks a little more haphazard than in the main crop circle, without much flow or direction.

I have heard talk of a group of hoaxers in this area who have been ‘causing trouble’ but I will not assume that this necessarily means they are the agency behind this crop circle. The design is unusual and interesting, the hillside location affords an infrequent but pleasing backdrop of residential housing, and the crop circle itself left me feeling intrigued and happy at the same time.

Crop Circle Summary

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