Human-sown crops appear to be the main focus for the circlemaking source, but occasionally wild undergrowth becomes the canvas. One such rarity, a circle in bracken, has appeared in Devon…
Despite being an abundant plant in the UK, particularly around coastal areas, the tough medium of bracken, a large fern found on heaths and hillsides, has been little, if ever, utilised for crop circles.
The ‘North Devon Journal’ magazine has recently reported what sounds very like one such rare bracken formation, in a report dated October 2nd 2001, which Geoff Stray picked up by browsing the ‘This is North Devon’ website.
The report, headlined in the predictable local press style “Is Mystery Circle the Work of Aliens?” and written in the usual tongue-in-cheek tones, reads:
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“The aliens have landed! Or at least if they were going to land Lynton would be as good a place as any. A mysterious circle has appeared pressed into the bracken of the Valley of the Rocks and has caused quite a stir with local walkers.
Lynton resident Dave Walden is one of those who spotted the seemingly unnatural circle half-way up the hillside.
He said: "No one knows what has caused it, but it is about 20-30 yards in diameter and just to the left of Castle Rock. I had never noticed it before until the other day.
"It could be a hoax, but it is not the easiest place to get to, or it could just be dying bracken. But we think there are two explanations for it and one is that aliens came to Lynton and Lynmouth looking for intelligence, but found none so left again. And the second is that aliens populated the town first and they just came back to visit again."
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We have not yet seen a photograph of the formation, but Geoff Stray comments:
“This is right along the coastline of SW England. The location is rugged for this part of the world. Steep hills end sharply at the coastal edge. I know, I've visited this area in the past. Bracken is a hardy plant and not easily crushed.”
The original web report can be found at: http://paranormal.about.com/library/blnews.htm