Veiled in mystery, crop circles multiply relentlessly, with an average of 30 formations emerging annually in the UK. Crop circle enthusiasts attribute them to ley lines—ancient pathways aiding navigation—while others perceive them as extraterrestrial messages, cautioning humanity about perils like climate change and nuclear war.
With this in mind, BonusFinder were intrigued to find out which counties across the UK boast the greatest abundance of these mysterious formations? They scraped records of crop circles since 2005, along with their location, crop type, and survey details in order to establish the county with the highest number of crop circles.
In this collaboration with Monique Klinkenbergh, researcher and founder of the Crop Circle Visitor Centre & Exhibition, they are working to uncover some of the mystery surrounding crop circles.
Wiltshire is the UK’s crop circle hotspot with an impressive 380 crop circles having appeared in the county since 2005. Crop circles in Wiltshire often emerge in fields of wheat and barley where shapes are flattened into the vegetation. The county’s idyllic rolling hills and farming land provide the ideal framework for these creations. The most recent formation in the county was observed on the 28th of May 2023 in Broad Hinton and is described as a six-fold spinner with standing ‘arms’ within a laid circle and a central unbroken ring of standing stems with a flattened centre.
The South East county of Hampshire comes second with 51 crop circles. Known for the historical Winchester Cathedral and expansive countryside, Hampshire is an ideal location for these mysterious formations. The designs range from simple circles and rings to elaborate patterns. The village of Chilcomb in Hampshire saw the most recent formation on the 12th of July 2022 with a series of laid circles and rings contained within a narrow outer ring.
In third place is the county of Oxfordshire with 35 crop circles recorded. Once again, the scenic countryside offers a perfect landscape for these formations with complex geometric designs leaving crop circle enthusiasts amazed. The most recent formation was discovered on the 9th of August 2020 in Uffington Castle and is described as a wheat formation with concentric, rotating, triangular elements around the central circle and standing ring.
