Butser, Beltain and the Wicker Man

Butser hill is the highest point in Hampshire, it was also an Iron Age hill fort. It is a fantastic spot for a wild walk or picnic. Nearby, on the other side of the A3 main road, lies Butser Ancient Farm, an experimental, archaeologically accurate farmstead.

Butser is an interesting place for school children to visit and experience what it might have been like to live under the conditions of ancient man (without any screens).

Each year around the beginning of May Butser hosts a Beltain festival, to celebrate the lengthening of the days in a suitable May fayre style.

There is lots of daytime entertainment, including flint napping (creating Stone Age tools and weapons), bronze smelting, weapon training, Roman soldiers, wood crafting, story telling, astronomy, live folk music, Maypole dancing, food and drink, drumming, fancy dress and, as the dusk draws in, the burning of an enormous Wicker Man.

We always try to get along and we always have a fantastic time, this year was no exception. Since that day, I have seen swifts, swallows and house martins, so the warmer weather is definitely on the way.

The Wicker Man

After one of the coldest and wettest bank holidays I can recall in recent times, I’m pleased to announce that we did our bit toward tempting the summer to show its sunny face.

We visited Butser Ancient Farm to celebrate Beltane (I guess you could describe it as an Iron Age May fair); the culmination of which was the burning of an absolutely huge Wicker Man. The Gods must have smiled on our antics because astonishingly, it failed to rain on our bonfire.

There was lots to see and do, including a Morris dancing troop, Celtic and Roman weaponry and dress, falconry, storytelling by Red Phoenix, traditional crafts, a tasty hog roast, making for the children to partake in, bands, cider, fudge and of course – the Wicker Man...

We made our way straight over to see the main attraction and scrawled our wishes and dreams down on small wraps of paper – these were then posted into the Wicker Man's legs to be burned in the eventual fire. This was a modern day replacement for sacrifices, which would have been traditional apparently. He was taller than the trees and a grown man could easily walk under his legs.

We had a fantastic time but everything paled in comparison to what was to come. As darkness fell everyone gathered in anticipation, a safe distance away from the massive wooden sculpture; until finally, someone approached with a burning torch.

Once his legs were burning, our wishes went up in smoke and it was only a short time before his torso, which was stuffed with straw was blazing away. Finally, to a chorus of Ahhhhs and Oohhs the Wicker Man’s blazing head fell to the ground, sending a huge shower of red embers into the night.

As we trudged back over the hill to our vehicles, we were cold, tired and hungry but very excited; our heads were still filled with images of that hot, firey giant. Our wishes that may yet come true, were now far off sparks, sailing like shooting stars into the dark sky...

Blossom, Beltain and A Beautiful Game

Using up the last remaining apples in our store, the Head Chef knocked us up a lovely apple tart on Friday night. This set me to thinking that we should have a quick check to see how the new season’s fruit crop was progressing down at Mansbridge.

After watching the Saints go marching out of the Championship and into the Premier League, my son and I took advantage of a timely break in the relentless April storms.

The boy chose to go by scooter and this meant that I had to jog along with him, which gave me a good run about before the inevitable night of celebration.

On our way along the Itchen we paused briefly to have a chat with a family of friendly geese and three tiny fluffy goslings.

The Community Orchard does look delightful at this time of year.

Most of the fruit trees are coming into bloom now and are covered in the delicate white and pink flowers.

The blossom among the bright green young leaves is a splendid, heart lifting sight. I suggest people make time to get down there and appreciate the beauty this weekend.

As it was, the tree flowers stood out like stars against the slate grey sky; I think they will look better still when the sun eventually breaks through and we finally get the sunshine that we all crave.

Tracks of Deer Dog and Human

Maybe Mr. Blue Sky will visit us for the bank holiday weekend; we have fayres to visit and don’t want to our ardour dampened as we dance around the Maypole.

I know the rain is required but we all could do with a little respite from this wettest of droughts and I hope the Beltain bonfires will burn bright enough to bring on the Summer.