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.

Beltain and a Blossom Walk

It looks like the Summer is finally getting a grip here in the south UK and everyone should soon be making Elderflower Cordial. I prefer Elderflower Champagne but you need to take a few elementary precautions.

I believe the warm weather may have been encouraged as a result of the recent Beltain celebrations at Butser Ancient Farm. Beltain is an ancient tradition to bring on the summer, to celebrate the drawing back of the night and lengthening of the days.

We often visit this wonderful place for this extraordinary event; there is always lots of interesting things to explore and do. The evening always culminates with the very dramatic burning of the colossal Wickerman.

This year  the 10m hight shape-shifting Wickerman took the form of a human body, with the head of a badger, and antlers sprouting out from behind its ears. You can write down your wishes on paper scraps and stuff them into his legs, to be burned and sent into the night sky as red hot sparks later in the evening.

It was a chilly day and we were prepared for rain (though it never came), you can always hide in a round house and sit by an open fire listening to stories, if you get too cold. My daughter and I kept warm by walking about all the various activities, drinking hot cocoa and by dancing to a band playing sea shanties.

Toward the end of the evening, as darkness fell, everyone was entranced by a team of rhythmic drummers marching out toward our towering statuesque bonfire, which was lit by a lucky young lad with a flaming torch.

While the flames licked ever upwards and our wishes joined the stars glimmering in the darkness, there was a constant chorus of ooh!s,  ah!s and cheers to supplement the drummers, who had now retreated to a safer distance, as various parts joined the conflagration or exploded after crashing to the ground.

Finally, we tramped back over the fields, tired and weary but still awed by a night of wonder, our path lit by the flaming torches we carried.

There will be a Blossom Walk on Saturday May 14th at the Mansbridge Community Orchard. We will meet at 04:00pm on the old stone bridge over the Itchen, regardless of the weather. The bridge is at the end of the Pitch and Putt course and near the White Swan pub/restaurant on the A27. 
The walk is free and volunteer led but you will be traversing rough ground and fields, so dress appropriately and everyone is responsible for their own health and safety.
If anyone wants to buy copies of my lovely book, let me know in advance and they will be available for the totally fantastic price of just £10.00.

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...