The Cotswold Pagan Society:

Crickley Hill country park is situated on the outskirts of Cheltenham, nestling up against the Cotswold escarpment. In pre-Jurassic times, the escarpment was a shoreline of lake Harrison - a massive inland sea stretching from the Vale of Evesham and up into Warwickshire. Cheltenham in those times would have been underwater, and fossilized shells have been found in sandy ground on building sites

The hill is surrounded by aches of woodland that is used daily for sheep grazing, dog exercising and Sunday rambles. The car-park used to be a quarry for Cotswold Stone, and the top of the Hill is covered with the remains of ancient habitations. The pot-holes of an Iron-age longhouse are marked out, and slightly further along are the remains of a Neolithic settlement. There is also a long-barrow nearby, which is on private land and unexcavated.

The Ceremony site is just of the main drive, close to the information centre (where the group gathers before-hand). It is a fairly secluded spot - although we have occasional walkers pass by. In the middle is a very old Beech tree - the guardian of the site.

This year we held our Celebration on Sunday 21st of March - which also happened to be Mothering Sunday.

The Spring Equinox is the time when the hours of light and darkness are of the same length; the two Equinoxes and the Summer and Winter Solstices make up the 4 Quarter Days - which in the past, and still today, have been used for financial purposes.

The ceremony here is less formal than the ones we hold at the Stone Circles. This is our "Home Site" where we can enjoy a relaxed get-together under the tree, observing the changes as the seasons move full circle.

Now the Beech Tree is sprouting new leaves after the winter frosts, and the site is looking very colourful with the growth of Bluebells around the perimeter. During our Ceremony, we gave out chocolate eggs, along with the usual mead and flapjack - and honoured the Mothers amongst the group.

Veronica Hammond

(For a listing of other events organised by the Cotswold Pagan Society - and links to further reviews - please see the Listings page.)