Ley Hunter - 1965 vol 1 no 3

Magazine Overview

'The Ley Hunter' is a magazine published by the Ley Hunter's Club, with Vol. 1 No. 3 released in October 1965. The editor is Philip Heselton, and the secretary is Jimmy Goddard. The magazine focuses on the study of ley lines, ancient tracks, and their potential connection to UFO sightings and orthoteny. The cover features a stylized graphic of a figure holding staffs, with the title 'THE LEY HUNTER'.

Editorial

The editorial section addresses the lack of support for a proposed postal folio system, leading to the continuation of the magazine as the primary means of communication. The editor urges readers to contribute articles or letters to prevent the cessation of publication due to lack of interest. The issue includes two book plates for ley books and announces a special Christmas number for the next issue. The editorial team consists of Philip Heselton (Editor) and Jimmy Goddard (Secretary).

My First Ley Hunt by Allen Watkins M.A., F.C.A.

This article recounts Allen Watkins' first experience with ley hunting in 1931 near Cambridge. His father had traced several leys on a map, one of which passed through the Castle Mound. Following his father's instructions, Allen traveled to Royston and walked towards Strethall. While crossing the countryside, he encountered a farm labourer who mentioned an old Roman road that ran from Strethall Church towards Cambridge. This information, unsolicited and aligning with his father's ley research, was a significant and "extraordinary" discovery for Watkins, highlighting the concept of "Beginner's Luck" and the accumulation of coincidences in ley hunting. He references his father's books, "The Old Straight Track" and "Archaic Tracks Round Cambridge," for further details on this encounter.

A New Meaning to Leys by Jimmy Goddard

Jimmy Goddard's article explores the mystery of orthoteny, drawing parallels to ley hunting. He notes that Aime Michel plotted alignments of strange aerial objects during a 1954 French flying saucer 'flap'. Orthoteny, like ley hunting, involves rigid restrictions, requiring sightings to be aligned with a certain number of points and to occur within the same day. Goddard suggests that leys and orthotenies might be the same lines found in different ways, though this is not conclusively proven. He points out that while most leys are found in Britain, orthotenies are found in France and America, but British orthotenies have always been on leys. Examples include Tony Wedd's work in Kent, an orthoteny from the January 1964 issue of ORBIT (Tyneside UFO Society) on July 25, 1963, which aligned Bloxwich, Walsall, Birmingham, and Stratford-on-Avon (also a ley), and a recent alignment of two UFO sightings on August 29, 1964, in Wandsworth and Finchley, London, which also formed ley centres. Goddard believes this avenue warrants further exploration, suggesting Alfred Watkins' discovery has implications he never imagined.

Strike the Trail: An Introduction to Ley Hunting by Philip Heselton

Philip Heselton provides an introduction to ley hunting, describing it as an exciting and stimulating subject. He recommends Alfred Watkins' books, "The Old Straight Track" and "The Ley Hunter's Manual," for those new to the subject. Heselton advises readers to obtain a 1" Ordnance Survey map of an area of interest and use a straight-edge, dark cotton, and a pencil for map work. Key points to look for on leys include mounds, stone circles, and ancient churches. He suggests finding a likely point and trying lines in all directions, looking for patterns of parallel lines, star formations, or hexagons. Field work is emphasized as crucial, involving walking along identified leys and looking for subtle indications like trackways, faint earthworks, ancient stones, or clumps of trees. Heselton encourages readers to report their findings to the Ley Hunter's Club for inclusion in the magazine.

Book Reviews

This section reviews two of Alfred Watkins' books:

• THE OLD STRAIGHT TRACK by Alfred Watkins, published by Methuen. Available from John Grant Booksellers, Ltd. for 10/- (incl. postage). This is described as Watkins' second and most famous book, published in 1925, well-illustrated with his own photographs. It covers chapters on alignments of mounds, leys, mark stones, water sight points, camps, and includes an appendix on ley hunting.
• THE LEY HUNTER'S MANUAL by Alfred Watkins, published by Simpkin Marshall. Available from Markham House Press Ltd. for 6/- (incl. postage). Published in 1927, this book incorporates later discoveries and is written for the practical ley-hunter, offering a detailed description of marks, seasonal alignments, and working instructions.

Both books are noted as being in short supply.

Ley Hunts

This section reports on a ley hunt conducted by Peter Furness, Jimmy Goddard, and Philip Heselton in Essex on Sunday, July 25th, 1965. They started from North Weald station and followed a ley to Colliers Hatch, identified as a centre of five leys. They observed a farm called 'Cold Hall' and followed a track to a moated house. Continuing along the ley, they reached Wood Hatch, where a pond was located exactly on the ley. The hunt proceeded to Stapleford Tawney Church, a centre of three leys. Later, they noted a raised clump of trees on a road junction but found no leys there. Their next point was Stapleford Abbots Church, a centre of four leys, with Rectors listed back to 1330. The most interesting find was Bishop's Moat, a magnificent moated mound with two earth causeways, showing signs of subsidence rather than animal activity. They followed another ley from Bishop's Moat to Lambourne Church, dating from 1218. Heavy rain forced them to end the hunt.

Odd Notes

This section includes a "NOTICE OF MEETING" for the British UFO Research Association to be held at Kensington Central Library, London, on Saturday, November 27th, 1965, at 7.15 p.m. Jimmy Goddard is scheduled to give a talk on "Leys and Orthotenies," with other talks on flying saucers. Admission is 3/-.

Publication Information

'The Ley Hunter' is published by the Ley Hunter's Club. Subscriptions are 4/6 a year for four issues (January, April, July, October). Subscriptions and back numbers (1/3 each) should be sent to the Secretary, Jimmy Goddard. Other correspondence should be sent to the Editor, Philip Heselton.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are ley hunting, the study of ancient tracks, and the potential correlation between these ancient alignments and modern UFO sightings (orthoteny). The editorial stance is one of encouraging active participation and contribution from members to sustain the publication and advance the study of these subjects. There is a clear advocacy for the work of Alfred Watkins and an open-minded approach to exploring unconventional connections between historical geography and unexplained aerial phenomena.