CROP circles seem so passé these days – especially after the

mystery which hit Exmoor National Park recently.

The park's community newspaper, Park Life, ran an article on

the work of the National Mapping Programme of Exmoor, which

included an aerial photograph taken in 1979.

Hardly the most captivating of reads, you might think, but

on the picture, a set of initials could clearly be seen in the

landscape.

It was, in effect, "landscape graffiti", the article

claimed.

The large initials on the Fortescue Estate read "JW" and

"SC" – but mystery surrounded the offending artists.

"Are you JW or SC?" the article enquired.

No-one quite expected to get a response, so the staff of

Park Life were more than a little surprised when they received

a call from a slightly hesitant John Watts, who revealed that

he was indeed one of the guilty pair.

Mr Watts, who used to work on the Fortescue Estate, told the

paper: "In 1978, my friend and fellow worker Stan Curtis and I

were cutting bracken, and for a couple days a light aircraft

circled over us."

In fact, the plane was quite innocent and was simply taking

part in a national aerial photography project mapping out the

nation's terrain.

Mr Watts said: "After a while, Stan got a bit annoyed about

this and suggested we gave them something to look at, so we

marked out our initials in big letters."

Sadly Mr Curtis has since died, and so the truth had

remained with just the one surviving member of the prankster

duo.

But as with all graffiti artists, Mr Watts was not sure it

was a good idea to own up to it.

He said: "I was a bit worried about admitting that it was me

and sadly Stan is no longer with us, but the National Park

Authority was delighted to have solved the mystery.

"It's amazing what you can see in an aerial photograph."

The job of the National Park Authority is to "conserve and

enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage" and

"to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment

of the special qualities of the park".

Luckily the handy work of a younger Mr Watts and Mr Curtis

did not undermine these aims and the authority saw the funny

side.

A park authority spokesman said they were just happy they

had managed to "provide an answer to an intriguing

mystery".

Now the revealing images of Exmoor taken for the National

Mapping Programme in 1979 are to be the subject of the eighth

Exmoor Archaeology Forum in the talk: Exmoor's Past – An Aerial

View.

The presentation will be held in Dulverton on Thursday,

September 25.

For more information and tickets call Katherine Toms or

Cristina Orchard at English Heritage on 01392 824901 or e-mail

katherine.toms@english-heritage.org.uk.