You have a shiny new detector.....what now??
Posted by lordspudz | Labels: detecting, detectors, farmers, hobby, land, metal detecting, permission | Posted On Wednesday 23 September 2009 at 10:59
Firstly, stop waving it around in the air as you'll never find anything above your head.....unless you're standing next to the fridge, in which case make yourself a cup of tea and continue reading.
Here in the UK, you have to gain permission from the landowner before attempting to detect on any land. No permission and you could end up on the wrong side of the law and facing a charge of trespassing. There are exceptions to this rule such as beaches (not privately owned or owned by the Queen), and some parkland (although it is best to seek out the groundsman or ask at the Council offices if their by-laws covering the park state no detecting).
Living next to a public beach, I was lucky to the extent where I could go out and get a feel for how my machine worked and what actually happened when I started swinging it back and forth like an enraged swordsman hacking his way through the Roman empire. The beach was OK.....BUT! I wanted land, proper land! Muddy fields as far as the eye could see just waiting for me to dig them up. All of my new metal detecting acquaintances had their land and I'm sure some took great delight in 'reminding' me on several occasions that I didn't. They'd always manage to slip into the conversation, "have you been out recently.....oh no, I forgot, you don't have any land yet, do you!?"
Most farmers, although looking menacing sitting high up in their tractors, are generally a freindly breed and are quite approachable...if you pick your moment. Don't expect a welcoming smile and warm greeting if you wander across their field and stand in front of the combine harvester causing them to swerve and dump half the crop on the field instead of in the following trailer! Try and catch them when they are not too busy, obtain their phone number and call them at a respectable hour or send them a well written letter stating your interest in detecting and any info you might have researched into the area.
There are no hard and fast rules for gaining permission....except one very, very important one.....DO NOT DETECT UNLESS YOU HAVE GAINED PERMISSION FROM THE LANDOWNER!!
Anyone who doesn't falls under the category 'Nighthawker'. I'll post something about Nighthawkers at a later date.....if I can control my temper! :-)
Once you have your own land the hobby really opens itself up to you...plus, you can hold your own in conversations with other detectorists. You can reply with "yes, I went out onto MY land at the weekend..." and feel good!
Here in the UK, you have to gain permission from the landowner before attempting to detect on any land. No permission and you could end up on the wrong side of the law and facing a charge of trespassing. There are exceptions to this rule such as beaches (not privately owned or owned by the Queen), and some parkland (although it is best to seek out the groundsman or ask at the Council offices if their by-laws covering the park state no detecting).
Living next to a public beach, I was lucky to the extent where I could go out and get a feel for how my machine worked and what actually happened when I started swinging it back and forth like an enraged swordsman hacking his way through the Roman empire. The beach was OK.....BUT! I wanted land, proper land! Muddy fields as far as the eye could see just waiting for me to dig them up. All of my new metal detecting acquaintances had their land and I'm sure some took great delight in 'reminding' me on several occasions that I didn't. They'd always manage to slip into the conversation, "have you been out recently.....oh no, I forgot, you don't have any land yet, do you!?"
Most farmers, although looking menacing sitting high up in their tractors, are generally a freindly breed and are quite approachable...if you pick your moment. Don't expect a welcoming smile and warm greeting if you wander across their field and stand in front of the combine harvester causing them to swerve and dump half the crop on the field instead of in the following trailer! Try and catch them when they are not too busy, obtain their phone number and call them at a respectable hour or send them a well written letter stating your interest in detecting and any info you might have researched into the area.
There are no hard and fast rules for gaining permission....except one very, very important one.....DO NOT DETECT UNLESS YOU HAVE GAINED PERMISSION FROM THE LANDOWNER!!
Anyone who doesn't falls under the category 'Nighthawker'. I'll post something about Nighthawkers at a later date.....if I can control my temper! :-)
Once you have your own land the hobby really opens itself up to you...plus, you can hold your own in conversations with other detectorists. You can reply with "yes, I went out onto MY land at the weekend..." and feel good!
Nice blog Terry. Ditto about the Nighthawkers...don't get me started either! They give us a bad name!
wayne from idetectorist.com