Detecting Days Out.

[waltonbasinman]

Have been out to some new farms the last couple of days with the express interest of holding either a DW rally or inviting 6 - 10 people out for maybe a weekend on well researched farms that have a proven history. My God is it hard work. As I live in a farming community and know most of the neighbours I thought it would be pretty achievable. How wrong I was. I had three definites for a DW rally. Have still got two but found out today that a Club from South Wales has lost me one farm so am a bit peeved about that and PAULYWOW did this not happen to you just down the road two miles. Am well cheesed of as I promised to wait till the crop was off and wait until the autumn and did not offer a contract of any kind as again I had pretty much known them for all my life. Oh well lesson learned there and I felt it was a Bronze Age certainty due to the extensive crop mark evidence and number of flints found when I field walked. Today hammered it home even more as the two which I approached today I both knew well and both offered me detecting no problem but as soon as I mentioned a few friends straight in with would prefer just you. Some members have been very good to me on here and I want to return the favour on farms that will produce ( in my opinion ) luckily I have two near Lyonshall that are fine but have now approached well over thirty farms and have got two for Rallies. What I want to know is how much difficulty do other members have and is it really that cut throat in the world of gaining permission,

[Mark]

Hi Paul

Yes it is very difficult to get land and I would say metal detecting is a hobby for the very committed only (if you want to find more that shotgun caps, tubes, buttons etc).  I estimate that I have knocked most of the farms in my local area (Vale of Glamorgan) and that at least half the farmers will refuse your request because a, they already have people there, b, they just aren't interested in helping you, and c, their land is on an estate, and most estates are notoriously mean with their land and usually say no.  The other farms that let you on invariably let everyone else on too, and probably have done for at least 20 years, so although there will be interesting things there, you have to work bloody hard to find them.  Add to that the antics of night (and day) hawkers and the occasional club holding rallies on your hard won land and the future of metal detecting looks pretty bleak  .  But, Its not all bad, I have been lucky enough to find land that many (if any) people have not been on, and in short, have had a bloody good time there  , but these farms really are few and far between.   I don't know about cut throat, but getting productive land is certainly difficult, and as I said, for the committed only. 

[Val Beechey]

Hi Paul, Know what you must be feeling.  I was so fed up a few weeks ago I nearly chucked it all in. I've got 2 farms and a few fields to go on but all seem non productive except for a couple of buckles, buttons and a few coppers. The trouble with these farms is they're both dairy farms with no ploughed fields.
I decided I should do some proper research and I sorted out 2 potentially good farms. Went, cap in hand, and was politely 'put off'. Only politely, I think, because I'm female.
Must admit I was a bit gutted after all my efforts. After all, what harm could I do to their precious fields, one little old lady on her own
Still I s'pose I'll bounce back and try again.

Val

[nfl]

hi paul,yep it did happen to me regarding land and other clubs,but does it mean there off bounds if the farmer wants a local chap tectin instead ,,it is a bit cuthroat in this land grab business,but it shouldent be this way and belive that if a item is rescued from the soil it shouldent matter who finds it,i have lots of farms here and try to regulary take people on them and sometimes they do better than me but hey thats this crazy tectin lark....

[waltonbasinman]

I am OK for myself it is when you mention a few friends. Even though I grew up with them, played rugby, footie and cricket with them the thought of people they do not know seems to throw up this barrier saying Halt Go No Further. Do not push your luck. Now I wonder If I went back and talked bucks would it be different. I have had some fantastic days out with DW members and would like to return the compliment  as It is the least I could do. Win the lottery and buy Wiltshire or Dorset gotta be the answer.

[Val Beechey]

Now you're talking.   S'pose we could move house.

Val

[nfl]

if you got hold of dorset and wiltshire youll have thousands of people running about on your estates on serious note i phoned a farm a few weeks ago and he said he has a chap thats been tectin land for last 3 years,then he says,hang on ive got a 15 acre stubble field you can do, i usually  charge 20 quid for a day   .

[handyman [Alan}]

hope you replied that you charge them £30 a day to show them the finds!

[Val Beechey]

Hey, now you've got me thinking What a good way to suplement my pension. Do you think it's taxable

Val

[Mark]

I have only ever been refused once when inviting a friend, which was none other than Neil, when the farmer point blank refused my request, the guy was odd anyway   , but every other farmer has been fine with me taking small groups on his/her land.  I have never asked for a rally though, but I suppose the lure of cold hard cash for doing sod all would be appealing to most farmers.  I'll have to try it sometime  

[Rob Two Spades]

It's annoying when they say no because they already have clubs/scouts promised, even though nobody ever goes near the fields.
Last March I did a bit of research and then made a ranked list of 20 farms in North Wales that had some history. I wrote in Welsh to 12 of them, saying why I wanted to go on their farm, offered money to charity and include my mobile no. and an SAE.
I got polite negatives from three, OKs from four and no replies from five. I thought it was a good return for my efforts. I got my no.1 ranked farm and the four farms total over 1200 acres - enough to keep me going for an year or two!
 

[Meatslicer]

Hi all
I have had fairly good results from the "meeting the farmer" bit. I find a good chat about the history of their land and sometimes showing photos of the crop marks they have on there is a boon.

If you mention hoards and the value of the stuff you could find, they tend to be more cooperative. I make a point of finding out as much as I can about surrounding farms and throw a few names into the conversation so they know who else is cooperating with you, its almost like a personal recommendation. Most farmers are social animals, they talk to each other and share labour and machinery. Making sure you know about the crops they have and when they are likely to be clearing one crop to apply another can make them confident you are going to look after their property like stock and crops when you are around.

Always make sure they are aware of when you are on their land, and show them anything you find. Most of them arent interested in coins or bits of metal that have no modern use. I have come across the musket ball preference too. Show a farmer a load of roman coins, modern metal fragments from a detonated bomb or shell, hammered coins, modern decimal coins and a musket ball and they always go for the musket balls! Defeats me why but there must be something about the terminator in them that a big ball of lead has been shot from a gun and landed on their field that makes them interested in such a common object over a roman coin with so much history in it.

I have been on fields when animals have escaped from pens, and charged around a field with a farmer and his son getting them back under control. amazing how an etrac can look like a shepherds crook!

Having just had a successful rally in the Vale of Glamorgan on land I have researched and got permission from is a great feeling. It almost makes up for seeing the enormous hammered coins being found by someone else and not you! Almost.

Eric

[jaydogg]

Hmm, all I can say Is don't be put off; keep knocking and you will get farms.  I like the approach Meatslicer has by showing interest in the history of the area, this is something Mark and I do when we go out knocking and farmers can be quite receptive to this. I do occasionally mention I’m an archaeologist as this helps with some farmers (not all though). At the end of the day, in my opinion it’s just down to good old fashioned charm.

[dragonsbreath(Paul)]

In all the years i have been detecting have tried written/telephone/ face to face requests and have NEVER had a positive result always a refusal.
The only time i have got land was when my in laws knew said farmers personally.
And this is not just locally its countrywide....must be me ugly mug lol

[geordiefred]

Yeah Paul I'm the same not the face lol  , seems I mustn't be much of a writer or have the gift of the gab either. The farmers I have approached have said someone already detects there but they haven't seen them for ages?, or have the impresion that if they give you permission they will have loads digging up their land. Just cant win